180ToTheMarker
12 months of October
- Joined
- Feb 18, 2003
- Posts
- 658
Reported By: Bill Liss
Web Editor: Michael King
Last Modified: 1/17/2007 10:46:18 PM
AirTran Using Cookies in Takeover Attempt
An unusual twist in discounter AirTran’s hostile takeover bid for Midwest Airlines.
For AirTran, the deal means $345 million in cash and stock, but for passengers of Milwaukee-based Midwest, it means perks they say have earned the small airline a reputation for over-the-top customer service.
Among the perks -- freshly baked chocolate chip cookies for every passenger. But now, a group of Midwest shareholders, fearing the loss of the famous chocolate chip cookies, are launching a grass-roots effort to stop the takeover attempt.
How does AirTran fight back? Add marketing panache to the dollars and stock. It will be a first.
“We’re going to go to a Hallmark bakery in Milwaukee, and take these chocolate chip cookies, and put them on all of our flights, and give the chocolate chip cookies to all of our customers,” said AirTran marketing vice-president Tad Hutcheson.
Between AirTran and Midwest, that’s more than 65,000 cookies a day.
Web Editor: Michael King
Last Modified: 1/17/2007 10:46:18 PM
AirTran Using Cookies in Takeover Attempt
An unusual twist in discounter AirTran’s hostile takeover bid for Midwest Airlines.
For AirTran, the deal means $345 million in cash and stock, but for passengers of Milwaukee-based Midwest, it means perks they say have earned the small airline a reputation for over-the-top customer service.
Among the perks -- freshly baked chocolate chip cookies for every passenger. But now, a group of Midwest shareholders, fearing the loss of the famous chocolate chip cookies, are launching a grass-roots effort to stop the takeover attempt.
How does AirTran fight back? Add marketing panache to the dollars and stock. It will be a first.
“We’re going to go to a Hallmark bakery in Milwaukee, and take these chocolate chip cookies, and put them on all of our flights, and give the chocolate chip cookies to all of our customers,” said AirTran marketing vice-president Tad Hutcheson.
Between AirTran and Midwest, that’s more than 65,000 cookies a day.