At DMA Solutions we have a love/hate relationship with American Airlines. As our preferred company airline, many times we have experienced being stranded at an airport or on a tarmac somewhere in the world and cursing the airline (even when the issue wasn’t necessarily their fault). Even still, we continue to fly the airline.

Much to our marketing delight, this week American Airlines unveiled the company’s new brand. In our humble marketing opinion, this week’s buzz worthy brand launch checked off all of our marketing “must-do’s” for a major announcement:

1. Build Anticipation.

Yesterday morning was the first we had heard about the unveiling of the new logo. We say kudos to American Airlines for keeping the news of the launch under wraps until hours leading up to the big moment. We even heard that a newly designed plane landed at DFW in the dark, wee hours to keep from spoiling the surprise.

2. Create an Impactful Hook.

Marketers at the airline have developed an impactful and timely hook for their new brand and promise to modernize the airline from a visual, comfort and service perspective. “Becoming a New American” is the theme of the revamp which in our opinion, is a great way to start the New Year and a great motto for recovering from a nasty bankruptcy.

3. Be a Trending Topic.

Starting at 4 a.m. on Thursday morning, @AAdvantage began tweeting using the #NewAmerican hashtag. Locally, the airline’s social media team tweeted live with news anchors and key media contacts to further build the anticipation about the launch and keep the general public ready for the news. After the launch, images of freshly designed airplanes and logo were shared via #NewAmerican, allowing loyal patrons to share the launch with a click of a button.

3. Nail the Design.

Spot on is how I would describe the airline’s attempt to modernize the new logo and overall brand perception. The logo design is simple and not a complete departure from the American Airlines that we’ve come to know and love (or hate if you’ve ever been stuck at an airport). The exterior plane design is stunning, featuring a sterling silver shine along the body and a highly modernized American flag on the tail.

4. Host an Event.

On Thursday at 2:00 p.m., the company hosted an event at their headquarters in Dallas, TX to showcase the newly designed plane and logo on Megatrons in honor of “Our people – the backbone of our success” and shared the pictures on Facebook.

5. Tell the Whole Story.

Visit www.aa.com/newamerican and you will find a website with rich media and content outlining the history of the brand and purpose/meaning of the new brand launch. Through renderings of the new airplane’s interior from first class to coach, we were blown away by the transparency and thoughtfulness that has gone into the delivery of the information to curious patrons like us.

6. Time it Right.

We mentioned earlier that the timing of the launch was right on as most red-blooded Americans start each New Year with resolutions that ultimately help us become better/thinner/more productive people, but when we examine the timing of the launch from a competitive perspective, we feel that American has done it right. January is notorious for being a slow time of year for the airline industry with March and the Spring Break season not far behind. Planting the seed in airport bound patrons across the USA is not a bad strategy as we head into February thinking about our next big trip.

7. Be the Brand.

This marketing must remains to be seen as devoted patrons of American Airlines (like us) will be ready to experience the modernization, enhancements and service improvements first hand. European vacation anyone?

As you plan your promotions for 2013 and as we further position our brands, products and stories to consumers, we hope you’ll consider American Airline’s approach to the launch of their newly designed brand, airplanes (think product packaging), image and perception. As a fresh produce marketer, when was the last time you formally launched a product or service to your target audience? Which marketing musts were instrumental in your success?