Meeting Consumer Needs Through Digital Media

I’ll have a quilty post for you tomorrow, but tonight we are going to do another homework assignment from marketing class. Today I’m going to evaluate how the Tampa International Airport is meeting consumer needs through digital media, based on one specific incident. Have you seen the story about the tiger who got loose at the Tampa International Airport back in 2015? He hung out with firefighters, baggage handlers, and even got some gelato! Check it out here. 

A little boy left his stuffed tiger in an airport play area, and an operations manager turned it into social media marketing gold. He did a Flat Stanley style adventure, complete with photos and a storyline, and made a book to be picked up with the tiger when the family returned. The social media team picked up the story and ran with it. (Shorty Awards).

As a social media marketing tool, I think this was brilliant. It doesn’t seem like it was originally anything other than a whimsical airport employee having a good time on his lunch break. The social media team did a great job incorporating it into their usual feed, and it went viral on news channels around the world. 

The story was shared on Facebook and Twitter. As of today the post on Facebook has had a tremendous amount of interaction – with 38,000 likes, 2,700 comments and 16,000 shares. It seems to have been very well handled. The airport is responding to comments positively, and there are an overwhelming number of positive comments about the Tampa airport. (Facebook profile)l

I believe the target audience here is airline travelers. We are so accustomed to being treated like cattle during airline travel, that it is a delightful surprise to know that there can be kindness in airport employees. Airline travel is so complicated and so much of it feels so hard – long lines, invasive searches, and endless delays with no explanations. Showing up at the airport and thinking of a happy story like this one could put a whole different spin on a traveler’s experience. 

The Tampa International Airport does a bunch of things to make the travel experience more positive, and their share it on their active Facebook feed. They have daily posts with photos and videos showing off interesting things. They have an art program at the airport with sculpture and musicians that is fascinating. They are also running a contest to be the voice on the airport shuttle. (Tampa Airport Homepage).

The website is very easy to navigate, with both functional and entertainment information. They also have two apps – one useful one to check flight arrivals and departures. The other app is specifically for communicating with the airport police. This feels like the height of inefficiency – I would love to hear the justification for this app development. In a “communicate with the police” situation, I’m not searching for an app.

Overall, I do find it interesting that the airport spends so much energy marketing itself. It feels like an airport is not the driver of my decision to travel. Of course, I use Newark Airport, and their attitude seems to be that I should be grateful to be alive and zip my lip otherwise. Of course, they would use more swearwords to say it. 

Silly Addendum

Oscar and I had a similar adventure, but not quite as colorful on our way back to New Jersey back in March. Frank The Opossum was left behind in a hotel room. I called the hotel the next day, and the front desk clerk confirmed that Frank was in the lost and found.Confirmation was easy, because I have stitched “Frank” on one of the feet. Because who doesn’t give their dog toys names, and then label them? Unfortunately, housekeeping had labeled it as “dog toy rat”. We were all appalled, especially Oscar. 

The hotel clerk took Frank over to the local shipping place, and I had to call to arrange delivery. I jokingly asked the shipping person if he had my opossum, and when he confirmed I asked if it was his first time shipping an opossum. Oddly, he had shipped a taxidermy opossum earlier in the week. Florida is an odd place. 

Oscar was delighted to get his Frank back. 

Thanks for reading! Now I kind of wish our condo was closer to Tampa, so I could check out the airport the next time we visit. 

References: 

Tale of tiger’s big adventure highlights airport’s commitment to customer service – the shorty awards. The Shorty Awards – Honoring the best of social media. (n.d.). https://shortyawards.com/8th/boy-leaves-stuffed-tiger-at-tpa-returns-to-a-tale-of-tigers-big-adventure-see-more-at-httpww Accessed 28 May 2023.

Homepage. Homepage | Tampa International Airport. (n.d.-a). https://www.tampaairport.com/ Accessed 28 May 2023. 

Profile. Fly Tampa International Airport. https://www.facebook.com/FlyTPA Accessed 28 May 2023