A Christmas miracle
- Anthony Trinh
- Dec 29, 2014
- 3 min read
WestJet has done it again.
A year after their Christmas Miracle video that went viral, WestJet once again proves this time of year is all about giving with a new Christmas marketing stunt.
I’ll be honest with you, the video played with my emotions. It was beautiful because the gifts were motivated by unselfish factors and were not expecting the recipient to give back – a symbolic exchange. This was 'clear' because WestJet gave generous gifts to a small community in the Dominican Republic, a community which WestJet doesn’t expect to gain many sales from. WestJet even said it themselves:
“And now it’s clear. One thing we all believe: ‘Tis better to give, than it is to receive.”
However, marketers only advertise the perception of this. As the old saying goes: “Nothing in life is free.” So why did WestJet give these gifts away? The three stages in the model of gift-giving behavior (Ruth, Otnes and Brunel, 1999) can help explain this concept.
Stage 1: Gestation, the gift search and purchase process. WestJet asked the community of the Dominican Republic what they wanted for Christmas and with their surprise, WestJet went out to purchase exactly what they asked for. The purpose of recording this for the video is to show that WestJet will provide the exact service they advertise – friendly and affordable air service.
Stage 2: Prestation, the actual exchange. The actual exchange was shown because WestJet wanted tell consumers their service will keep consumers satisfied and that WestJet is a community of friendly and caring people.
Stage 3: Reformulation, the nature of the gift and change of the giver and recipient relationship. Every gift shown in the video was personal and appreciated because it was exactly what the community asked for. The gift recipient’s perception of WestJet has definitely changed for the better – affirmation of a positive relationship. However, the future relational interactions between WestJet and the gift recipient is likely to have little effect. This is because the gift was a symbolic exchange. Thus, WestJet’s marketing goal was to impact the future relational interactions between viewers of the video.
This and that
I find the gift exchange process very interesting when exploring the change in relationships between the giver and the recipient. This is shown in many different examples in our daily lives. With an example on free products, I recently stumbled upon an amazing promotion on a website called Checkout 51. The promotion would send me a $21 cheque if I bought 20 chocolate bars. Taking advantage of this promotion, I bought 20 chocolate bars at Dollarama for $0.77 each. In the end, I had 20 chocolate bars and $5 more in my wallet (yes, I got paid to eat free chocolate!). I am now alert with online promotions and tend to purchase groceries a lot more. This is a clear example of how relationships change with free gifts. It’s all about understanding consumer behaviour and data – just like the WestJet video. I recommend reading this blog about the psychology behind gift giving and generosity. It’s another great example of how relationships change during the gift giving process.
What are your thoughts about the WestJet video? Was it really a symbolic exchange? Or a marketing tactic?
Thanks for reading!
Anthony
Sources:
(Chapter 14, "Gift Giving") Solomon, M. R., Zaichkowsky, J. L. and Polegato, R. (2013) Consumer Behaviour: Buying, Having, and Being, Sixth Canadian Edition. Toronto: Prentice Hall Canada.
https://capcom-ncr.com/blog/b-school-research-examines-business-gift-giving
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