Alec Baldwin's Holiday Gift

American Airlines has been given a holiday gift from Alec Baldwin – the seeds of a great story.  Every story needs three things:  a character (Alec), a conflict (angry flight attendant vs. bad boy comedian armed with twitter), and resolution.  This last element is up to American Airlines, currently reeling in bankruptcy.  How they conclude their story and if they zig instead of zag is up to American Airlines.  If they can, they have a unique opportunity.

Here’s three ideas where this widely publicized incident could form the start of a great narrative for them:

1.     Hire Alec Baldwin  as a consultant to oversee the passenger experience on American Airlines and make him a spokesperson for the airline.  In other words, convert him into a brand evangelist.

2.     Offer free gaming apps for one day in honor of the passion passengers show for  their electronic devices as an apology for removing them during flight in pursuit of their safety.

3.     License Words with Friends and develop an in-flight  version that can be played on airline screens.  Let Alec promote it with his twitter account.

The key to any of these, however, is to do them pronto.  These windows of opportunity arise rarely…let’s hope American Airlines can make storyjuice out of the lemons it created.