A new Song for travelers

A recent edition of the PBS staple "Frontline" focused on the wonderful, often mysterious world of marketing communications.

Titled "The Persuaders," the program presented a series of snippets dealing with such topics as the demise of traditional media, the growing use of (annoying) product placements in television and film, and the continuing struggle to find out - once and for all - how consumers make buying decisions.

One of the most interesting pieces of the entire 90 minutes dealt with the rise of Song, a regional, low-fare airline run - at a distance - by the money hemorrhaging Delta Airlines.

With gates in just a few cities in the southwest, northeast, Los Angeles and Las Vegas, it's quite possible that you have not had the Song "experience." Here's a primer:

It starts with the staff...who don't interview for jobs, but "audition." If you are deemed to be "not Song enough," well, there's the door. The planes, the uniforms, the gates, and everything that is Song has been designed by Kate and Andy Spade. On board, there are organic meals, DISH Network hookups on the back of every seat, and an edgy approach to just about everything. And all for a discount price.

Now, in an industry with about three distinct categories - upscale, discount, and everyone else - Song seems to be trying to carve a niche out of a niche by saying, "You can fly cheap and respect yourself afterwards." They aren't profitable yet (at last count, that column had only two names in it - Southwest and JetBlue), but they've been greenlighted for more planes and expanded service by Delta as it seeks to find ways to stop the corporate ship from sinking altogether.

They'll probably end up as a collegiate case study someday. But, their experience so far still provides important reminders to marketing communications professionals about brand building:

• Sometimes it's better to "line explode" than to line extend. Following on the success of brands like Acura (which gave Honda its entree into the upscale car market), Delta avoided calling their new shuttle the Delta "whatever." After all, Delta is for one kind of flyer, and Song is for a different market. Recognizing this has given them their best chance for success.

• If you're going to be different, be different. Song's approach to the rigid rules of air travel says a lot. For example, you don't have to pay through the nose for a one-way ticket, you don't have to stay over Saturday night to get the cheapest rate, and it's a relative breeze to reschedule a trip. All of this goes to their brand promise to be a quality, low-fare experience.

• Live the brand to the hilt. Their brand message says it all, "We're not an airline. We're a culture." Everyone has to drink the proverbial Kool-Aid for something like this to work. And, at least so far, they seem to be staying on message. (Heck, they even have 12 Song retail stores where you can be introduced to the Song difference, buy branded attire and, one would suspect, even book a flight.)

Will they make it? Who knows? (That answer probably will have less to do with Song's level of success than it will with Delta's lack thereof.) But they'll likely continue to be a scrappy, brand savvy bunch to watch from afar.