Don’t go to court. Next time, either dress as an air hostess or arm wrestle.

Settlement of disputes via litigation is an emotional drain, burden on resources and a tremendous demand on time that could be productively spent doing things that matter and cause substantial positive impact. As much as litigation is undesirable, it’s become a necessary evil. The next time you are faced with potential litigation and you’ve exhausted most commonly tried means of dispute resolution, try some thing very different – challenge the other party to a public wresting match.

Be inspired by how Stevens Aviation and Southwest resolved a dispute.

Herb Kelleher and Kurt Herwald Wresting Match

Herb Kelleher and Kurt Herwald Wresting Match. Photo credit: http://www.jerseymanmagazine.com/herb-kelleher-no-fear-flying, Southwest

Southwest Airlines had always used catchy, whimsical advertising and slogans to promote their brand. “Love is Still Our Field” was their first slogan, premiering in 1972. (Love Field in Dallas was, and still is, the location of Southwest corporate headquarters.) Then, came “Somebody Up There Loves You” and “THE Low Fare Airline.”

On October 22, 1990, Southwest introduced a new slogan in Phoenix, “Just Plane Smart.” They used that slogan for about 15 months until they got a call from Stevens Aviation in Greenville, South Carolina. Apparently, they had been using the slogan “Plane Smart” prior to Southwest.

Instead of spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on legal fees and letting the courts decide the matter, Stevens Aviation chairman Kurt Herwald came up (along with executive vice-president Stephen Townes) with an idea. They challenged the CEO of Southwest, Herb Kelleher, to an arm wrestling match for the rights to the slogan “Plane Smart.”

Herwald knew Southwest’s propensity for doing things outside of the box, plus he thought he publicity for the two companies would be far better in the long run than fighting via the courts for a slogan. Kelleher excitedly accepted.

“Malice in Dallas” was to be held on March 20, 1992 at the famed wrestling forum, the Dallas Sportatrium in downtown Dallas. This quite obviously was a home game for Kelleher and Southwest, with their headquarters mere miles away. But Herwald was fine with it- anything for publicity.

Besides losing rights to the slogan, the loser of each round (it was going to be a best of three competition) would have to donate $5,000 to the Muscular Dystrophy Association or Ronald McDonald House of Cleveland.

The days leading up to the match-up, both companies heavily promoted it. Customers and well-wishers sent items to Kelleher that they thought would help him win, including a box of Wheaties, a can of spinach, a bottle of Wild Turkey, and “anabolic steroids from Mexico.”

Both men showed up to the ring at nine am on Friday, March 20th prepared to fight. They also made a spectacle out it. Herb Kelleher arrived in a bus with cheerleaders wearing a white satin robe. Kurt Herwald, when introduced, ran from the tunnel in a red robe with boos reigning down from the pro-Southwest crowd.

After Kelleher arrived in the ring to the “Rocky” theme song and pre-match tussling between the two corners died down, the competition began.

The third round was perfectly set-up with a winner-take-all between the two faces of their companies. Herwald, in a red polo shirt, and Kelleher, with a cigarette hanging out of his mouth, locked arms in a dead heat for a solid 35 seconds.

Finally, Herwald pinned Kelleher’s arm for the win. Boos erupted from the crowd in Dallas, but Herwald won fair and square, meaning Stevens Aviation got to keep the slogan. But Kurt Herwald decided to do things a bit different one more time. He allowed Southwest to use the slogan too as a show of good sportsmanship and for Southwest’s willingness to accept such a crazy proposal in the first place when so many other companies would have simply gone to court.

After the match-up, both heads of the companies agreed that determining the dispute this way was a fantastic idea for publicity, their bottom line, and a way to show the personalities of their companies. Said Herwald,

Kelleher told the New York Times that if Stevens and Southwest went to court about this, it would have cost Southwest $500,000  and a few years to decide. He also admitted that, “Frankly, Stevens had been using ‘Plane Smart’ in their ads longer. We didn’t know about it but they had it first. So we might well have lost the case on top of all that money, effort, and time spent on it.”

Both companies believe that the “Malice in Dallas” had much to do with their rise in profits directly after. Stevens Aviation, three years later, was making nearly four times as much as it did in 1992. Ed Stewart, manager of public relations for Southwest, estimated it at least generated six million dollars in publicity, and a mere year later Southwest’s stock prices had doubled. And to top it all, $15,000 got donated to charity between the three rounds. Even the President of the United States took notice. George H.W. Bush sent a congratulatory letter to both participants calling it a “win-win.”

Original article published by www.todayifoundout.com

Great leaders know how to turn a bet or a dispute into great publicity both for themselves as well as their companies and have lots of fun doing it.  That’s exactly what Richard Branson did by dressing up as an air stewardess after losing a bet to AirAsia owner Tony Fernandes.

ay_109682171-e1368356339331

Mr Branson (left) spills a tray of drinks over Mr Fernandes (Picture: AFP/Getty)

Any coincidence both these stories are from the airline industry?

Vijay Gummadi

Lover. Dreamer. Adrenaline junkie. Reggae | Tech enthusiast. Startup crazy | Head Monk & Avid story-teller @ FunMonk | Accidentally, Founder, CarZ :)

Comments are closed.