Fun name Ted's tie to United may be invaluable for marketing
November 12, 2003
BY LEWIS LAZARE SUN-TIMES COLUMNIST Advertisement
Ted? Who is Ted? It's a question that's been asked a lot in Denver the last several weeks, as United Airlines and its ad agency of record, Fallon/Minneapolis, have carried out an exhaustive guerrilla teaser campaign to boost interest in the Feb 12 launch of -- and here's your answer folks -- a new low-fare airline called Ted.
Why Ted? Why not, say United executives. And hang in there, Denver. You're going to get to know Ted a whole lot better in the days and weeks ahead.
United executives say they wanted a name for their new airline that really is a name, for one thing. Ted not only is a real name. It's also a fun, personable sounding name, and more importantly, it's actually a part of Uni-ted, a neat touch that could prove invaluable in developing both Ted, the brand, and also in executing an effective and engaging ad campaign for an airline that wants to have a separate and distinct identity from its mainline sister, yet remain a very real part of United too. And make no mistake. Fallon executives say they are very exci-ted about the marketing possibilities inherent in the carrier's new name.
United worked with the New York office of branding agency Pentagram to develop the name Ted. In recent months Pentagram tossed around a number of other possibilities, such as Flyer, United Red and Rhapsody, a reference to "Rhapsody In Blue," that has been the carrier's theme song for some time. But they all sounded much too "me too," according to United executives.
But one day when Pentagram executives in New York were teleconferencing with their counterparts in the firm's London office, somebody just happened to mention the name Ted.
Suddenly everything clicked into place, said Stephanie Burnham, United's director of brands and product development. "It was almost a gift, and it was staring right at us all the time. We see Ted as a call to action, and a challenge to be different that harkens back to our roots."
Even so, internally, United executives already have acknowledged Ted is an unorthodox name for a carrier, and that does pose some risk. But they are counting on at least a couple of pluses to counteract the obvious risk: Namely the friendliness of the name and its uniqueness within an industry where generic is more the norm. Just think Song or Jet Blue.
Fallon was first presented with the name Ted on Sept. 30, and quickly set about developing the teaser campaign that Denver residents have been experiencing. All manner of Ted buttons and stickers have popped up on people, on newspapers and even on plastic wrapped cookies being passed out in the Mile High City. People have been walking around with signs saying "I'm not Ted," and billboards have carried messages such as "One Word. Ted".
A generous Ted even picked up the tab for some lucky diners at Denver restaurants. More guerrilla style marketing will go on over the next couple of months, as Ted representatives make visits to hospitals and participate in Thanksgiving dinners in Denver.
On Thursday, the most visible component of the teaser campaign to date will kick into gear via the launch of three 15-second television commercials from Fallon designed to make the people of Denver even more curious about Ted. One spot starts with just a speck on the screen that slowly moves forward to fill the screen with the name "Ted" as Wagner's dramatic "Ride of Valkyries" opera music plays on the soundtrack.
Another simple spot shows various names such as Hank, Mary and Horatio being crossed out one by one until the name Ted pops up on screen along with a Web site address, www.meetted.com. Yet a third spot shows theatrical spotlights scanning the screen to the sound of a drumroll until they finally all focus on and illuminate the word "Ted."
Next Tuesday, United executives plan to hold a press conference to officially announce Ted is United's new low-cost carrier. The next day Denver newspapers will carry a two-page display ads showing the new Ted aircraft livery and ad copy that tells readers United is finally putting a face to the name Ted. Like much ofthe print advertising yet to come, these Ted ads will be done up in blue and marigold, the carrier's official color scheme, which will be visible on the aircraft fuselage.
In all the advertising that follows next week's official unveiling of Ted, Fallon will try to convey to the public the personality the agency has created for the new low-cost carrier. A Web site will be an integral part of the marketing effort too, according to Jerry Dow, United's director of marketing communications. "We want it to be a robust site that people can go to for information, but that also conveys Ted's personality."
"Ted is a giver," said Fallon President Rob White. "We want people to be on a first-name basis with our airline, and we want our Ted to be well-rounded and very down to earth."
United wants Ted to be his own brand, but not a huge departure
Fun and low fares will be the two guiding forces behind the launch of United's new low-cost carrier on Feb. 12. Initially, the carrier will fly to just eight leisure destinations from Denver International Airport: Tampa, Orlando, New Orleans, Phoenix, Las Vegas, Reno, Ft. Lauderdale and Ontario, Calif. But if customer response proves favorable in Denver, United brass already are considering quickly adding Ted routes into the Caribbean and Mexico, according to John Tague, United executive vice president/customer.
United executives are clear about one thing: They want Ted to be a distinct low-fare United brand, but not so different that frequent travelers on the main carrier feel a jarring jolt when they walk on to a Ted aircraft. In interviews with several United executives, they all talked about crafting the Ted brand in a way that appeals to the more relaxed leisure traveler mind-set, but still has the mainline carrier's mileage benefits and many of its most popular onboard amenities.
For one thing, Ted will have an especially large Economy Plus section of 66 seats (with a generous 35 or 36 pitch) out of a total of 156 seats on board each Airbus 320 Ted aircraft, about 18 more seats in all than are found on mainline United Airbuses, which have a 12-seat first-class cabin. Tague said the Economy Plus feature has proved popular with United business travelers, and Ted's core planning team, which also included Sean Donohue, United's vice president/low cost operation, felt it was crucial to make Economy Plus a feature of Ted as well.
The color scheme on the outside of Ted aircraft will feature blue and marigold. The interiors of the planes will have a blue and gray color scheme. Onboard video and audio entertainment on Ted will be unique to the brand and might include options such as a video featuring local bands from destinations to which Ted flies. Donohue also said Ted is exploring making available handheld video equipment on which passengers could view premium entertainment offerings for an additional fee.(Ted is going to fly Airbus 320s which I am quite certain are already wired and plumbed for in-seat IFE and Airbus has recently cemented a relationship with Tenzing and Verizon to provide their email service. This service is an early counterpoint to Connexion by Boeing and is lower bandwidth..FYI) And in another move to differentiate the brand from other United offerings, there is already talk of establishing a Ted Carpet Club, a dedicated lounge for Ted flyers and a cousin to United's familiar Red Carpet Club.
Food will be available on board Ted for purchase, Tague said, and it will include branded products from the Denver area, as well as other markets in Ted's route structure, where feasible. Because pilots and flight attendants may work on both Ted and mainline United flights, they will wear the same basic uniform on both brands, Tague said, but different accessories will be added to the attire on Ted flights to give the crew a look and a personality unique to the new low-cost carrier.
Will Chicago get to know Ted anytime soon? Both Tague and Donohue were vague about if, or when, that might happen. But they indicated much about Ted's future will hinge on the initial passenger response in Denver. The likely scenario, Tague said, is that Ted would expand next into United's Dulles International Airport hub outside Washington, D.C., within six months after the Denver launch, and that Chicago could come some time after that. Ted destinations from Chicago would be Florida and the Caribbean and Mexican destinations.
Lewis Lazare
