Virgin America’s Safety Video Gives Customer Experience a New Song and Dance

Thanks to the digital revolution, customers are in control - they want what they want, when they want it. Customers have access to virtually all the information they need before you know they’re interested, and prospects are similarly informed before you even know they exist. Such access to information is disrupting the way you market to and connect with your customers. So, listen up.

In a world no longer able to compete by having the best product or price alone, today’s CMOs need to find new ways to reach and customers. Traditional marketing like print and broadcast are still relevant, but in order to reach today’s consumer, they need to do more. CMOs must own the customer experience (CX), both within marketing and across the enterprise.

CX is the primary reason Virgin America developed a following whose passion rivals that of Apple fans. A loyal fan base is a rarity for the airline industry, which tends to be hated for a flying experience. And it’s an experience that usually kicks off boringly with the safety demonstration.

How many times have you been on a plane where nobody is watching the safety demonstration?  This no longer happens on Virgin America. The airline has found a way to hark back to what the flying experience was all about – entertainment. It has created a unique in-flight safety video, presented with a catchy tune, dance moves, performers and humor, the airline makes one seriously engaging video. In fact, Virgin America released it on its social channels and within a couple of weeks it reached over six million views on YouTube.

The bottom line is that CX is essential for brand success.  Organizations looking to use the customer experience as a differentiator would be better served finding synergies between the CMO and CXO to create that awesome customer experience – and a competitive edge. By finding synergies that amplify the skills the CMO brings to the organization, companies can remain competitive in a rapidly evolving and complex business environment. The CEO too must embrace customer experience and it must become part of the corporate culture of an organization. It “belongs” to everyone – from the people who answer the phones to the people who create, develop the products.

About the Author: Amanda Ciccatelli, Social Media Strategist of the Marketing Division at IIR USA, has a background in digital and print journalism, covering a variety of topics in business strategy, marketing, and technology. Amanda is the Editor at Large for several of IIR’s blogs including Next Big Design, Customers 1st, and ProjectWorld and World Congress for Business Analysts, and a regular contributor to Front End of Innovation and The Market Research Event,. She previously worked at Technology Marketing Corporation as a Web Editor where she covered breaking news and feature stories in the technology industry. She can be reached at aciccatelli@iirusa.com. Follow her at @AmandaCicc. 

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