Dear American Airlines

Dear American Airlines.

Where to begin? Our story is long, like many stories, with laughs, cries, action, suspense, excitement - the essential highs and lows, all ingredients were there

It begins in December of 1996 – my first flight! (I did fly before, at age 2, unfortunately my parents sedated me with a pacifier and a Winnie the Pooh coloring book, so my focus was not so much on the flight experience but more on getting as much color on the paper as possible without making it too obvious that I had no idea what the hell I was doing… Oh, well, art is so subjective!).  My mom and dad decided that for that Christmas we would join some friends on a vacation to the happiest place on earth: Disney World.  I remember every second of the long 8 hour GRU – MIA flight: the blanket and pillow, the special meal in a colorful box for kids that came with some puzzle on the lid, the nice smiling flight attendant. We got the middle seats in the 767, my parents sat at the end of the row and my younger sister and I stretched ourselves out across the entire row. Those were the days, God how I miss being under five feet. 

That was the first take off. Today, in 2012, after living for 11 years in the United Sates, flying American Airlines has become a natural choice in our family and work travel plans. My dad travels more than anyone I know - he is Executive Platinum Concierge Key.  My mother doesn’t fall too far behind with her platinum status. She loves booking flights. The challenges - and thrills - in securing the best deals, getting the upgrades, finding the best seats:  -Thais do you want 12D or 13C, they are both aisles but you may be able to get out sooner on the 12; how about exit row? I am not sure that the S80 reclines on the first exit row; OMG 7A just opened, do you want that? She would have been a great travel agent. And me?  I grew up in the world of the always-on-the-move family; we are the modern day nomads. I knew the tactics for getting into the admirals club, for finding the connections, and I could have an intelligent conversation on the differences between the old plane models and the newest ones. (Yes, I do believe the lighting on the ceiling has changed...)

I moved to Washington D.C. for college and ended up staying after graduation for a job. My parents remain in Phoenix and most of the rest of my family is in Brazil.  Given my new location in the country, unfortunately, I have to admit, AmericanAirlines is not the first option for the convenience of my travel needs. It would have been much easier to simply switch to US Airways – direct flights to Phoenix and Sao Paulo - hard to say no.  However, I go a long way back with AA, and like any long lasting marriage you don’t simply turn your back when things get hard, you work through the problem, right?. For years I have been taking your flights with at least one connection. I justified it anyway I could: Well, I do have so many miles; it’s nice to stick to one airline; I don’t like long flights anyway; it’s better to have the layover to stretch your legs, the Dallas airport is great!

Nevertheless, I stayed loyal, although the routes were difficult and traveling coach became something similar to a navy boot camp survival test! (By the way: the 5 degree recline…  definitely feels like 0.5 degree, after 10 minutes..). We were a team and when time came to get my first credit card, guees what? I went for the one that could add to our long lasting relationship: Citibank Visa American Airlines AAdvantage card. 

So, here I am, almost 17 years later, writing you this letter (this is where the low, or as the authors would like to call it, the falling action, of our story comes in). I don’t need to convince you that I know your company and the airline industry, as a customer. Through half of September alone, I have already flown six times, five of which have been with American. Out of the five flights only one left on time and without any big surprises. This past weekend (09/14 – 09/16) I was in Chicago. The outbound flight was 40 minutes late, so far nothing to give someone too big of a headache. The return, however, was a nightmare. I was assigned seat 19A. I got offered to purchase the upgrade at kiosk but I didn’t think I was going to need it for such a short flight. Mistake. When I found out that my flight was over two hours delayed I checked with the counter to see if I could still purchase it. They told me tough luck you are going to have to go to a rebooking center and try to deal with the machine, apparently the touch screen inanimate object is more capable of doing something for a customer than the 5 people having their chit-chat party at the gate. The machine was down and didn’t find my reservation. I went back to my AA friends and told them what happened. Tough luck again, can’t do anything, please now go enjoy your 12 dollar meal voucher we gave you at midnight to compensate for the troubles we are causing you after you spent over 300 dollars on this roundtrip ticket. With limited options for my midnight snack I went with buying 5 packets of Starbucks nuts - the rest of the plane preferred McDonalds. I was about to enter a plane with angry hamburger eating passengers armed with their french fries and greasy fingers. The smell when you entered was wonderful, something you only get when you are at a football game or in a public ball pit or play pen. One AM hit the clock, and we finally start boarding the 9:50 PM flight. At this time I was supposed to be in bed.  I located my sardine-canned seat. All I want at this point is to figure out how my head should go in my hands so that I can successfully pass out. Another 45 minutes go by… nothing.  But, hey, let’s save energy, shall we?  Why don’t we see what happens to overly tired passengers when they have no air conditioning for more than 30 minutes? That would be fun! I got into DCA at 4 AM and was a zombie at work the next day. 

I will give you a free pass on that one, flight drama is a part of the traveler’s life, and although the situation was frustrating, I am sure there was a real good reason for that to happen, maybe it was weather, maybe it was the pilot getting sick, maybe it was a sick psychology experiment for a world changing study… who knows? 

So here I am onto flight number six of the month. Finally on my connecting flight from Dallas to Phoenix, in my mile purchased first class seat (not too shabby huh?) I will keep it short: It’s almost 3 AM, I am still on my journey home and I am loosing steam.  The first flight to Dallas, delayed by 30 minutes. The second flight to Phoenix, delayed by 2 hours. Wait, it gets better. We were on the tarmac ready to go and had to come back for “maintenance problems with the air conditioning”.  Surprise, surprise.  

And now is my wondering: Should I say farewell to the years that you brought me happiness by diligently taking me from point A to B? To top customer service, and quality travel standards?. To good fares, and flexible schedules? To my wallet, my miles, my understanding nature, and my lifetime commitment to your airline? Should humankind lose faith and assume all good things come an end?

This time, I will not take the chance (or I will give someone else a chance): I am flying back to Washington on US Airways on Sunday.

Please work hard not to lose all above. It would be sad to see you adding to your tickets: departure time: subject to change, with an element of surprise. New slogan: American Airlines: Patience is a virtue, and guessing is only half the fun of traveling with us.

At least there are still two things you continue to do right: the cookies and mints: they are superb.  Keep up with the good work!

The Social Media Boom

2010 was all about maximizing conversation. Company blogs, facebook pages, twitter accounts, brands focused on the expansion of their digital presence. Today, in 2011 the chatter is loud; new players, new technologies, and most importantly an expected yet demanding audience, Although there are exponentially more avenues to reach the consumer, the opportunity to influence still has many obstacles. Communication has been maximized, but on a peer – to – peer level.

Users have more trust on other unknown users than institutions. The overstimulation of advertising messages has created skepticism in brands’ intentions. The question is how can companies participate in the conversation and still be able to subtly influence opinions and purchase intent. 

Communication

Communication is innate. Communication is spoken words. It is body language. Communication is deliberate, manipulative. It is honest. Communication is interaction. It is observation. Communication is history, present. It is future. It is timeless.
 
What changes is how we use it.

While growing up, the infamous question: “what do you want to do be you grow up?” always had an easy answer – “I want to be an inventor”. I wanted to imprint the world with my made – up realities; building castles in the middle of wastelands, creating vacation resorts on Mars. I was to become the “Gyro Gearloose” of the 21st century (with small differences of course; like, I am not a fictional chicken and my inventions would actually work). Later in life, my childhood naïveté steered me into finding my career path. However, in the adult world inventors have a different name – they are art directors, they are account managers, they are planners, and they are copywriters. Although each of these experts may hold different responsibilities inside the realm of marketing communication, the essence of their “inventions” is rooted in their ability to uncover the solutions for complex problems.

To me to working for this industry is to understand that external inaction does not allows connote internal satisfaction. To assume that a pursuit for lower cognitive dissonance is the sole determinant of social dynamics is to undermine the potential for human creation. In this arena communication is king. Advertising aids creation by turning revolt action into common thought. In my opinion, marketing communication strives to infiltrate society with messages that already exist, are able to cause commotion, but are unseen; strategy at its finest.

However, in the summer of 2008, I learned that in order to communicate the intended messages, you must first understand the cultural context in which they are received. I had spent my summer that year in São Paulo, Brazil, interning at the below-the-line advertising agency, New Style. There, I was able to attend the Gillette Latin American brainstorming initiative. Throughout the two-day conference we were to develop a new marketing strategy for a cost – friendly razor. While our cultural diversity and language barriers challenged our creativity, they also became key components of our communication strategy. Each country had different ways of responding to certain advertising tactics; for example, the sex appeal of a smooth shave could at the same time sell to an Argentinean and offend a Chilean. Although, globalization has augmented our shared reality, a successful marketer is able to pick up on the intricate differences among our interactions. In this setting, I strive to expand my spectra of opinion and become one of the best professionals in the field.

Today, being multicultural goes beyond ethnic requirements. With technology enabling us to interact with one another beyond time and space constraints, the individual is not only multicultural – he/she is multi-dimensional. Having access to different perspectives, considerations, and opinions has given birth to motley personalities that seek individuality and new forms of expression. The most successful professionals are those who understand that six degrees of separation has become “six clicks” of separation. The role of marketing communication is changing, and it is exciting. Communication strategies must be as multi – faceted and impermanent as its modern consumer. I am attracted to the field of marketing communication because of this necessary and constant evolution.

As we embark the experience economy, marketing strategies will once again face a transformation and I want to be a part of it all. What attracts me to this field is the challenge of understanding not only the business of marketing, but also a client’s culture (which may be far different from your own), and the details of a fast – paced, ever- evolving, and ever-changing society, and still being able to bring it all together in a way never seen before. To be an inventor, to be a marketer, you have to wear many hats, explore many fields. It is this dynamic environment that I want to be a part of.

Today, I see the passionate, dedicated, and motivated woman I have become and I remind myself that the person I embody is the product of intercultural experiences. My inner-child’s eagerness to discover, in combination with my diverse background, have allowed me to witness first hand the importance of seeing through all sets of eyes. As I enter the world of marketing communication I will not just build resorts on mars – I will also find the roads that can get you to them.

The new age water - cooler

The traditional water-cooler has been drained out by an overly demanding and news-thirsty society. Whereas once prime time news prioritized the viewer's awareness and set the agenda for top of mind conversation, today "prime time" is relative to not only time zones but also social networks. With the introduction of social media, society has blended geographic barriers and freed itself from the dictating hands of time. One can voice his/her passions to anyone and be an active participant in the groups and communities that he/she chooses to become a part of. Instant accessibility to news and varied opinions has sped up the pace and changed the dynamic of global politics. The good old newspaper that once reached one's doorsteps in the morning is now virtually transmitted to smartphones within seconds of a new edition's release, and with a couple more seconds you can get the opinions of bloggers, journalists, and political figures. The instantaneity and accessibility of information challenges opinion leaders to devise stronger communication strategies to battle out multiple sources of negative criticism. Today, the water-cooler is timeless, formless. However, the freedom granted by selective media consumption may also be costing us the price of a less informed and united society. Due to an overwhelming amount of information, we choose to stay within our preferred networks, turning away from what we define as irrelevant material. Although social media has in a sense brought us closer in many ways it also making us farther apart. The water-cooler is dead.

 

Beinggirl.com

Procter and Gamble touches the lives of people around the world three billion times a day. With presence in over 80 countries worldwide, P&G capitalizes on its ability to screen different environments for new trends and on its prompt response to consumer needs via innovative outlets. The company understands not only the pressures of the fast paced of 21^st century marketplace, but also the implications of an overly stimulated consumer market. Access to new media outlets has allowed brands to intensify its communication efforts. However, the heightened availability of information has shortened one’s ability to capture all messages that are received; in an effort to avoid processing overload, the consumer has become highly selective. Competition is no longer about who has the best offerings, but rather who has the best relationships with its clients.  In this setting, P&G is a winner.

Through a strong public relations strategy, P&G brands win space in the audience’s limited attention spam and are able to drive awareness to their message. P&G’s wide product portfolio presents a wide set of challenges in different categories and markets. From its experience, the company’s PR has been able to dissect the effectiveness of different media outlets to construe the appropriate communication mix that define its campaign’s success. 

One of the best examples of the use of its art is P&G’s BeingGirl.com microsite. Launched in July of 2000, by P&G’s Tampax and Always, the virtual forum was introduced as part of an effort to gain consumer loyalty within the young adult market segment. As the two feminine product category leaders, the brands had already build brand equity within the adult market. In order to expand its presence in the marketplace, there was a need to infiltrate its youngest consumer’s lives. What Tampax and Always understood is that they provide essential products that are reliant on word-of-mouth influence.  With this in mind, the campaign’s goal was to become a trusted resource for first – time buyers who need guidance in selecting products.

But the focus of the website does not revolve on promoting the products, it is much more than that. The site is cutting –edge. The 10-year success of the campaign is due to its ability to interact with the consumer on a personal level and develop a trusted relationship. P&G understands that the last thing that 12 year-old girls want to talk about is tampons, so lets not talk about it. Instead the PR strategy focused on developing a website community that addressed the conflicts and hardships of growing up. BeingGirl.com worked closely with a teenage advisory board to provide its audience with not only information about its products, but also to have available downloads, games, and other interactive features such as “Ask Iris” (an advice section that receives more than 3000 questions each week). Access to advice from health experts and teens alike create an environment that encourages participation and a desire to return. The website cradles the young consumer’s needs. In an adult dominated world, the preteen feels voiced and, most importantly, the preteen feels heard.

This digital campaign is not just another avenue to gain exposure and hike up the number of impressions. It is a platform to express brand personality and benefit from a two –way communication model. P&G must continue to listen to its consumers and accommodate their strategies accordingly. In fact, in 2000, assessing effectiveness of the site at the early stages of implementation saved it from being a “one- click” wonder. The website was filled with dry facts about puberty. After months of no traffic increase P&G came back to the white board. What they found is that their audience is not only concerned about growing up; it also likes music, fashion, boys, etc. They quickly partnered with Sony Music to bring free downloads to the website. In 2005 received the Best Online Community Award from the WebAward Competition.

Today, BeingGirl.com receives over 2million monthly visitors.  The website has expanded its presence internationally and has broadened its PR strategy to incorporate key partnerships with other organizations and brands. P&G was one of the first companies to capitalize on developing a strong consumer relationship. The best way to ensure a positive buzz is to take on an active role in generating that buzz.  Through BeingGirl.com, Tampax and Always, are ambassadors of their consumers’ lifestyles. Capturing the loyalty of the young consumer market translates into a lifetime “friendship”.

The Dove for Real Beauty Campaign

As part of a demanding, highly competitive, and more often than not pretentious industry, the Unilever brand, Dove, sets itself apart by endorsing the “real woman” as its ambassador. Dove has streamed away from the tarnished old tactic of selling beauty products by augmenting the consumer’s desire to reach an unreachable beauty. Instead, the brand has become an advocate for a revolution in the industry’s public relations efforts highlighting the flaws of the current communication model and giving light to the negative impact that it has had on society. Finally here is a brand that not only knows its consumer, but is also listening to them.

In 2006 Unilever launched its Dove Campaign for Real Beauty. An effort to promote Dove’s Self – Esteem fund (a global project consisting of a network of initiatives that help foster self-esteem by providing educational programs to young women), Dove’s integrated marketing strategy revolved around one goal: redefining beauty. Instead of a traditional focus on sales, the new message focused on strengthening its consumer relationship by listening to their frustrations and voicing the call for new, and most importantly real, representation of “beauty” in the marketplace.

The campaign used different communication channels to reach a wide variety of consumers. Print advertising and television for a more passive audience, relying on creative and visuals to draw in attention to the message, versus microsites and brochures, with more in-depth information, for active audiences who may have already had a knowledge base. The most noted and successful effort of the campaign was launched on YouTube in October of 2006. Dove’s “Evolution” video was produced by Oglivy & Mather in Toronto, Canada. The 75 – second spot opens with a fairly average looking woman coming into the studio and sitting down in front of the camera. Two harsh lights are flipped on and the time-lapse sequence begins. Intense music dives the viewer deeper into the emotional appeal. Make up artists, multiple hairdressers, photographers, all working for the transformation. Once the physical adjustments are done, photoshopping fixes the remaining “imperfections”. Through added vectors and pixels, the woman’s neck is elongated; her eye color is changed; and her eyebrows are raised. The product is a strikingly beautiful billboard poster. The video closes with the following quote: “No wonder our perception of beauty is distorted”.

The original message turned its volume up through the viral success of this speechless video.  Dove’s biggest challenge was to derive a message that could be heard, understood, and retained by all women. While other materials for Dove’s Real Beauty spotlighted the everyday woman, “Evolution” flipped the camera inward and showed the viewer a powerful and intense production system that is able to fabricate and deceive. The lack of dialogue allowed the audience to focus on the visual evidence and not be influenced by outside noise such as the credibility of the speaker, and his/her relevance to the subject.

As a result, traffic to the campaign’s micro site increased, suggesting that the video was able to instigate interest among passive viewers. In February of 2006, the Real Beauty Super Bowl commercial resulted in almost 500 million impressions. Eight months later, Dove’s “Evolution” generated more than 1.5 million views in less than a month.  The most remarkable aspect of the video is that whereas the Super Bowl spot cost $2.5 million, the upload of “Evolution” to YouTube was free. The buzz echoed throughout the blogosphere and was quickly picked up by mainstream media channels such as CNN and the Ellen show.

The beauty industry is infamous for distorting the perception of natural beauty. Since the start of marketing and advertising, experts in the field use overworked pictures of god-like celebrities to endorse its products. The negative effect of such campaigns is not unknown to the public. Many organizations have lobbied against the use of communication tactics that promote an unrealistic view of beauty. However, Dove is the first insider to fight against the nature of its own kind through a message that is consistent, memorable, and believable.

Senior Speech 2006

Just read through my senior speech. 

My little seventeen year -old self definitely had some good things to say to my twenty- year old hectic brain... 

Senior Speech

Thais Moraes

             Monday 6:00 a.m. The far off sound of music slowly awakens my conscious mind. The song is just loud enough so that my brain is set of from sleep and immediately demands my fingers to hold the protruding object and terminate the noise that so rudely pulled me away from my quiet place of slumber. 6:15 mom on the intercom- “Thais wake up its six fifteen ". No response. 6:20 "Thais wake up its already 6:20 ". My response – god mom I am up already you don't need to tell me. Lies. 6:30 Thais are you still not up ITS 630.  Maybe I should get up . 635 – shower 640 finally thinking about something to wear. 645 my sister Laura walks into my room, perfectly straightened hair hardcore nail polish on and why not some eyeliner. Me? Colored socks. No make up. Wiggles shirt. And yet I am older than she is. But though she is my sister, there are many things that Laura and I will never share. Perhaps because I was older and my identity was considerably more well-formed than hers when we left Brazil, I have never been able to fully adjust to the Arizona mindset. But Laura has, and I will never be able to entirely understand it.

            There are certain things about Arizonans in general that I will never understand. And it is not until you get out of Arizona that you truly see your Arizona mindset at work. For example,  Daylight savings. Growing up in Brazil daylight savings was something common. No one ever put much thought into it.  I mean why would anyone want to argue it anyway ? you get one hour extra in your day to sleep or do whatever.  its just how it works. twice a year you change your clock to either one hour early or one hour late. In Arizona however, the state takes pride in the fact that its one of the few places in the country that doesn't want to change the clock.   Another example: Have you ever noticed that just after a few drops of rain have hit the floor there is always someone that proudly screams: OMG its raining. The rain doesn't last more then a few minutes but it seems like Arizonans feel a need to tell everyone that it is raining. But I suppose I can't say that I haven't been influenced by this bizarre mindset myself. Since I moved to Arizona, whenever I hear non Arizonans saying cactuses I get truly offended .  Excuse me its cacti.   

            I moved to Arizona when I was 11 years old. When I tell people that I am from Brazil but that I live in Arizona ,  the comment that I hear the most is why Arizona? Why would you move from another country to live in Arizona? Well its not like I picked where I wanted to live. The parents were pretty much like yo we are moving and I was like ya thats cool. My life has been as unexpected as can be. I have attended 8 different schools, in 3 different cities, and 2 different countries. I’ve learned that you cant predict what your future is going to be like. My personal plan was to grow up in the third largest city in the world, Sao Paulo; instead I live in the desert. I thought that the live urban noise of the city was to be forever replaced by the hush quiet sound of the sand dunes; I was wrong. My life cannot and will not ever be "calm" and "hush." I do not embody poise and self-control nor I do I really want to. My life is fun, volatile, one might say a bit disorganized, but that's ok.  The way I have learned to live is to let life happen. After all it’s like John Lennon said, "Life is what happens to you while you are busy making other plans." Everyday I have no set plans or expectations for how my day is going to evolve. Of course the plan of not stressing out and going with the flow ALMOST always back fires but I wouldn't have it any other way. At the end of the day more often than not things turn out to be ok, which is all anyone can really ask for. So stop worrying.

Worrying about things too much is, in my opinion, a huge waste of time. If a tree falls in the forest and no one is there to hear it, does it makes a sound? If a person gives a senior speech and no one brings him balloons, does that mean he has no friends? When the teachers approached the senior class earlier this year about this vexing balloon paradox, all that I could think of was that if no one brought you any balloons, it would probably be for a reason, and it’s not as though you would be just figuring out on the day of your senior speech that all of your long-lasting friendships had in fact been FAKE. So, as you can see, my friendships, clearly NOT fake.

You might be wondering – Thais where are you going with this? Well, my life is about doing the unexpected. It sounds cliché, but I have found more meaning in the unplanned, unexpected encounters and experiences that make up my days than in most of the standard, milestone events that are supposed to be the most meaningful. The meaningless, random moments are what shape my days and make me who I am. And the best thing is: you never know when they're going to happen.

During one of my lunch frees in October, Greer, Dania and I decided to go to La Grande Orange for lunch.  As many of you might know, LGO has meaningless merchandize attacking you from every corner. I am naturally attracted to vibrant colors and toys thusly LGO is one of my favorite places to just chill and look through all the stuff they don't sell. For example they have a coloring book for $20 that has a page instructing kids to "draw an invisible man" well duh if it's invisible how you are supposed to draw it. But this particular day I found fake mustaches. With each individual mustache looking sexier than the other, it was an immediate sale. We were going to wear them all day. Nothing looks hotter than senior girls with mustaches, as we clearly demonstrated. Sorry Mr. Martin

My personal appearance is often another area where I proudly live out my motto, "Expect the unexpected." A typical day in the life of Thais would involve dressing in the dark, arriving at the PCDS parking lot, and then immediately regretting the decision to put the tuna fish trench coat with the three color motley shoes. However, it is my personal belief that one should never admit that his or her outfit might be slightly mismatched. Simply embrace the awkwardness of your comportment and then when people tell you, with a slightly sarcastic tone, wow only you could pull off wearing those candy corn leggings the only thing you have to tell yourself is ÿes be jealous world be jealous. But all of this practice having people give me weird looks and ask if I lost a bet, or if my outfit was a dare has taught me a lot about how not to let other people's uninformed, narrow-minded opinions affect me.

I could just show up at school everyday wearing a popped color polo, jeans and rainbows. And although that is in fact the case for some days, My personality is such that I never mind being open for new things. If you don't voluntarily take chances in life whether it would be something as small as an outfit or going to a new restaurant for dinner, what will you do when you are forced to take a chance, with a new job opportunity or which college you will attend next year? In the words of the very good looking Leonardo deCaprio in the movie Titanic, : " I figure life's a gift and I don't intend on wasting  it. You don't know what hand you're gonna get dealt next. You learn to take life as it comes at you, to make each day count."

             PCDS teaches us that we need to drive ourselves in order to achieve a goal. While I agree with that completly, I also believe that part of achieving a goal is the drive along the way. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is the one concept I would have you take away from my speech. What we need to realize is that our lives are happening right now as I speak. Sure, in our college resumes we will list the schools we attended and the jobs we have had but really, but what truly shapes us are all of the random, unique, priceless moments and experiences that happen to you along the way. I am the product of my tuna fish trench coat, my candy corn leggings, my part-time job at Weather and Coffee and my alternate employment experiences at the Phoenix Zoo, and bazillion, katrillion other things that are mine alone and cannot be claimed by anyone else on this earth.

So my fellow classmates, as you prepare to enter exam mode, remember: In a week first semester will be over, and you will have five more months of your high-school career to live anyway you want. I am not saying that all of sudden you need reinvent yourself into the social butterfly you never knew you could be, or that this is the time to abandon all responsibilities and live only for today. What I am telling you to do is to take advantage of today and every random, unique, bizarre, awkward and unexpected moment it has to offer. Thank you.