Please Take Me Seriously
(Commentary by Johnathen Tan)
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| Never Too Young to Chase Your Dreams: Alex Jacquot, a 10-year-old aspiring CEO of future airline company Oceania Express, seeks business advice from Alan Joyce, CEO of Qastan Airways. |
In the midst of serious and head-aching issues being thrown at my face whenever I turn on any form of media, I came across news about a 10-year-old boy named Alex Jacquot, who aspires to lead an airline of his own one day, sending a letter to Alan Joyce – the CEO of Qantas Airways.
In his letter, he seeks advice from Alan Joyce on how to start an airline and, possibly, methods of structuring his very own Oceania Express to be as successful as the largest airline company in Australia! It’s absurd that he asked for advice, I mean, he has already elected his board of directors, the types of aircraft he’s going to fly and the meals he’s catering the passengers – he has it all figured out! And before you go, “Awww...” – he asked to be taken seriously!
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From CEO to CEO: Alex Jacquot's handwritten letter
to Alan Joyce.
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You’d think that the CEO of the largest Australian-based airline would be too busy to respond to a child. Well, this is just too good of a public relations opportunity to turn down.
But of course, when a potential tycoon sends you a handwritten letter – you write back. Not only did Alan send a formal letter in response, he invited Alex to a CEO-to-CEO meeting to discuss Project Sunrise, Qantas’ new initiative. However, Alan did make it clear that he’s not all about giving advice to competitors, but he’ll make an exception for the 10-year-old aspiring CEO because he, too, was a young boy who was curious about the airline industry.
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Keep Your
Enemies Closer: Alan Joyce invites competitor Alex Jacquot to a Project Sunrise
meeting
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Good PR really comes down to good storytelling – and this exemplifies it. Shoving facts and figures down peoples’ throats is old-fashioned and obsolete, whether you believe it or not. The human mind is ingrained to remember stories, not data. However, it can be daunting to craft a great story around a brand. Some occupy in-house communication departments, some hire agencies – some are just lucky enough to get good PR handed to them.
“When feel-good just hands you amazing PR on a platter,” said my boss when he saw the news. This occurrence truly embodies the instance where good PR comes knocking on the door and the organisation using it to their advantage. Look – I didn’t even know Qantas initiated Project Sunrise in the first place, but now I do. Besides that, this also brought about a positive public perception towards Qantas Airways – and it communicates a brand image that is inspiring, thoughtful and affectionate to the consumers. After all, people want to be captivated on an emotional level.
More often than not, we see the downfall of airline companies dominating the news headlines. It’s just comforting – like a breath of fresh air – to see at least someone is doing something right. Oops!
For further reading, explore the news article below.
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Boy's Letter to Qantas Boss for 'CEO Advice' Goes Viral
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| Australian boy Alex Jacquot asked for advice from Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce. |
Dreaming of starting an airline but don't know where to begin? One 10-year-old boy went straight to the top for advice.
Alex Jacquot, from Australia, decided to write to the chief executive of Qantas to ask about founding a carrier.
"Please take me seriously," he wrote in the letter to Alan Joyce.
Now, in a widely shared response, Mr Joyce has offered to meet up with the budding entrepreneur to "compare notes".
As the head of prospective airline "Oceania Express", Alex had asked for advice on how to advance his business.
He assured the Qantas chief he had started work on a few areas, such as "what types of planes I'll need, flight numbers and catering".
However, he found himself at a loss as to how to proceed.
"Seeing as it is the school holidays, I have more time to work. But I don't have anything to do (that I can think of). Do you have any ideas of what I can do?" he wrote in the letter.
"Seeing as you are the CEO of Qantas I thought I'd ask you."
In response, Mr Joyce thanked Alex for getting in touch, and said he had "heard some rumours about another entrant in the market".
He added that he typically didn't give advice to competitors but would make an exception "because I too was once a young boy who was so curious about flight and all its possibilities".
Alex told Sydney radio station 2GB he was "so excited" after receiving the response, saying: "I was running around the house for 10 minutes. I can't believe it."
His mother told The Australian newspaper that dates for the meeting were being arranged.
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Image source: Twitter
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