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Permission to Personalise

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Eliot runs his own consulting business. Prior to his current day job, he worked as a marketing manager for Fuji Xerox Australia. Eliot holds a couple of degrees in printing and enjoys spending far too much time exploring the world of variable-data publishing. In his copious free time Eliot enjoys kayaking, writing, blogging, eating and sleeping.

Website: www.eliot.com.au

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As I write this entry, I'm travelling at 831kph at 12,002m above sea level, balancing my oversized laptop on my legs while trapped between two armrests that obviously weren't designed to let people use computers on planes. OK, its a Virgin Blue flight, so I guess I really shouldn't be surprised. But what did surprise me were the greetings I received on boarding.

Time travel

The first greeting was in form of a decal, plastered to the side of the aircraft door, that proudly announced "Welcome aboard the best on-time airline in Australia". The irony was that the flight was already 39 minutes late, and this off-time departure seems to be a consistent pattern across my interstate "blue" travels over the past few weeks.

Permission to call you by your first name, sir?

The second, and rather more significant greeting was the friendly air stewardess who, on presentation of my boarding pass greeted me with "Hello Eliot, your seat is down there on the right". Now wait a minute, have we met before? Am I some famous celebrity? I don't believe so. And when did I give you permission to address me by my first name? Alas, it seems all Virgin Blue crew are programmed to greet passengers in this way.

Addressing someone verbally by their first name who you've never met before and don't have an existing relationship with can feel intimidating, intrusive and somewhat offensive. But we manage to get away with it in other forms of communication. Take direct mail, for example. If I receive a personalised mail piece addressed "Dear Eliot..." and I don't have an existing relationship with the sender, I don't perceive this communication to be intrusive or offensive. Even if my name is incorporated in a printed image, to produce the effect that "Eliot" is written in sand, clouds or in other scenery doesn't upset me in the slightest. In fact, it grabs my attention and creates a relationship.

There's a time and a place

Personalisation can be highly effective when used across the right communication mediums. Visual media such as print, e-mail and even Web pages are all acceptable mediums for addressing audiences at a personal level, without requiring their prior permission. But that's really where personalised communication should stop for non-celebrities, like us.

If you liked this post, check out the Related Articles over in the sidebar. You might also consider reading some of Eliot's other posts.

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What's in a name? Apparently quite a lot when it comes to airlines :-)

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2 Comments

karla
  • Wrote on 8 Aug, at 12:00AM
hmm... while I get what you are saying, I think that Virgin's "we are so cool and friendly" approach is what sets the brand apart from many others. Most people expect things along the lines of first name greetings, ice lollies, attractive staff dressed in (comparatively) casual uniforms and - as a part of the decal that Eliot mentioned - a sexy sailor jerry style woman right on the front of the aircraft. A first name greeting really doesn't seem like much from a company that has successfully branded itself with the name 'Virgin' and has come from the brain of Richard Branson.
Kenneth
  • Wrote on 14 Aug, at 02:29PM
You should travel a bit around Europe. If someone address you with your first name over there, its nothing personal at all. Its just how they are.

I actually find it wierd that addressing someone by their first name is personalising here in Australia.

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