The four P's — people, product, price and promotion — are often cited as the keys to a successful business. Yet this list omits a vital ingredient that has characterised Virgin companies throughout our 40 years: Fun, with a capital F!

When we started Virgin Atlantic in 1984, we had some great people and lots of good ideas about how to do things differently .

Sadly, we did not have a lot of money to take it to the streets. Compared to the giant establishment players of the time — TWA, Pan-Am and British Airways — we had a tiny fleet, if one plane qualifies as a fleet, and a minuscule advertising budget. We could not do much about the single plane — leased from a generous man at Boeing.

Meagre means

We had to make the most of our meagre marketing money. At the urging of the late Sir Freddie Laker, who made an art form of grabbing the limelight for his airline, I quickly became a willing victim in all kinds of wild and crazy adventures to promote the fledgling Virgin Atlantic.

You couldn't buy a quarter-page ad on the front of The New York Times, but when my sinking boat or crashing balloon just happened to feature the distinctive Virgin logo, there we were!

We also started to run some funny, pretty direct and usually highly topical advertisements to grab the public's attention.

Such "in your face" ads were largely unknown in the stodgy world of airlines, so our approach quickly gained us notoriety, press coverage and, above all, visibility.

The humour stood out against our moribund competitors, and soon Virgin Atlantic itself — not just the ads — became synonymous with a cheeky and upstart personality and, more importantly, a fresh, different approach to commercial aviation.

Marketing teams in London and New York frequently reacted quickly to the day's news and, within 24 hours, placed tactical-response advertisements in key markets.

The day after John Sununu, then White House chief of staff, was castigated for using public money for a limousine for his personal trips, Virgin ran a one-off ad saying if only he had booked Virgin Atlantic, he would have gotten the limo for free!

When Gen Manuel Noriega, the former leader of Panama, was extradited to Miami for trial, we ran a big picture of him, with the caption, "Only one person has flown to Miami cheaper than on Virgin Atlantic!" Sometimes the ads were close to the bone, especially when tweaking the tail of our favourite adversaries, like British Airways.

Always, they were irreverent and cheeky. The ads gave the airline a real personality in its early years, which was a key to its success and growth.

Our staff also liked the humour, and the sense of fun.

They felt proud to be associated with a company that made people smile and that was seen as a good place to work. We made sure the same spirit ran through everything we did; it was not confined to the cute advertisements.

It was crucial that we created an enjoyable atmosphere for crew and passengers alike, at 30,000 feet.

Little touches signified you were on a Virgin flight. Underneath the salt and pepper shakers, modelled on mini-airplanes, we stamped "Pinched from Virgin Atlantic." The butter knife was engraved with the words "stainless steal."

We put a bar in the upper class cabin so people could chat and socialise — after all, travelling should be fun!

To entertain our passengers, we served ice cream in the middle of the flights.

We did everything we could to lighten the mood and the experience. Twenty-five years later, the airline retains that same sense of fun and the ability to surprise and make people smile.

Splash

When British Airways sponsored London's Millennium Wheel in the late '90s, they planned to make a big splash for the official opening.

On the day the wheel was to be raised, the engineers had great trouble lifting it. We jumped at the chance to cause a stir.

We scrambled a small airship to drag a banner across London's skyline emblazoned with "BA can't get it up." It was cheeky, all right, and we grabbed the headlines that night.

This sense of humour and risk-taking has infused many of our other businesses.

Try taking yourself and your business less seriously. You may be surprised that many others will take you more seriously.

 

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