Tainted LUV
We’ve all been there. Close friend or relative—someone you truly adore—is dating or married to a detestable person.
The story is always the same. At first, we are sympathetic, we smile and ignore the awful partner.
Then, as bad behavior comes out, we can’t be a bystander. We seek to enlighten. We hint. There’s talk, articles, self-help books, photographs. We recommend counseling and experts. Our friend is happy for the support and dialogue. Deep down they know the truth, but change is hard.
Despite the troubles, they feel committed to the relationship. They say things like, “You have it all wrong. He’s not that bad, we’ve been together forever, he helps around the house and cares about his family.” Then one day, the conversation stops. No more back and forth, no more updates. Your friend goes dark.
What’s the best way to handle this? Do you still continue to reach out? Do you give up? Do you just write them off? None of us wants to see a friend get hurt.
In this particular case, my friend is wonderful. Fun to be around, giving, honest, fair, loving, takes care of family and friends with enthusiasm and a smile. Goes the extra mile and instills lifelong loyalty.
The partner isn’t in the same league. Years ago, my Brother told me stories. The shiny veneer and painted on smile wasn’t quite as it seemed. I didn’t believe it. What about the charity work, the banker friends, the parties with music and the happy youngsters, dancing and making us laugh?
Sadly, over time, I discovered some dark truths. Broken teeth, cuts, extreme health issues, trips to the doctor, secrecy and misinformation—what was going on here? Questions were met with both arrogance and anger. How dare I even ask! Didn’t I know all the good works? “Everyone in the family receives world class medical care, they have restaurant quality food, a roof over their head and, by god, they take in rescues!”
I went through my supportive stage and the dialogue stage and now as predicted—my friend has fallen silent. It’s depressing because my friend is Southwest Airlines and their awful partner is SeaWorld.
I’ve spent a career in advertising and brand building, thinking a lot about brand relationships. Just like people, brands have distinct personalities. Marketers identify a set of descriptive human characteristics that fit with a particular brand and if those traits are consistent consumers begin to form impressions based on those traits. Over time great brand personalities are easily recognized by consumers and become quite valuable.
However, just as the personality of a human is affected by everything associated with him or her: activities, friends, clothing, where they hang out, etc.—the same is true for a brand.
Like it or not, fair or not, brands are judged by the company they keep. The world saw an extreme example of this with the NBA Donald Sterling episode. Donald Sterling spoke, corporate sponsors ran for the hills and the NBA acted swiftly. None of them wanted their valuable brands tainted.
After many years of flying with them, I feel great loyalty toward Southwest Airlines. Unfortunately, they have a questionable partner in SeaWorld. SeaWorld’s formerly hidden animal care and employee practices have come to light and there is growing global movement for them and other amusement parks to change their ways.
I can imagine the mid-level marketing meetings now, Southwest Airlines is caught in a growing PR nightmare while their brand partner is saying very human things like: “I promise to change, I’ll be good, that trainer slipped and fell, it wasn’t me.”
I wrote Southwest CEO Gary Kelly and the executive marketing team back in January. They responded immediately and assured me they were willing to do their research and engage in transparent dialogue. My letter and response were posted online and I received numerous emails from Southwest fans and employees alike thanking me.
Since that time, the international outcry against SeaWorld and orca captivity has only intensified, but Southwest stands silently by SeaWorld’s side.
Breaking up is hard to do. I get it. But, how do you convince a friend they are in a bad relationship? For a human it’s a sad situation, but for a company it begins to erode reputation and brand value. Shareholders start to take notice. Now, the financial press mentions Southwest Airlines every time they report a new SeaWorld scandal. I call that tainted LUV and suggest it’s time to get out.
