“Love” is what Southwest aims to shower on you with every brand touch point. The ad copy poking fun at competitors’ nickel-and-diming you on fees. The tone of the website copy. The cute birthday cards. The peanuts. The LUV stock symbol. The little heart-shaped coffee stirrers on the planes.

And the flight attendants—where DO they find these people?

I’ll bet 95% of the flight attendants I’ve seen in 15 years of flying SWA truly are way more fun, caring, interesting, and talented (many sing PA announcements to passengers with impressive voices) than the flight attendants on competing airlines. They also are folks you’d probably have as friends.

Unfortunately, the flight attendants on United, US Airways, etc. seem to have gone in the wrong direction. And I’ve been flying those airlines for even longer—30 years. Blame what you like—job stress, cranky passengers, demanding bosses—but many of those flight attendants aren’t fun. In fact, they can be downright surly. They’re partly the reason why people say flying isn’t fun anymore.

Back in 1995, by a bit of luck, I got to travel with SWA CEO Herb Kelleher when he loaned a brand-new 737 to the “Thank You, America Tour.”  That’s when various search-and-rescue teams from four cities were thanked, in person, for their on-location service following the Oklahoma City bombing. Herb even surprised us with pizza on board as we took off from one city. (He had them hid them in the overhead bins.)

I thought I’d see it all with the Southwest brand ambassadors. But I hadn’t.

Recently I was on my way to an Assurex Global (www.assurexglobal.com) branding workshop meeting in Phoenix. We stopped first in Pittsburgh. The flight attendants were doing their thing: counting the through passengers, cleaning the plane (gotta love the diaper in the seat-back pocket), picking peanuts out of the vacuum cleaner, cracking jokes with each other, needling me about my geeky trade journals.

Then I noticed the co-pilot also collecting trash. Yes, the co-pilot.

I asked if he’d received a promotion with expanded responsibilities. He smiled and said, “I’m told we could get to Phoenix early, but we gotta move.”

Luv it. Whatever it takes for an on-time departure. Talk about OWNING the brand.

You can’t move your brand forward if you don’t have exceptional people “on board.”

203 North Moetz, Milltown N.J.

Here’s a picture of my house where I grew up in small-town America: Milltown, N.J., near New Brunswick and my alma mater, Rutgers University (photo credit to my home boy Charles Wasilewski).

I remember as a kid helping my dad build the garage addition to the house—off to the right there. The old garage became his office. I remember building snow forts in the front yard to ward off the neighborhood bully. We’d wait for the ice cream truck. We played hide-and-seek and army with stick guns in the yard.

This was the 1960s, man—no Internet, cell phones, computers. Although we did have The Munsters and The Addams Family on beautiful black-and-white TV. Milltown is where I got my start in reporting, working for The Sentinel, a weekly newspaper. That was cool—although the long hours (on, ahem, a typewriter) are what drove me to a somewhat-more-sane business called public relations.

Good old Milltown—one square mile of happiness, we used to say. Complete with a huge Fourth of July celebration, small-town gossip, ice hockey on ponds, and a cute girl in grammar school who would not give me the time of day.

What is it about the hometown that reminds me about great brands? Well, a few things, actually. The hometown was easy: On my street you went outside to play. All your friends were already there—or they were easily accessible. You just knocked on the front door. Or you could toss a rock against the house near the bedroom window. (I never actually did that.) It was comfortable: It wasn’t fancy, but we didn’t know or care.

Great brands should be comfortable, just like old friends. It was fun: Great brands should be destinations or things you like—things that bring a smile to your face, and warmth to your heart. It was safe: Great brands are places you trust for a consistent experience. I feel fortunate to have grown up in such a safe house in a safe town.

What are you doing with your brand to tap into these sorts of emotions? Is your brand easy, comfortable, fun and safe?

Why do we sometimes complicate things? Why do we over-think what otherwise could be simple?

Why do we sometimes make it so hard for folks to get to us?

What can you do to with your customer or member experience to take down some barriers and obstructions?

Think about it. Here’s to your Milltown.

Too often agency principals find themselves facing a forced sale as a result of not having a proper perpetuation plan. In this podcast, MarshBerry president John Wepler discusses the many difficult and “uncomfortable” decisions required of an owner seeking to properly–and profitably–perpetuate the firm. Listen to this frank conversation as John offers some good news: It is never too late to start to implement a perpetuation strategy but it takes a “burn the ships” commitment. That is, once you start down the path there is no turning back. Get some good ideas for your firm from one of the industry’s best-known management consultant.

The podcast was published Monday, August 23, 2010. Run time is 25 minutes 43 seconds.

In this Podcast Doug Pullman, a member of the Parker, Smith & Feek marketing team, describes the planning and process this top 100 broker went through to prepare for their launch into the world of Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin and blogging. Doug discusses the very deliberate and measured approach the brokerage took, the importance of getting not only support but participation by senior management, and how success is tied to having a unified and comprehensive strategy.

Doug explains that the agency goal was to use social networking to help customers and prospects build a personal and emotional connection with the broker. They knew that they needed to be where 25% of their customer base was – the social Web. His advice to other agencies wanting to tap into the opportunity the social web offers: Take it slow, learn from others, and add your own voice.

The podcast was published Monday, August 9, 2010. Run time is 21 minutes 11 seconds.

Listen to agency owner Claudia McClain explain why even in today’s social media world success involves more than just putting up a Facebook Fan Page. Claudia explains how her agency has continued to grow and prosper even in this difficult economic time. Her secret – an agency culture built around strong customer service and a blend of traditional marketing and social networking. While the agency has a blog (two actually), a Facebook Fan Page, a LinkedIn account and is on Twitter, it also touches each customer 12 times a year with traditional print media.

The message Claudia drives home is that social networking is not a Silver Bullet to success. Rather, she sees social networking as providing her with a new set of tools that has enabled her to expand the way she communicates with prospects and customers. Yet, the foundation of her success is rooted in traditional marketing principals and practices, and the understanding that building long-lasting trusted relationships not only takes time, but is hard work.

The podcast was published Monday, July 26, 2010. Run time is 27 minutes 26 seconds.

“On Point, with Peter van Aartrijk and Rick Morgan” is an audio conversation with insurance industry leaders who champion change and challenge all of us to think.

Texas agent David Berry has used the marketing lessons he learned from his experiences in the captive agency system to find success as an independent agent. Listen as Berry discusses how he uses traditional marketing practices, combined with the new tools of social media, to grow his business.

Berry understands the importance of investing in technology; but more importantly he understands the need to make sure it’s used wisely. He’s committed to building strong relationships and providing great service as he builds his new business, and credits social media as a powerful tool to help him contain costs and expand his reach. Peter and Rick particularly enjoyed listening to Berry speak passionately about the advantages and value of the Independent Agency System.

The podcast was published Monday, July 12, 2010. Run time is 20 minutes 41 seconds.

“On Point, with Peter van Aartrijk and Rick Morgan” is an audio conversation with insurance industry leaders who champion change and challenge all of us to think.

Linda Rey is a second-generation agent and owner of Rey Insurance in Sleepy Hollow, New York. Frank Rey founded the agency in 1978 to serve bilingual clients in the local community.

Linda discusses how she has incorporated the use of social media into the agency’s marketing strategy. For Linda, it was an “effective way to be present, visible, and increase awareness and exposure.”

This agency has made very effective use of video to put a human touch and project personality on their website. Linda states, “it is OK to show personality – it isn’t always about business.”

While it is important to have a solid strategy, Linda feels that having fun and enjoying what you are doing are keys to being successful an benefiting from the use of social networking.

You can also follow Linda Rey and Rey Insurance on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

The podcast was published Monday, May 10, 2010. Run time is 20 minutes 9 seconds.

At a time when people are skittish on the economy, it’s great to hang out with folks who are bullish.

One of my favorites is Charlie McShane, and his company is State Auto, based out of Columbus, Ohio.

Recently Maureen Wall Bentley, our executive vice president of brand strategy, and I attended Charlie’s grand opening of State Auto’s new Hunt Valley, Maryland offices, just north of Baltimore. Charlie is the company’s eastern regional president—he actually founded the region for State Auto and was the only employee there a few years ago. (In case you don’t recognize Charlie, he’s the big man on campus in the center of the photo.)

Charlie and staff were joined at the opening by State Auto’s senior leadership team, including CEO Bob Restrepo. The firm is an Aartrijk client, and this beautiful new office is yet another sign of how this super-regional company is optimistically positioning for growth.

Office openings are a milestone, sure. But for me, this one is more about people than real estate. I’ve known Charlie for 20 years. He has moved around in that time as P-C carriers consolidated and evolved. When I first met him, he evoked the quintessential “company field man,” working with independent agents on their local level. As I got to know him, I saw all his qualities—honesty, professionalism, knowledgeable, caring, and a great sense of humor—are why folks such as Charlie are not only incredibly valuable in leadership roles, they are rare people, period.

On behalf of Aartrijk, I’d like to extend my congratulations and best wishes to my friend Charlie, the folks working in the new eastern regional offices, and all our friends at State Auto. Good luck, guys!

Peter van Aartrijk

Excellent questions. I attend many industry conferences so I’m sensitive about offering another one.

I can assure you that Brand Camp won’t be yet another meeting.

This event is the only one designed to put in context the impact of social media/social networking on marketing and branding in insurance and financial services. So if you are responsible for formulating and articulating your brand in our industry—agency, broker, carrier, trade association, services provider—then you should come to Brand Camp.

At most conferences, speakers present in a one-way format. Like social networking itself, Brand Camp will be much more engaging, where attendees truly will get involved. We hope to imagine—even create—some new ways our industry can communicate with customers and prospects. This engagement is a more fun way to learn anyway.

You will return home with a solid plan to introduce or enhance your brand in this new social networking world. Brand Camp will be educational, engaging, entertaining and rewarding for the group as well as for individual participants.

Go on, jump into the fray! Check out the Brand Camp Web page.

– Peter van Aartrijk