Dive Brief:

• Southwest Airlines is addressing its decision to introduce assigned and premium seating, policies it long eschewed, in a new ad campaign, per details shared with Marketing Dive.  
• The effort, “Are You Sitting Down?,” shows consumers thrown into fits of crazed elation after a public announcement from Southwest that assigned seating is coming. A spot cheekily concludes with a bar patron stating, “I can’t believe nobody’s ever thought of this before.”
• Southwest wants to attract travelers who were potentially put off by the carrier’s previous first-come, first-served approach to seating while shoring up loyalty with existing fans. It’s a tricky needle to thread, as Southwest built up a cult following in part due to its atypical approach compared to rivals.   

Dive Insight:

Implementing assigned seating is a big pivot for Southwest as a brand, but a new ad campaign argues that it’s not worth losing one’s mind over in the grand scheme of things. Tongue-in-cheek ads show people reacting with over-the-top excitement at the prospect of the policy change, smashing watermelons in grocery stores and leaping over office desks while chanting, “Assigned seating!”

A humorous touch could help Southwest persuade consumers who, by and large, are dissatisfied with the travel industry Delivering on the passenger experience front is one of the most essential ways for carriers to win loyalty: 81% of customers who have what they view as a perfect experience state they will “definitely” fly with the same airline again, a figure that drops to 4% among those who rate their experience as poor, according to J.D. Power.    

The marketing push, which is running across TV, online video and social media, lands as the summer travel season kicks off in earnest, though fewer consumers are pursuing vacation plans due to rising costs. GSD&M, Southwest’s longtime creative agency, developed “Are You Sitting Down?”  

Southwest argues that some people have always been put off by its open approach to seating, which has been around for over half a century. That includes existing customers who find the process stressful (about 80% desire assigned seating, per research shared by the brand). But there’s also no denying that many loyalists are attracted to Southwest because of its quirks in a category where many carriers operate in mostly the same fashion.

“I don’t worry about customer defection, I don’t worry about execution of the initiatives, I don’t worry about the consumer not understanding them, because they’re industry-standard,” said Southwest CEO Bob Jordan of the policy changes at an industry conference last month. Jordan argued that Southwest is not doing anything “crazy” or “unique,” which should lower the risk factor. 

The exact timing of the rollout for assigned seating is still not set, though Southwest has indicated it will begin offering the option for booking in the year’s second half, with initial flights with assigned seating beginning early next year. Responses to the announcement among Southwest fliers have been mixed, as to be expected in overhauling a signature policy.    

In addition to the seating switch up, Southwest recently began charging more fees on checked bags and adjusting some of its rewards systems. The brand in a March announcement said the tweaks are meant to “deepen and reward loyalty between Southwest and its most engaged Customers.” These shifts follow a period of lagging financial performance from Southwest and as tariffs are expected by executives to further impact travel demand.