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Tale of the tails

Frontier cozies up to customers with talking animals

Rocky Mountain News

Published May 13, 2008 at 10:33 a.m.
Updated May 13, 2008 at 10:33 a.m.

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This story was originally published on Saturday, June 12, 2004

Josh Berlin, 27, already considered himself a fan of Frontier Airlines. Then he encountered some of its pitchmen: Jack the Rabbit, Larry the Lynx and Grizwald the Bear.

The talking animals on Frontier's TV ads - a takeoff on the images of wild creatures on the tails of its jets - made him like the discounter even more and want to fly it more often.

"The ads are great," said Berlin, who flies about twice a month. "They're funny. They grab your attention compared to most other airlines' (ads). They stand out."

John Barnard, 40, was skeptical at first.

"I was like, 'Talking animals? I'm not crazy about that.' "

But then Jack the Rabbit was rebuffed by Foxy, a sultry red fox, who said she would rather eat a rabbit for dinner than have dinner with a rabbit. And Flip the Dolphin was dismayed to find himself on a plane to frigid Chicago instead of being part of Frontier's extensive service to Florida. "Chill out," said Larry the Lynx. "Your blowhole is leaking."

The ads "do a good job of bringing some lightness to something that people get worried about," said Barnard, a creative director at Denver's SpireMedia, a Web site-development firm that has bid for some Frontier business. "I think 85 percent of TV commercials are really stupid. They stand above the rest as far as I'm concerned."

Fans of the TV and radio ads - created by New York-based Ericsson Fina - include U.S. Secretary of Transportation Norman Mineta. He volunteered as much during a call to a Frontier official on another issue this year, saying he wondered when Jack might secure a date with Foxy.

The ads, launched a year ago as part of a major branding campaign called "a whole different animal," have helped 10-year-old Frontier attract more fliers and increase market share at its Denver International Airport hub.

Filled with one-liners that sometimes border on the raunchy, the ads seek to entertain viewers while relaying information about Denver-based Frontier's growing number of destinations and amenities. One of the carrier's goals is to use the cuddly creatures to forge an emotional connection with fliers.

Awareness of the Frontier name in Denver had been surprisingly low when the ads began, and the ads have been critical to making the airline far more visible in just 12 months, according to Frontier's branding firm, Sterling-Rice Group of Boulder, and company officials.

Other steps to bolster Frontier's visibility in Denver and elsewhere have included lining up sponsorship deals with nearly all of Colorado's major sports teams, including the Nuggets and Rockies.

Frontier executives and rank-and-file workers are spending hours trying to make sure the bold message of "a whole different animal" - that flying Frontier is truly an extraordinary experience - filters into everything workers do in serving customers.

The branding campaign is part of a broad effort to stand out from chief rival United Airlines, the dominant carrier at DIA, and others, as the embattled aviation sector struggles to recover from a three-year slump.

The campaign emphasizes Frontier's new Airbus jets, its live satellite-TV service on each Airbus seat, which few carriers offer, and customer service that's widely considered friendlier than most.

For most of its life, Frontier operated as a "spill carrier," a low-fare airline whose routes overlap those of a larger airline and that tries to grab fliers seeking cheaper tickets. There was no distinct brand to speak of.

"What they're doing now is a remarkable change," said Buddy Ketchner, managing partner at Sterling-Rice. "For nine years, it flew under the wing of United. Now they have focused on offering something that's better and different."

To say you're "a whole different animal" is to make "an enormous customer promise."

Kids pressed to the glass

Before Frontier's branding campaign, Sterling-Rice conducted surveys with thousands of fliers and hundreds of Frontier's employees to understand how the company was perceived.

What it found was enlightening. Only 47 percent of Denver people who were asked to name airlines that flew out of DIA mentioned Frontier. For United, the figure was 87 percent.

"How do you have the No. 2 airline in Denver, and more than half the people don't even know you're there?" said Ketchner.

The realization was that "we have an awareness problem in the Denver marketplace," said Sean Menke, Frontier's senior vice president of marketing. "And I think if you were to ask any of the people involved in the process, that was the biggest uh-oh."

Also, those who did know Frontier - which now flies to 47 cities in North America from DIA - "didn't know the scope of service," he said. "People thought we still flew to North Dakota and Montana."

In New York, an advertising agency called Sticky Grey - now Ericsson Fina - played around with some ideas. Frontier had always had a different wild animal painted on the tail of each of its planes. It was perhaps the most memorable aspect of the airline for the average consumer.

In 1994, when Frontier got off the ground, "we wanted to start out being different," said Diane Willmann, Frontier's director of advertising, who evaluates the thousands of photos of wild animals people send the company each year.

Sam Addoms, another founder who's now Frontier's chairman, liked the animal idea, which came from Jim Adler of Genesis, a Denver marketing firm, Willmann said.

"Sam said, 'I want excitement. I want little kids pressed to the glass (at the airport), looking at that plane,' " Willmann recalled.

Animals on the tails won out over a more traditional paint scheme that harkened back to that of the original Frontier Airlines, which folded in 1986.

But it took the new Frontier's first-ever branding effort and two guys in New York to bring the creatures to life. Shawn Couzens and Gary Ennis, associate creative directors at Ericsson Fina, came up with the concept.

"We heard the airline is different, that they have loyal workers and a special bond to the company," said Couzens. "We started thinking, 'a whole different animal.' What better way to bring out that easygoing friend from Colorado than making these guys all buddies on the tarmac?"

Ericsson Fina was the first ad firm presenting its pitch to Frontier on the day the airline invited agencies to show their stuff. "Everybody was like, 'That's it. That's the one we want,' " said Menke.

Ericsson Fina has been producing new ads about every month ever since. There have been 13 so far.

Frontier, which flies more than 15 percent of DIA's paying passengers, won't say how much it's paying Ericsson Fina, but says the ads are relatively inexpensive to produce.

The company's spending for placing ads on TV, radio and in newspapers and online remains small.

Frontier actually spent less on advertising last year than it did in 2002. The 2003 figure was $5.3 million, down from $7.5 million in 2002, according to research firm TNS Media Intelligence/CMR.

In October, five months into Frontier's campaign, a survey of more than 500 Denver adults showed 57 percent mentioning Frontier when asked to name airlines at DIA, a 10-point improvement.

Menke says the figure is now in the low 70 percent range.

In the October study, 90 percent said the ads were "very likeable or entertaining," and 44 percent said the ads made them more likely to fly Frontier. Only 6 percent said the ads were "annoying."

The launch of the ads coincided with an increase in the carrier's destinations; more brand-new Airbus jets; the introduction of a simpler fare structure; cheaper prices throughout the industry; and some travelers' concerns about the future of United, which is in bankruptcy-court protection.

These factors make it difficult to assess how much the ads have contributed to Frontier's increases in passenger demand and revenues. The airline has posted year-over-year increases in the percentage of seats filled each month since the ads began, including a 17 percent jump in August and a 20 percent jump in September.

In the fiscal year ended March 31, Frontier reported net income of $12.6 million and revenue of $643.7 million, compared with a net loss of $22.8 million and revenue of $469.9 million a year earlier.

Frontier executives are convinced the ads have been a key factor in the recent passenger growth, citing in part the awareness surveys by Sterling- Rice.

The 30-second TV ads are now running in markets across the U.S.

"It has helped them become known," James Parker, an airline analyst with Raymond James & Associates said of the ad campaign.

"They have the most distinctive tail of any airline in the industry, and to do TV ads with the animals talking really stood out," said Parker, who owns some Frontier stock.

Nature's crouton?

The ad campaign has won numerous ad industry awards, including the Denver Advertising Federation's "Fame and Fortune" award, the group's top honor.

Several advertising executives in Denver said they are impressed.

"It's really done a great job of creating personality for the airline," said Robert Denning, director of account services at O'Brien Advertising. "It's much more distinctive than what you see from other airlines out there."

Whether the ads make people want to purchase Frontier tickets is a difficult question.

Many fliers said their ticket purchases will come down to price, no matter how good an airline's ads are. For Frontier, the good news is it already offers competitive fares, so the ads can help it stand out from the crowd, some fliers said.

"I'm always going to go with what's cheapest," said Spire Media's Mike Rutter, 40, who flies once a year. "These ads really make me aware that Frontier is an option."

Gargi Duttgupta, 37, an architect in Cherry Creek who's listened to the radio ads, said they "are quite goofy sounding, but then in general, most ads these days are."

She won't pick a particular airline based on ads, she said, but rather on prices and flight schedules. Yet the ads "ensure that I do know that Frontier is still in business."

Frontier said it has largely received praise from customers about the campaign, with some fliers showing their enthusiasm by sending in pictures of their pets depicted on the tails of Frontier aircraft.

Some of the ads have brought critical phone calls, and even raised eyebrows among employees.

One ad that was later tweaked had Larry the Lynx asking Flip the Dolphin, "So, Flip, do you ever get that sleepy crusty stuff in your blowhole?"

Said Grizwald the Bear: "Yum, sleepy stuff! Nature's crouton."

Embracing the animal

Ericsson Fina and Frontier are planning more ads, hoping to keep up the same type of interest from viewers that successful sitcoms are able to draw.

And Frontier is turning its attention this year to making sure its employees fully embrace the idea of being "a whole different animal."

The challenge of having all workers provide a consistent message is enormous, in part because Frontier is growing rapidly.

Frontier, which employs about 4,500 in North America and has 44 aircraft, says it's off to a good start because workers fell in love with the TV ads.

"This year, for us, is really taking (the new brand) and internalizing it," Menke said. This will go to everything from how reservationists answer the phone to how pilots address passengers.

"It will be very subtle," Menke said. In certain months, ads might focus on Frontier's frequent-flier program, and so too would the on-hold message when people call reservations. At the ticket counter, there'd be a message about the frequent-flier program.

"You don't want to be hit with five (different) messages," Menke said. "But by the end of the day, if you're not aware of our frequent-flier program, we've really screwed up."

When Frontier launched the TV ad campaign last year at the Denver Zoo, Menke said he told the audience not to judge Frontier on where "we are today" or "a month from now," but "take a picture of where we are today and a year from now."

"I think we can clearly show there's been a vast improvement from where we were. And that's exactly what we're doing this year."

In the airline business, passengers are seeing the same airfares offered by multiple competitors on the same routes, he said. "The only way we can succeed is to create a better product."

INFOBOX 1

Plane tales from the horse's mouth

When choosing photographs for its planes, Frontier follows a list of criteria. Here are some examples:

* Billy, a Rocky Mountain goat; and Bambi, a deer, were the first animals shown on a Frontier plane, in 1994

* Frontier looks for images of animals indigenous to the destinations of its jets

* Reptiles are forbidden because some people are afraid of them

* The airline doesn't want animals that look menacing or predatory.

* From an estimated 5,000 photo slides a year that it receives from photographers, Frontier has dealt with all manner of problems, including one image of a drooling buffalo.

* The animals can't be hidden by nature; they must stand out and be easy to see

* Frontier wants the creatures to have some personality and not look as if they're stuffed.

* The airline negotiates the prices it pays to photographers for the use of their images.

* The company is seeking a better moose photo.

* The launch of service to Mexico gives Frontier an array of new options for animals that could appear on its jets.

Two animals, same tail

When Frontier was smaller, the company wanted to make its fleet appear larger. To that end, its older Boeing jets feature a different animal on each side of the tail, but the newer Airbus planes have only one image.

Boeing 737-300 jet number.....Animal images on the tail

303 Ferruginous hawk / Grizzly bear cub

304 Gray wolf/Moose

305 Lynx*

306 Brown pelican/Snowshoe hare

307 Dolphins*

310 Eagles*

311 Fawns*

312 Bighorn sheep*

313 Bears*

317 Bison*

* Different images of the same type of animal.

Airbus A318 plane number..Animal name..Type of animal

801 Grizwald Grizzly bear

802 Montana Elk

803 Jack Rabbit

804 Mo and Jo Twin red fox pups

805 - Great gray owl

806 - American bison

Airbus A319 plane number...Animal name...Type of animal

901 Wally Gray wolf

902 Woody Wood duck

903 Ozzy Orca

904 Grace Trumpeter swan

905 Sherman Seal

906 - Pronghorn

907 Mel Mule deer

908 Holly Great blue heron

909 Lucy Canada goose

910 Sal Cougar

912 Trixie Red fox pup

913 Hamilton Hummingbird

914 - Great egret

915 - Wild horse

916 O'Malley Mallard

917 Doc Snowy owl

918 Jake White-tailed deer

919 - Ocelot

920 Carl Coyote

921 Fritz Mountain goat

922 Foxy Red fox

923 - Raccoon

924 Klondike Polar and Snow bear cubs

925 - Dall's sheep

926 - Black-tailed deer fawn

927 Flip Bottle-nosed dolphin

928 - Bobcat

929 Larry Lynx

INFOBOX 2

Creative teams

Outside firms and some of the people involved in Frontier's branding campaign:

Ericsson Fina, New York (formerly Sticky Grey)

* Shawn Couzens, associate creative director, writer

* Gary Ennis, associate creative director, art director

* Shannon Turner, account manager

* Graham Button, group creative director

Sterling-Rice Group, Boulder

* Buddy Ketchner, managing partner

Genesis, Boulder

* Jim Adler, founder and principal

INFOBOX 3

Bringing life to the brand

From Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta to the ordinary traveler, Frontier's "A whole different animal" campaign has struck a chord with the public. Although it's hard to make a direct connection, since the talking animal campaign was unveiled in May last year, more people are flying the Denver-based airline.

HOW THE IMAGE IS APPLIED

* Images are printed on adhesive-backed vinyl that is similar

to contact paper.

* The image is tiled in 18 to 20 34-inch-by-96-inch panels

with 2 inches of overlap. They are applied starting at the rear

base of the tail, moving toward the leading edge of the tail.

* After all the tiles have been applied, the tail is covered with two coats of clear coat to seal the image and prevent corrosion.

* Any panel that gets damaged may be replaced individually.

* The panels are printed in Denver and applied in Hamburg, Germany.

Frontier Airlines' load factors

Load factor is the percentage of seats filled

Comments

  • May 13, 2008

    11:20 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    jetstu writes:

    Its nice to see a nice article about Frontier Airlines. It is a young airline that is truly a whole different animal. SWA has invaded denver after years of saying they will never return. They are out to destroy our precious animals. Don't believe they are the "luv" airline, they are after greed. Yes companies are out there to make a profit, but SWA prides itself out of making others loose their job and a company that is their career. People of Colorado and all over, think about that next time you choose a carrier.

  • May 14, 2008

    10:15 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    RockyDenny writes:

    It's not JUST the competetive fares offered by Frontier, but the exceptional customer service, a la carte offerings, like DirecTV, ease of booking flights, and seat assignments that set Frontier apart from other so-called "low cost carriers". While I would not bash Southwest airlines, they do not offer the same service offerings that Frontier does in addition to their "cattle call" seating arrangements. I haven't flown JetBlue, due to the fact that the same flight I can book on Frontier costs at least $300 to $500 more. Yes, SWA may have better finances, and they have been profitable over the years, but their service still doesn't match Frontier. I have never experienced an "overbooked" flight on Frontier Airlines. Frontier should expand service to cities recently vacated by airlines such as Skybus. It's too bad Frontier is not as well known east of the Rockies as is Southwest, JetBlue, and Airtran. I have flown SWA and Airtran, and my first choice is Frontier. Colorado has an airline to be very proud of!