Case: Paint the Town Ted

Description: In 2004, with 3,400 daily flights to over 200 destinations, United Airlines was the second largest airline in the entire world. With the rise of low-cost airlines like JetBlue, Southwest and Song, United was facing increased competition from a sector they had not yet entered. United realized that more consumers were choosing flights based on price alone. United decided to create a reactive campaign to introduce its own discount carrier which focused on a consumer-centric approach to flying and was named using the last half of the United name...Ted. Research: The only type of research mentioned was closely analyzing United's consumer database. This analysis showed researcher's that geographic segmentation would be a strong asset, as would be the overlapping of Ted's target market with United's current mainline target market. The research on the surface doesn't seem adequate because only looking through a customer database wouldn't be considered comprehensive; but as you read ahead and the success of the campaign is revealed, it appears that the minimal amount of research actually worked in this example. Target Market: Primary - Current United customers living in the suburbs of Chicago Secondary - Frequent Business Travelers (United's current consumer base) who also take leisure trips at least annually Case Goal: To reach United loyalists and key influencers in the suburban markets and to make their summer more enjoyable Case Objectives: 1. To create awareness of Ted's low-cost fares to fun destinations in the Chicago area suburbs (impact/informational) 2. To create a friendship with customers and make it impossible for them to have a passive relationship with Ted (impact/behavioral) - I think that these objectives were the ideal choice for this campaign.

Campaign Theme: Ted is the local and fun choice for low-cost leisure travel Campaign Message: Ted's main/general message was 'Low-cost fares for leisure travel' Some examples of messages tailored totheir specific events/promotions are: - Refreshingly low fares. - Low Fares. A breath of fresh air. - Get that vacation glow. - Ted. Low-fare sensation coming soon. - Treat yourself to a vacation I think that Ted's general message was a perfect representation of their core brand values. I also liked their subsequent more specific messages because they tailored each one to the specific promotion, they were clever, catchy, and memorable, and each one strongly resonates with the overall message and theme. Campaign Strategies: There was one main strategy for Ted's campaign which was to appear at the many and various summer gatherings across Chicago's various communities and neighborhoods. Campaign Tactics: - Treat Fleet - Four bright orange ice cream trucks which visited anywhere and everywhere Chicagans would be over the summer months (May through Septmeber). The trucks visted spots such as: parades, train stations, music fests, marathons, bike rallies, Independence day festivities, zoos, etc. - Appearances at marquee events like the Taste of Chicago and the Western Open - Each fleet brought along entertaining activities, games and freeze pops carrying the message "Chill with Ted" - Random Acts of Ted - gift givaways from Ted to city residents. Examples: oranges, air freshners, freeze pops, glow-sticks, fans. The most effective part of the giveaways was that each gift was specificly tailored to the event where it was being handed out. This made the gifts much more effective and memorable to the customers. - Ted was spelled out in skyscraper windows at night time and on theater marquees - Ted threw out the first pitch at a Cubs game while street teams were around the stadium in Ted logo jerseys trying to retrieve homeruns and free publicity - Hosted gate events and music at Chicago's O'Hare airport - Put Ted's name on everything from buses to billboards - Partnered with local baker Eli's to create Ted brand orange cheesecake - Cable TV spotswere tailored to and broadcasted in each particular Chicago suburb - Radio ads searching for 'The voice of Ted' - There was also a follow-up sweepstakes in 2005 giving away 50 spots on a flight from Chicago's north-side airport to the south-side airport and tickets to the Cubs v. White Sox baseball game.

Controlled Media: - Billboards - Bus Wraps - Newspaper wraps - Aerial Banners - TV spots - Radio Ads Uncontrolled Media: - Press and publicity gained at their many unique event appearances Opportunities for Participation: Just about every tactic developed for the Ted campaign was an opportunity for participation. The point of the campaign was to directly involve Chicagans with everything Ted, and make him impossible to ignore or be passive towards. Persuasive Appeals: Ethos was created because of United's already strong reputation in the Chicago area. Partnerships with local companies and entities also gained credibility for Ted. Logos was created because of Ted's focus on lower fares while keeping the same quality that was expected from United. Pathos was created because Ted was at every summer event in Chicago giving away gifts, involving people, creating relationships, and adding to the fun. Evaluation: The objectives were not evaluated separately, the campaign was evaluated as a whole. The case does not specify how the evaluation was done, only the results: - They had more than 600,000 consumer interactions - One million street impressions were created - The airline's load percentage skyrocketed to 85% while the industry average was at 75% - Ted's market share grew 15% while competitors' market shares were in decline Comments: I really liked this campaign! It was especially creative, fun, and I liked that the tactics were based upon Public Relations roots of building customer relationships and creating a true brand identity. In this case they did not build the identity around their brand, but they tailored their brand to the identities and lifestyles around Chicago, which was incredibly successful.