Not even after 9/11. Something is happening that’s historically not happened before at this scale. The airline industry right now has very much a moment. Most people are encouraged not to travel right now, so what are airlines doing about it? Well, what they’re doing is sending out a ton of emails talking about how they’re following protocol. “We’re following protocol.” Good for you. They’re saying they’re following the rules that they were always supposed to be following. Does that set the bar any higher? You’re missing a key moment.
Hey, everyone. This is Shama Hyder, CEO of Zen Media. Let’s talk about moments and what makes them so awesome as drivers of momentum and great drivers for business outcomes and marketing. A moment traditionally is a key inflection point in a brand’s history. It could be an external moment. It can be an internal moment. Some moments you might be very familiar with, they look like a new study or a research created by your group. It may look like new leadership, mergers and acquisitions, an event or conference perhaps that your team is putting on. It’s essentially something that internally would feel like a memo or something that you feel is of note. But a really good moment is one that can drive your business forward and create that viral success that all brands are so hungry for. And this just happens to be your specialty.
So let’s look at what a good moment really consists of. Well, it’s meaningful, unique, and a driver. Meaning, it’s a business driver. Let’s go over that again, it’s meaningful, it’s unique and it’s a driver. It drives key business outcomes. Now, what I mean by this is, is it meaningful? Is it something that feels relevant to what’s happening right now? Two, is it unique? Is it something that you feel like you can really make that claim that not everybody out there can say? And driver. If it was used in the right way, if it was amplified correctly, could it lead to a massive brand awareness? Would it be exciting? Do you want your prospects to know about it because, “Hey, that’s pretty cool”?
That’s how you know you have an awesome moment on your hands, and sometimes it looks like something happening externally. An industry trend, so let’s look at examples of moments right now and of two companies and two industries that are doing this very differently. Let’s take the broader moment that COVID-19 is providing so many industries. Specifically, let’s look at the airline industry, shall we? The airline industry right now has very much a moment. Something is happening that’s historically not happened before at this scale, not even after 9/11. So this is a very unprecedented time for airlines. Most people are encouraged not to travel right now. That’s a big hit, so what are airlines doing about it? Well, what they’re doing is sending out a ton of emails talking about how they’re following protocol and how clean their fleet is.
Now, let’s examine this. When they’re sending these emails out, good, their fleets are clean. But here’s the problem with that, it’s not really unique. They’re saying they’re following the rules that they were always supposed to be following. Does that set the bar any higher? Is it meaningful? Sure, it’s relevant. It’s not particularly meaningful at this point though, because most people aren’t flying and it doesn’t help someone feel that much better about flying with an airline that says, “We followed the rules. We keep things clean.” Now imagine if any one of the airlines was to say, “We’re taking this opportunity to now be the cleanest airline in the world.” Now that’s a promise. Here’s how we’re going above and beyond, that’s meaningful. That makes someone go, “Oh, okay. Well, boy, that is different.”
“We’re spacing out our seats so people don’t have to feel so congested. We’re doing steps one through five going beyond what’s asked of us to be the cleanest, safest airline in the air.” That is powerful. That would be unique. Absolutely. Every single airline is saying the same thing right now in different words, “We’re following protocol.” Good for you. You’re missing a key moment. D, is it a business driver? Absolutely, and it’s a missed opportunity. I hate missed moments. It’s a huge miss moment because if done right, an airline that does things right now, when all this boils over, because eventually will, and hopefully, we as humanity will beat this virus, we will go back to some semblance of our normal lives and we will fly again. Who do you think we will choose when we start to fly? It’s the airlines that have really taken advantage of this moment to create the right kind of momentum. Huge missed opportunity.
Now, let’s look at another client in a crazy competitive industry right now that’s doing an amazing job. Yes, they happen to be a client of ours. OneDine does amazing guest-side innovative technology solutions for the restaurant industry. All right? So for those of you out there who picked up a newspaper, well, digitally, of course, or even looked outside your window, you know that the restaurant industry is hurting in a bad way. Of course, OneDine is affected by that. They’re deeply impacted because they work for these restaurants. These restaurants are very much their clients. And so, what did OneDine do? OneDine I looked at it and said, our technology allows a restaurant to turn their current capabilities, we can use what they have and enable them to offer curbside order pickup delivery within 24 hours. And let’s make it really meaningful. Let’s give away this technology at no cost to restaurants right now.
Do you think that’s meaningful in this time of crisis? Absolutely. They’ve had over 1,500 restaurants sign up. Do you think that’s a unique offer? Absolutely, it’s very unique. None of their other competitors are doing anything remotely close. Is it a business driver? You bet. With those 1,500 restaurants that have signed up, more signing up every single day, how many of them do you think will continue to want to keep that technology as they go into the future, because of this goodwill, because of this opportunity that they’ve had? History tells us a lot, so they’ve done an amazing job turning that moment into momentum that will drive business for them for years to come.
See, a moment while in the short term may look like lots of brand impressions and visibility and going viral and demand gen, in the very near future, in longer term, leveraging a moment like that can be dividends for a long time to come. It means you have the goodwill of the community, you have the respect of your industry, you are seen as a media darling. You are trusted and preferred over your competitors, and that is the power of a moment.
Hi there. This is Shama Hyder again. Thank you so much for watching my videos. I super appreciate it. Please share if you find this information valuable. Do comment, I love hearing from you, and be sure to subscribe. That way, you don’t miss a single thing.
