By Lorrie Baumann
Southwest Airlines is unique in its industry for its profitability as well as its record for on-time performance, baggage handling and customer service. As Kevin and Jackie Freiberg explain in “Nuts!: Southwest Airlines' Crazy Recipe for Business and Personal Success,” part of the reason for this is that Southwest employees have learned that there are just two kinds of people: the quick and the dead.
Had Southwest not been nimble and quick to seize opportunities that came its way, the airline wouldn't have achieved its presence in markets it was able to dominate quickly after other airlines had moved out. The Freibergs tell a story that illustrates the speed with which Southwest Airlines was able to move into the Little Rock airport after deciding to expand into that market. As they tell the story, a competitor responded to Southwest Airlines' plan to expand into Little Rock by announcing that it was also going to be starting service in the market. Forty-eight hours after that announcement, Southwest Airlines representatives were in Little Rock to sign a sublease from Continental Airlines on all the available gates. Within ten days, Southwest Airlines had scheduled its flights, laid cable, installed its computers and put up its signs at ticket counters, and acquired the airplanes. “When the competing airline showed up in Little Rock, it was shocked to find that the gates had already been secured by Southwest,” the Freibergs say.
They tell another story about Southwest speed in a marketing context: Don Valentine, former Vice President of Marketing for Southwest, had just joined the company from Dr. Pepper when the marketing team met to discuss a new television campaign. Valentine projected a project schedule of a couple of months for a script, another couple of months for script approval, a month or three for casting, and shooting could start in nine months. The Freibergs quote Herb Kelleher's response: “Don, I hate to tell you, but we're talking about next Wednesday.”
Follow Southwest Airlines’ lead and be ready to move fast when an opportunity presents itself. Ad space in show dailies is a bit like gate space in an airline terminal -- there’s a limited supply of gate space, and some positions are definitely better than others. You don’t want to get to the show, open the daily, and find that your competitors have left you at the gate.
Keep in mind that unless you’re making a last-minute bargain purchase of leftover space -- what’s called remnant space -- ad position is very negotiable. Ask what’s available and how you can get your hands on it, but be aware that 15 minutes can make all the difference in the world in availability. Once you’ve secured a verbal commitment for a particular ad space, you MUST follow up immediately with a written insertion order to keep it.
Call 520.721.1300 today to secure great position in Restaurant Daily News, the premier show daily at the NRA Show.
Southwest Airlines is unique in its industry for its profitability as well as its record for on-time performance, baggage handling and customer service. As Kevin and Jackie Freiberg explain in “Nuts!: Southwest Airlines' Crazy Recipe for Business and Personal Success,” part of the reason for this is that Southwest employees have learned that there are just two kinds of people: the quick and the dead.
Had Southwest not been nimble and quick to seize opportunities that came its way, the airline wouldn't have achieved its presence in markets it was able to dominate quickly after other airlines had moved out. The Freibergs tell a story that illustrates the speed with which Southwest Airlines was able to move into the Little Rock airport after deciding to expand into that market. As they tell the story, a competitor responded to Southwest Airlines' plan to expand into Little Rock by announcing that it was also going to be starting service in the market. Forty-eight hours after that announcement, Southwest Airlines representatives were in Little Rock to sign a sublease from Continental Airlines on all the available gates. Within ten days, Southwest Airlines had scheduled its flights, laid cable, installed its computers and put up its signs at ticket counters, and acquired the airplanes. “When the competing airline showed up in Little Rock, it was shocked to find that the gates had already been secured by Southwest,” the Freibergs say.
They tell another story about Southwest speed in a marketing context: Don Valentine, former Vice President of Marketing for Southwest, had just joined the company from Dr. Pepper when the marketing team met to discuss a new television campaign. Valentine projected a project schedule of a couple of months for a script, another couple of months for script approval, a month or three for casting, and shooting could start in nine months. The Freibergs quote Herb Kelleher's response: “Don, I hate to tell you, but we're talking about next Wednesday.”
Follow Southwest Airlines’ lead and be ready to move fast when an opportunity presents itself. Ad space in show dailies is a bit like gate space in an airline terminal -- there’s a limited supply of gate space, and some positions are definitely better than others. You don’t want to get to the show, open the daily, and find that your competitors have left you at the gate.
Keep in mind that unless you’re making a last-minute bargain purchase of leftover space -- what’s called remnant space -- ad position is very negotiable. Ask what’s available and how you can get your hands on it, but be aware that 15 minutes can make all the difference in the world in availability. Once you’ve secured a verbal commitment for a particular ad space, you MUST follow up immediately with a written insertion order to keep it.
Call 520.721.1300 today to secure great position in Restaurant Daily News, the premier show daily at the NRA Show.