• by Tanya Gazdik , 3 hours ago

Southwest is using evidence of consumers’ inability to disconnect — their accumulated phone notifications — to encourage them to disconnect by traveling.

“The airline’s new ‘Enter Airplane Mode’ campaign is built around the idea that constant emails, notifications, meetings, and packed schedules are contributing to burnout,” according to The Bulkhead Seat.  The campaign from GSD&M “was directed by Will Speck and Josh Gordon and is narrated by actor Adam Scott (whose association with the workplace-focused series ‘Severance’ gives the campaign’s escape-from-work theme an appropriate connection).”

One of the more unusual parts of the campaign is Notification Vacation. Rapid Rewards members can upload a screenshot showing notifications on their phone and receive Rapid Rewards points (subject to promotional limits) that can be  Southwest says more than 185 million points are available across Notification Vacation and a separate online Burnout Quiz.

It’s the first campaign for the airline under new CMO Sabrina Callahan, who joined the airline in April, according to Marketing Daily. 

"As the airline that democratized the skies, Southwest Airlines has always helped make the dream trip a reality and our new campaign, 'Enter Airplane Mode,' encourages customers to recognize when they're approaching a breaking point and to turn that moment into their booking point," said Callahan, senior vice president and chief digital and marketing officer, in a release. "With a customer extension called 'Notification Vacation' we are taking it one step further from simply encouraging you to take the trip to helping you bring it to fruition."

A Southwest-sponsored survey found that 76% of respondents said they were experiencing burnout, while 68% viewed taking a trip as one way to regain control of their time.