Winner: Southwest Airlines
Campaign: Nuts About Southwest
The Mission:
Southwest Airlines PR execs wanted to give consumers a peek inside the corporate culture and allow them to connect with employees in an interactive and transparent way.
The Hook:
In 2006, the PR team, including Linda Rutherford, Paula Berg, Angela Vargo, Jill Howard Allen and Brian Lusk, launched "Nuts About Southwest" (blogsouthwest.com). It's a
corporate blog that features posts from every type of employee, from mechanics and pilots to senior executives.
Preparing for Take-Off:
To ensure the blog would be an evergreen hit instead of a flash in the pan, executives went to great lengths to make the blog reflective of their culture - and to make sure
their culture could withstand open and honest consumer-generated content in the first place. Thus, they infused the blog with frank, friendly and conversational posts that
encapsulated perspectives of employees throughout the company.
Logging On, Going Live:
The Southwest team was wise to keep their media outreach laser-focused, conducting only two targeted pitches: One to Dallas-based AP reporter David Koenig one week after the
launch, and one to a mass media list on the five-year anniversary of 9/11 - the day the site featured five emotional video clips from Southwest leaders. By not inundating the
media with releases, they were able to create buzz and get coverage for their fresh take on a corporate blog.
Soaring Above the Competition:
The "Nuts About Southwest" blog stands out from its competition based on the sheer intimacy of its content. Allowing customers to hear from real employees, instead of one
aggregated "corporate voice," gives them a personal connection to the brand, and it builds on the notion that, if Southwest strives for a healthy reputation through aggressive
employee and customer relations efforts, then they will have nothing to fear.
And indeed this is the case. Since its launch, the blog has received month-over-month traffic increases, and it has been a source for journalists, a crisis management tool to
address negative commentary before it hits the mainstream media, a mechanism for interaction with customers on a personal level, and a means of giving employees a voice.
Best Practices to Emulate:
- All corporate blogs must be completely transparent.
- If you are going to allow readers to post comments, you cannot censor negative feedback; instead, use the blog to address complaints with solutions.
- Update frequently to keep the content relevant and fresh.
- Encourage contributions from as many employees as possible to develop tangible corporate culture.
- Think of the blog as a virtual focus group. PRN