The target audience in the case of Tiger’s Big Adventure was initially that of a young boy and his family who had forgotten their stuffed tiger at the Tampa Airport. Before the story was posted to social media, the intention was to return the tiger to the family with a picture book of his adventures at the airport. The story and the photos were then posted to social media, garnering national and international attention. This expanded the target audience to be anyone with families who may be flying and anyone in the Florida area who could potentially use Tampa as their home airport.
The social and consumer experience was addressed in the way the missing tiger situation was handled. It would have been simple, and effective, enough to place the tiger in lost-and-found until the family made their way back to the airport on their journey home. However, an airport employee went above and beyond to put the anxieties of the child to rest by showcasing how much fun the tiger had while the family was away. This attention to consumer experience is what reached such a large audience on social media. The masses were astounded that someone would take their personal time and money to make such a special memory out of something that could have been a negative situation.
Digital media followers retweeted and shared the post on social media thousands of time, but the airport continued to keep the story personal and simple. Although the story received national (and international!) attention, they continued to let the airport employees who were involved and the family speak on the subject. The airport simply provided a platform on which the story could be shared. The simplicity of the publicity kept the story as a charming, sweet scenario instead of a garish display of over-the-top customer service.
I personally hope that the airport shared the story with the families permission, but barring that small detail, the situation was handled beautifully and the airport gained thousands, if not millions, of view across all social media platforms.
After scrolling through Tampa International Airport’s Twitter, it is obvious that they have an affinity for connecting with their consumers. They enjoy posting pictures in support of local causes, celebrating victories with employees and airlines and even responding to tweets about their service. A recent example was the response “Ayeeeee, thanks Trev!” to a tweet about the time it took a consumer to get through security at the airport. The casual demeanor in which they responded to the tweet highlights a laid back attitude and a willingness to connect with consumers on a personal basis, rather than always remaining strictly professional.
Tampa International Airport has a great social media presence. To compare, I looked at the Twitter account of my local airport (MCI) and found that it was run the way a business tends to run their social media accounts. Mostly retweets of updates (new ID laws, a car show held at the airport, an informational post about parking updates) and basic tweets about the airport itself. Comparatively, Tampa’s Twitter seems much more personable and inviting.
Marketing Blog -SNHU 