JetBlue Airways and MWW Group accepted the 2012 Big Apple’s Best Use of Research and Measurement Award for their work on “Flight Plan for the Future: JetBlue Preserves Its Direct Relationship with Pilots”.
Sponsored by the Institute for Public Relations (IPR), IPR Measurement Commission members Marianne Eisenmann, Frank Walton and Mark Weiner selected this campaign for its quality of measurement and evaluation in the program, clearly aligning with the campaign’s business objectives.
JetBlue, America’s only union-free carrier, was threatened with unionization by ALPA, the world’s largest pilots union. After hiring the PR firm MWW Group, JetBlue was determined to win the face-off election. With the odds against them and only 65 days to plan and implement their campaign, JetBlue needed to engage and motivate its pilot workforce to vote against ALPA, all while protecting the JetBlue brand and its operational integrity.
JetBlue and MWW Group completed an analysis of recent pilot surveys, interviews and weekly feedback to better understand the more than 2,000 voter-eligible JetBlue pilots. The pilot’s active flight schedule made it imperative for the team to produce mobile and timely content. The team launched a web site to interact and answer questions about the upcoming election. Engaging videos and infographics provided educational opportunities for pilots to learn about the voting process and to clear up rumors. The pilots were invited to attend face-to-face interviews, weekly coaching sessions and feedback meetings at all five JetBlue bases.
With the use of specific objectives and the research to back it up, JetBlue’s pilots came out to vote in full-force, achieving a 97.24 voter turnout rating. The pilots voted against ALPA with a resounding 17-point victory for JetBlue.
“The Big Apple judges felt this case study was an excellent illustration of how research methods can contribute substantively to achieving an organization’s objectives,” said Frank Walton. “The several kinds of research methods applied were not narrowly focused on the quality of the communications implementation, but were focused on the business challenge and affecting the demonstrable actions of the target audience. This kind of direct and demonstrable impact of the research on the business situation is not always possible.”
The case study is available on the Institute for Public Relations’ web site.
