Airline Branding: A Case Study of Southwest Airlines
You’ve likely seen bold, blue Southwest planes jetting across the sky on their way to destinations near and far. The established airline has continued to stay aloft for more than 50 years, weathering industry storms and navigating the turbulence of a global pandemic, changing travel trends, and more. Through the years, they’ve developed an integrated approach to airline branding, effectively incorporating all five elements — brand strategy, identity, awareness, loyalty, and branded environments. Let’s look at how Southwest’s approach in these areas has contributed to the brand’s ongoing resilience.
Branding with Heart
In 2014, Southwest unveiled a new, bolder look. For years, desert gold, red, and orange had splashed across their planes, check-in counters, offices, and other corporate properties. When they rebranded, Bold Blue came on board, and their planes flew in even greater contrast to the many muted tones zooming around the friendly skies. But it wasn’t just color for the sake of color.
Before the unveiling, Director of Brand Communications Helen Limpitlaw explained that everything at Southwest tells a story and celebrates the uniqueness of the brand. So, the chosen colors also tell a story:
- Bold Blue represents Southwest’s spirit of adventure and ascent to new heights.
- Warm Red reflects the brand’s warrior spirit and ongoing dedication to customer service.
- Sunrise Yellow symbolizes a new start.
- Silver honors the business itself and its loyal customers.
The punctuation point at the end of the new logo was the heart — in those same bold colors, representing all Southwest stands for.
Southwest’s Hummingbird Effect in Airline Branding
The heart — an iconic symbol of love — had actually been introduced in a “heart with wings” logo back in 1991. To Southwest, it represented how much the company valued people, both employees and customers.
In 2014, the choice to give it a more prominent place in the airline branding was a small change that has made a big difference for the company. Small changes that create ripple effects across a brand are what we at Hummingbird call the Hummingbird Effect.
Image Credit: Southwest Airlines
Southwest Chairman and CEO Gary Kelly said about the change: “Given that Southwest has always prided itself on being an airline that wanted to show Heart in every single thing it did, it seemed appropriate to fly a fleet of planes that quite literally wore a Heart on its sleeve.”
What have been the ripples from Southwest’s Hummingbird Effect?
- Wider recognition of the airline as “the love airline.”
- More user generated content produced when customers share how Southwest has contributed to their love stories.
- The creation of a 50th anniversary website — “Southwest: 50 years. One Heart.” — curating stories, from acts of kindness to the company’s history.
- The 2022 “Go with Heart” campaign. Bill Tierney, Southwest’s Vice President of Customer Experience & Digital Experience said, “Go with Heart is inspired by what makes Southwest stand out from the competition – our outstanding employees, legendary customer service and flexible differentiators. We’re here to connect customers with what’s important to them by making travel easier with less anxiety.”
The company has effectively integrated the heart and all it stands for into its marketing. Even the newsroom is sharing the love with stories like, “Five Times Southwest was Literally the Love Airline.”
And the company continues its integrated approach to branding.
Brand Strategy
When we talk with our clients about brand strategy, we’re talking about positioning, identifying target markets, developing customer personas, and more. When Southwest Airlines launched in 1967, they had a clear strategy in mind. The company positioned itself as a low-cost airline that made flying affordable.
They also narrowed down their ideal customer. As a budget airline, they weren’t aiming for high-end travelers interested in luxurious experiences. Instead, they were targeting every-day flyers doing what they can to make their dollars stretch. Southwest identified the target market clearly and built the brand on a strategy to reach it.
Brand Identity
One of Southwest’s early taglines was “freedom to fly,” emphasizing affordable flights for everyday people. That’s part of brand identity, which is all about your company’s voice, story, and messaging. It also includes visual elements such as your logo and tagline.
Southwest’s rebranding in 2014 was an evolution of their brand, but they maintained their core identity — voice, story, and messaging — even while the visual aspects of the brand transformed. Today, they’re still setting themselves apart.
Brand Awareness
Southwest lifted off as a budget airline in 1967, offering initial flights only in Texas. Effective brand awareness helped attract the first paying customers in 1971.
The company has since expanded to national and international travel, and plenty of other budget airlines have taken flight to compete. But Southwest has continued to deliver value and keep a strong focus on customer experience.
If you check out their website and social media pages, you’ll find plenty of heartwarming stories showing just how many travelers are aware of what they have to offer.
Brand Loyalty
In 2020, Southwest won TripAdvisor’s Travelers’ Choice Award for Best Airline in North America. Its simple loyalty program has kept customers coming back. Brand loyalty grows when customers know, like, and trust you. And understanding what your customers appreciate most helps you build on the know-like-trust factor.
In April of 2024, Southwest launched a brand campaign called “The Big Flex,” highlighting the flexible, customer-friendly policies that differentiate them from the competition:
- 2 free bags
- No change or cancellation fees
- Non-expiring credits and points
The airline knows what its customers want and keeps doing everything possible to please them. In 2024, they announced a change in seating policy. When 80% of the company’s customers said they prefer assigned seating, the powers that be listened. They’re doing away with choose-your-own seating because brand loyal travelers asked them to. That’s keeping customers first and keeping loyalty a priority.
Branded Environments
When Southwest refreshed its brand with bolder colors and a more prominent heart, the company also recreated their branded environments to reflect the new image. On planes and in airports, offices, hangars, and other corporate spaces, the new look still conveys the essence of Southwest — internally and externally. When customers see the bold colors and iconic heart and when they interact with the Southwest team in those spaces, there’s no mistaking the brand behind it all.
With an integrated approach to airline branding, Southwest continues to navigate turbulence. In September, 2024, after a year of struggling with profitability, company leaders announced “Southwest. Even Better,” a three-year plan to build on the company’s unique model and make it even better going forward. For years, Southwest has capitalized on customer experience, and the goal is to keep building on that strength.
Interested in an integrated approach to branding your business? Reach out to Hummingbird Creative Group.