Indigo Airlines:when marketing meets HR

This is Indigo Airlines’ latest campaign promising on-time travel. Indigo’s ability to consistently be on-time is truly a rarity in the Indian aviation sector today and commendable.So an advertising campaign that promises prospective fliers about it’s timeliness makes solid sense.Any consumer would care about reaching his destination on time.However I feel that this campaign will work magic with not just consumers but another important target audience(TA) for the airline.

It’s employees.

Any services business derives it’s competitive advantage from it’s people.In this case,the ability to be on time due to the discipline of the employees.This campaign instead of just talking about the consequences of being on time does so by also showcasing the effort that goes on behind the scenes to ensure timeliness.From the chefs to ground staff to the cabin crew,everyone’s commitment to time is depicted in a quirky yet endearing manner.Which is why this campaign works for me.Showcasing their employees is not only a recognition of their efforts but also instills a sense of pride in working for a low cost airline.

Now i don’t know whether it was intended or no,but the masterstroke of this strategy is that it puts the pressure on the employees to live up to the campaign promise and thereby continue strengthening brand Indigo through a positive experience for travelers.Employee engagement in it’s purest sense,perhaps.Infact a similar  business approach is also being propagated by Vineet Nayar,CEO, HCL Technologies.Nayar’s radical philosophy at HCL is ‘Employee First,Customer Second’ which recognizes that the maximum value zone is created in the interface between the employee and consumer and that is why companies should ensure that they enable/incentivize/enthuse the employee first to create maximum value.

In advertising, we put a premium on sharply defining the problem and the solution.But sometimes in the process we tend to miss the woods for the trees and arrive at a sub-optimal strategy.Unlike Indigo Airlines.

Advertisement