Active Stocks
Thu Mar 28 2024 15:59:33
  1. Tata Steel share price
  2. 155.90 2.00%
  1. ICICI Bank share price
  2. 1,095.75 1.08%
  1. HDFC Bank share price
  2. 1,448.20 0.52%
  1. ITC share price
  2. 428.55 0.13%
  1. Power Grid Corporation Of India share price
  2. 277.05 2.21%
Business News/ Opinion / The importance of not being earnest
BackBack

The importance of not being earnest

The importance of not being earnest

Premium


The four Ps—people, product, price and promotion—are often cited as the keys to a successful business. Yet this list omits a vital ingredient that has characterized Virgin companies throughout our 40 years: Fun, with a capital F!

When we started Virgin Atlantic in 1984, we had some great people and lots of good ideas about how to do things differently. Sadly, we did not have a lot of money to take it to the streets. Compared with the giant establishment players of the time—TWA, Pan-Am and British Airways (BA)—we had a tiny fleet, if one aircraft qualifies as a fleet, and a minuscule advertising budget.

We could not do much about the single aircraft—leased from a generous man at Boeing. We had to make the most of our meagre marketing money. At the urging of the late Freddie Laker, who made an art form of grabbing the limelight for his airline, I quickly became a willing victim in all kinds of wild and crazy adventures to promote the fledgling Virgin Atlantic. You couldn’t buy a quarter-page ad on the front of The New York Times, but when my sinking boat or crashing balloon just happened to feature the distinctive Virgin logo, there we were!

We also started to run some funny, pretty direct and usually highly topical advertisements to grab the public’s attention. Such in-your-face ads were largely unknown in the stodgy world of airlines, so our approach quickly gained us notoriety, press coverage and, above all, visibility. The humour stood out against our moribund competitors, and soon Virgin Atlantic itself—not just the ads—became synonymous with a cheeky and upstart personality, and more importantly, a fresh, different approach to commercial aviation.

Marketing teams in London and New York frequently reacted quickly to the day’s news and, within 24 hours, placed tactical-response advertisements in key markets. When Manuel Noriega, former leader of Panama, was extradited to Miami for trial, we ran a big picture of him, with the caption, “Only one person has flown to Miami cheaper than on Virgin Atlantic!"

Sometimes the ads were close to the bone, especially when tweaking the tail of our favourite adversaries such as British Airways. Always, they were irreverent and cheeky. The ads gave the airline a real personality in its early years, which was a key to its success and growth.

Our staff also liked the humour, and the sense of fun. They felt proud to be associated with a company that made people smile and that was seen as a good place to work. We made sure the same spirit ran through everything we did; it was not confined to the cute advertisements. It was crucial that we created an enjoyable atmosphere for crew and passengers alike, at 30,000ft.

When British Airways sponsored London’s Millennium Wheel in the late 1990s, it planned to make a big splash for the official opening. On the day the wheel was to be raised, the engineers had great trouble lifting it. We jumped at the chance to cause a stir. We scrambled a small airship to drag a banner across London’s skyline emblazoned with “BA can’t get it up". It was cheeky, all right, and we—not BA—grabbed the headlines that night.

This sense of humour and risk-taking has infused many of our other businesses. Virgin Mobile Canada produced a series of memorable advertisements poking fun at famous people. The ads were all about Virgin Mobile’s personalized service. They went on to say: “At Virgin Mobile, you’re more than just a number. When you call us, we’ll treat you like a person, not a client. Whether you’re No. 9 or No. 900, you’ll get hooked up with somebody who’ll finally treat you just how you want to be treated."

These ads ran for only short periods of time, but they were picked up in the media and raised the profile of the company and the service.

My books’ titles continue the theme—Losing My Virginity, Screw It, Let’s Do It and Business Stripped Bare. Publishers, however, vetoed Getting It Up for my latest book on the history of flight and went for Reach for the Skies. We’ll see how it sells!

Over the years I have launched our companies while dressed in costumes to amuse our staff, our partners and the press. I have thrown myself off tall buildings, hung off bridges, driven tanks into Times Square and plunged (usually involuntarily) into oceans—all to grab attention and reinforce a sense of fun.

All of it has definitely made an impression and infused that Virgin feeling into new ventures. While it is not enough just to be the joker in the pack, if your service and product excel, then making people smile will help you establish a place in their hearts as well as their minds.

Try taking yourself and your business less seriously. You may be surprised that many others will take you more seriously.

BY NYT SYNDICATE

©2010 / RICHARD BRANSON

Richard Branson is the founder of the Virgin Group and companies such as Virgin Atlantic, Virgin America, Virgin Mobile and Virgin Active. He maintains a blog at www.virgin.com/richard-branson/blog. You can follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/richardbranson. Your comments and queries on this column, which will run every week, are welcome at feedback@livemint.com

Unlock a world of Benefits! From insightful newsletters to real-time stock tracking, breaking news and a personalized newsfeed – it's all here, just a click away! Login Now!

Catch all the Business News, Market News, Breaking News Events and Latest News Updates on Live Mint. Download The Mint News App to get Daily Market Updates.
More Less
Published: 05 Apr 2010, 10:52 PM IST
Next Story footLogo
Recommended For You
Switch to the Mint app for fast and personalized news - Get App