The Tendo View

Virgin America has a lot going for it in terms of differentiation from other airlines. Personalized entertainment systems and power outlets at each seat, generous legroom, tinted windows, leather upholstery. . . and mood lighting! And all at affordable rates.

The airline also has a differentiator that is less concrete, but equally powerful–style.

Virgin America’s site looks and functions more like a microsite of its parent, Virgin Atlantic. But that’s OK. It includes everything it needs to carry over the same branding established by Virgin, and nothing more. In fact, it’s the perfect balance of functionality and flash. And while the site is light on copy, the brand voice still comes through loud and clear.

BRAVO

The Virgin America site does a great job of communicating the values of its parent company–style and fun with a bit of cheek–through its use of voice, tone, and visual imagery.

Much of the site includes a lot of white space. But rather than being spare, it makes room for the tone and imagery to pop. For example, the home page is limited to a few functional options, like searching for flights or checking in, a rotating Flash banner front and center, and a few promotional items on the right side, like a sign-up button for the loyalty program.

This could be boring, but the short, punchy copy combined with the red and white color palette is exciting and keeps your eye moving around the page. It also makes it easy to find what you’re looking for because there’s no visual clutter, allowing the copy (and consequently, the brand voice) to stand out.

The copy throughout the site is equally limited and focused on providing information first, but also takes advantage of opportunities for a little fun. For example, the site refers to its customer service team as “Question Answerers.”

The visual imagery of the site is limited to stylish, well-lit photos of the plane’s interior amenities (that mood lighting sure is great!) and some entertaining Flash animation. The “Our Difference” page explains features of the custom-designed seating with an interactive diagram floating on slightly undulating little clouds. And the connectivity options are explained with an interactive game in which you connect the cords to their corresponding outlets.

TRY AGAIN

We really didn’t see much to fault in the site. The copy in the sidebar on the member rewards page could be a little more succinct, but nothing detracted from the customer experience.

The copy and the imagery focus on supporting the brand’s primary message: These are cool planes that are fun to ride in. The site is cute and not overly serious, but it still provides the information and functionality required to accomplish tasks with ease. Well done, Virgin.