Xenophon Strategies

Virgin America

Getting Washington to Listen

Media relations strategy helped new entrant airline during certification process.

Project Highlights

• Media relations
• News management
• Media monitoring
• Issues management

Overview

Xenophon Strategies was the public relations agency of record for Virgin America during the new-entrant airline’s efforts seeking certification by the U.S. Department of Transportation. Virgin America is controlled and owned by U.S. investors but it is the Virgin brand, so closely associated with founder Sir Richard Branson, that is both an asset and a challenge to communications efforts for the new company.

By rolling out our news strategically, the airline would be positioned to enter the market with immediate impact followed by a period of sustained media coverage.

Foreign involvement in U.S. commercial aviation has long been a sensitive subject. We were challenged to help the airline develop a separate U.S. identity while investor outreach and the certification process moved forward. Because communications during the equity process are tightly regulated, we had to develop positive news in other areas of the airline’s development to sustain confidence in the company.

Strategy

Our strategy was aimed at creating positive news announcements throughout all stages of the airline’s development. By rolling out our news strategically, the airline would be positioned to enter the market with immediate impact followed by a period of sustained media coverage. This plan focused on two key objectives:

• Defining the airline in a positive way during the critical initial period when public opinion is first formed. We proposed doing this by driving the news with periodic announcements throughout the equity, application and review process. With an eye on supporting government relations efforts, it was our goal to make the application process and comments from opponents simply a paragraph in the story about the new Virgin carrier and not the headline.
• Reinforcing the U.S. corporate ownership and management in the media through the promotion of lead investors and members of the management team. By building such a profile, we were able to establish facts to combat rumor, and build the desired perception that the airline is U.S. owned and controlled. Further, we were able to quickly establish the new airline’s corporate communications staff, and not those based in the U.K., as the source of accurate and timely information for reporters.

Results

We were able to positively influence media coverage throughout the certification process and, through cooperative triage of news reports, we were able to correct stories that appeared with messages counter to our desired positioning of the company. We worked with the airline’s communications team to build relationships with our longtime media contacts, helping establish the airline’s own media presence and keep it moving forward. Our strategy was highly successful. Virgin America was granted preliminary approval by the U.S. Department of Transportation in March 2007, concluding Xenophon's three years of work for the airline.