 Susan Bradley
Director of Marketing Communications Boeing Commercial Airplanes Seattle, Washington
Sue Bradley is indeed passionate about The Boeing Company, an organization that she calls “always exciting.” In fact, she has been to every new plane roll-out ceremony in Boeing history. Her father was an engineer at the company and worked there for his entire career. She has been with Boeing for nearly 30 years, as has her husband, also an engineer. Describing a new plane roll-out as “a huge brand statement that pulls together talent from across the globe,” Sue Bradley says, “We look forward to roll-outs. Somehow I don’t think people cry when their company introduces a new model of toaster. We see parents with tears in their eyes holding up a child to touch the new plane. Not only is there great pride and excitement for company, but one feels part of the steady drumbeat of progress.”
Today, keeping up with that steady drumbeat is a large part of Bradley’s advertising role. The 787 Dreamliner rolled-out in July 2007 at Boeing’s assembly factory in Everett, Washington, with test flights and service scheduled for 2008. And certainly all eyes are focused on the Dreamliner, which represents a new business model for the industry with its fuel efficiency and mid-sized, but wide-bodied dimensions. It will carry between 210 and 330 passengers, depending upon seating configuration.
Sue Bradley characterizes her job as “the substantial, but small role, of managing the Boeing Commercial Airplanes advertising program.” She sees the work of The Boeing Company and its people “as making the world a safer and more connected place every day.” She continues, “In terms of advertising, we are responding to our requirements with a traditional tactical approach, but we are strategic and sophisticated in our foundational thinking and involve many, many people in the process. Maybe that's not surprising since unlike a B-to-C enterprise, we have a limited customer base and operate in a duopoly.”
Sue Bradley admits that she stumbled into advertising seven years ago; however, she does see herself as a communicator, able to mobilize a compelling vision with a steadfast belief in the product being offered. Her company background has included graphics design, journalism, and public relations; she served as Communications Director for Europe in Brussels for several years. Her advertising role, though came with a test of fire. Upon accepting the new position, she had to complete an important, new ad campaign in just two weeks. Fortunately, she had an agency who could work at that pace while also getting to know her. The result became Campaign of the Year in Air Transport World, a key industry trade title.
Now she has a personal goal for her advertising mission, which Bradley calls “becoming a better student of my industry and my company.” She elaborates further, “People think I sit in my office and simply develop advertising. The best ads are collaborative. I constantly ask — ‘Will it serve the needs of the business?’ Every day I aim to learn something new about Boeing or the aerospace industry, or at least be more open to the perspectives of others.”
“Boeing has enables me to become a student of the world. I was just a girl from rural Kent, Washington. Going to grandma’s in Portland was a big deal. Now In fact, any child with a backpack and a credit card can go anywhere. There is great satisfaction in knowing that my son’s world is connected and safe and his horizons are huge. I knew he got that message loud and clear when at age 7, he wanted to go to Majorca for Christmas.” Contact: susan.a.bradley@boeing.com
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