Airline brands are thinking big city and small town

ByBecky

Delta truck with a sign that says "Proud to call Atlanta home"Another brand is recognizing the “small town” shift in consumer feeling: Delta Airlines.

Delta’s ground operations at the Atlanta airport are sporting signs with “Atlanta’s Airline,” “Proud to call Atlanta home,” and “Atlanta’s hometown airline for 70 years.” It’s a Small Town Rule 7: Build You Local Connections play by the brand.

Consumers are increasingly ignoring generic, mass market messages. They want messages that are relevant, and localness is one factor in relevance to people. (Source: Marketing Profs: Brands to Focus on Localized Content Marketing.)

Interestingly, we as consumers have more respect for localness, even when it’s not local to us. For example, we have a positive impression of brands like L.L. Bean that retain their local qualities, even if we are not from their home in Freeport, Maine.

With these smart signs, Delta Airlines is working one of their local angles as a global brand.

"From a big city, we bring frequency; from a small town, we have reach."

Another brand thinking about the positives of “small town” is ExpressJet. They’re offering reach to small towns. Air travel is part of being able to live and work “anywhere, anywhen.” Most of the U.S. population now lives within two hours of a major airport. (I’m one exception, over 2.5 hours away from my nearest airport.)

Delta photo: (CC) by Becky McCray.

ExpressJet: screenshot.