"This library serves the entire company," the librarian explained after we had been introduced. "Our principal function is to provide information and books on those subjects of the greatest interest to top management as well as the finance, advertising, public relations, law, and sales departments. Actually the needs of the maintenance and operating departments are so specialized-and their offices so far away-that they have their own files and reference materials. Many other departments build up their own collections of books and magazines that relate only to their own activities, but every employee may borrow our books."
Most airline libraries have no more than one or two librarians and generally they are graduates of a library science program, which calls for a fifth year of college. Opportunities for librarians are not extensive since there are relatively few aviation libraries and little job turnover. Don't let this discourage you, however, if you have the training and an airline career interests you. There are openings now and then that occur on a continuing basis.
ADVERTISING
"On the next floor we'll visit the advertising and public relations departments," Ms. Barrett said as she pushed the button for the elevator. A moment later the receptionist on the thirty-fourth floor nodded to us as we passed her desk and then walked down a long narrow corridor to the office of the advertising director. He rose and motioned us to chairs beside his desk.
"Sometimes newspaper advertising seems to be dominated by the airlines," he said, "especially in a large city where several of us compete for business. This makes it difficult for the reader and would-be traveler to distinguish between companies. You've probably noticed that most airlines depart at 'convenient hours,' most boast of 'on-time arrivals,' most serve steak or lobster, show movies, and fly the same type of equipment. The questions are: how do they differ, which is best, and how do we tell the public in such a way that it remembers our airline?"
Not waiting for us to attempt to answer his questions, he continued: "How does an advertising director make certain his advertising is winning riders to his airline?" He then told us a story about Bert Lynn, director of advertising for Western Air Lines who faced this problem.
One evening Lynn was watching an animated cartoon on television that advertised the Bank of America. He had an idea. The next morning he asked Western's advertising agency to find out who produced the cartoon. Shortly thereafter he called Storybook, Incorporated, and talked with the producer about his inspiration.
A month later he had a call from Storybook. "We've got something to show you now, Mr. Lynn. Can you come over?"
An hour later Lynn and Art Kelly, vice-president-sales, were watching a bird that resembled a parrot sitting on top of an airplane in front of the tail. A voice on the sound track announced in a deep tone: "Western-the only way to fly."
The idea was certainly different the two men agreed, but was it too cute, too ridiculous, too different? More important, would it persuade people to fly Western?
The VIB-"Very Important Bird" which Lynn and Kelly saw that morning worked for Western for thirteen years before it was retired: a retirement that proved premature. Fan mail continued to pour in and the little bird returned to the screen while it's a slogan: "The only way to fly" was mentioned by many movie stars and others in the entertainment world. Astronaut James Lovell, while he was sitting in his space capsule orbiting the earth, quoted the bird and told millions watching him, "It's the only way to fly!"
"Now, we must admit that few advertising campaigns achieve such success," the director continued, "but everyone in an airline advertising department hopes to come up with just the right slogan or gimmick that will focus attention on the company. That's the challenge-that's the fun of it all-and once in a while a great idea is the icing on the cake." He leaned forward and looked at us intently as he said: "Actually, though, most airlines rely on one of the more prominent advertising agencies to handle their programs and dream up unusual ad ideas."
He then explained that an airline's advertising department is usually responsible for supervising what the advertising agency does, planning advertising campaigns, deciding where the ads will be placed, and coordinating the advertising programs with the sales department that has the greatest interest in how the company advertises. Therefore this may not be a very large department, especially if the advertising agency prepares the ads and sends them out to the newspapers, magazines, radio, and television stations.
If advertising excites you and you want to work in the airline field, your best move would be to obtain a job in an advertising agency that has an aviation account and do everything possible to get yourself assigned to that airline. Some employers seek college graduates with degrees in business with an emphasis on advertising or marketing. Others prefer a liberal arts background with social science, literature, art, and other disciplines in your record. Still others place little or no emphasis on the type of degree. In some firms you start as a specialist and do not gain all-around experience, in others you may begin as a research or production assistant, a space or time buyer, or even a junior copywriter. If you are creative, talented, and work hard, this could be a satisfying career for you. As a copywriter or account executive you might advance to better positions, become a partner in the agency, or perhaps be asked by a client to head its advertising department. For many people the satisfaction comes from having their work appear on television, radio, or in print even though their names are never associated with the advertising and remain unknown to the public.
