Adding a Heavy Helping of Care to Air Travel

We unlocked Alaska’s brand narrative through data-driven analysis including internal stakeholder interviews, product and service prioritization, consumer mindset and state of the category, business ambitions, and cultural attitudes towards travel.

One of our grounding insights: airlines rank #4 in the list of most hated industries. Yet, Alaska is uniquely known for its best-in-class service. 

Alaska’s unique value proposition: Care. It’s a guiding principle that informs business decisions, employee onboarding and differentiation in the category. But we had to define the type of care we offered: bold, fun, playful care that felt uniquely Alaska. This became an organizing principle beyond advertising and has been embraced by the entire organization across business groups.

The creative idea: Instead of trying to convince flyers of how caring Alaska is, we gathered the most caring characters in the universe to do it for us. Named the Care Coalition, members like Funshine the Care Bear, a golden retriever and “Grandma” came together to discuss whether Alaska Airlines would be inducted as The Most Caring Airline. 

The campaign evolved in year two to put Alaska Airline’s care to the test. Members of the Care Coalition took to the skies on Alaska Airlines flights to see how its care came to life through benefits like its rewards program, network, and credit card.