RD2 helps Southwest Airlines Achieve Top Honors for Best Corporate Blog Second Year in a Row

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Free-Press-Release.com) October 20, 2008 -- DALLAS, TX -- October 20, 2008 – In its more than two years so far, Southwest Airlines’ (NYSE:LUV) blog has been one of the most talked about and applauded corporate blogs in the blogosphere.

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RD2 helps Southwest Airlines Achieve Top Honors for Best Corporate Blog Second Year in a Row

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http://blog.rd2inc.com/archives/2008/10/03/congratulations-southwest/

Nuts About Southwest was born April 21, 2006. In 2007, Nuts About Southwest (www.NutsAboutSouthwest.com) was named best corporate blog by PR News’ Platinum PR Awards. In 2008, RD2 and Southwest Airlines put a plan together to build upon the successes of Nuts About Southwest by relaunching the blog with expanded functionality. The new Nuts About Southwest engages the Southwest community even further with a fresh look and feel as well as additional features such as a video blog, Podcast, Flickr integration, polls, news feed, official media galleries, and personalization for registered users.

"While the blog was highly successful in both design and functionality in 2006, we wanted to take the platform to another level to adjust to the demands of both the people who create the content as well as the people who ultimately consume the content on the blog," says RD2 President Chris Ronan. "Both the internal team and Southwest Airlines Customers wanted more avenues for community growth. We knew it was going to be important to incorporate more sophisticated technologies while still maintaining the simplicity and brand focus of the original Nuts About Southwest blog," says Ronan.

In October 2008, PR News announced that Nuts About Southwest has won the prestigious Platinum PR Award for best corporate blog again for 2008, receiving the award over such well-respected firms as Weber Shandwick, Ogilvy & Mathers, and Hellerman Baretz, who were also nominated.

RD2 Inc. and Southwest Airlines have been working together since 2005, and launched the original Blog Southwest together in April 2006. “We love working with Southwest because they absolutely and fully understand the value of consistently creating great content,” says Ronan. “They practically wrote the book on creating high-value content that ignites their community. The secret sauce in making our partnership really successful is the chemistry between our two cultures.”

"Southwest Airlines and RD2 were both committed to developing a vibrant and relevant online platform," said Linda Rutherford, Southwest Airlines Vice President of Communications and Strategic Outreach. "The expanded features and dynamic content of nutsaboutsouthwest.com are being well received by critics and bloggers alike."

The blog’s readership has consistently grown, doubling year-over-year since its inception in 2006. Southwest Airlines estimates that it has reached more than 500,000 Customers through Nuts About Southwest alone. Throughout the last two years, Southwest bloggers have published over 750 posts and have received over 15,800 comments. This average of over 20 comments per post is much higher than the average corporate blog, and is a testament to the successful Customer interaction seen on Nuts About Southwest.

“Of course we’re tremendously proud and happy for Southwest to receive this honor for the work we have done together,” says Ronan. “RD2 and Southwest Airlines have been working together for a long time, and one thing we've learned is that successful blogging is an art and a science. In our partnership we are extremely focused on helping Southwest to make the most of these new tools using what comes naturally to them as a part of their unique culture. We've been honored by the positive response we've seen from the community around the blog, and we’re excited to continue working with Southwest to design and develop innovative ways to engage their community.”


Nuts About Southwest

Southwest Airlines launched its corporate blog, Nuts About Southwest on April 21, 2006. Still a maverick, Southwest Airlines was the first airline to offer its Customers a venue for open dialogue through a corporate blog. Since its launch, Nuts has experienced tremendous success -- building a community for its loyal Customer base, serving as a virtual focus group, and influencing several business decisions. In 2007, Nuts was named Best Blog by PR News and has been recognized in major publications ranging from Wired Magazine to the Wall Street Journal. Always nuts about Customer communication, Southwest Airlines actively participates in other online communities including Facebook, YouTube, Flickr, and Twitter.

RD2

For companies who want to engage their community online, RD2 provides strategic guidance, innovative design, and quality execution. Unlike others in the interactive space, RD2 is a strategic partner, providing excellent customer service, and leveraging social and interactive media to drive measurable results. The RD2 approach of Research, Design, and Develop, integrates objective research with aesthetics to develop compelling brand solutions that position RD2 clients as industry leaders. Clients include Dell, Hotels.com, Southwest Airlines, PlainsCapital Corporation, and CoServ.

More information can be found online at http://blog.rd2inc.com/archives/2008/10/03/congratulations-southwest/

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