British Airways - Seize The Moment

British Airways - Seize The Moment

British Airways stepped up its content marketing game by leaving the content to the professionals. The airline challenged two lifestyle magazine editors, Emily Johnston of Fashion Fois Gras and Charlie Thomas of The Gentleman’s Journal, to arrange surprise trips to each other—without ever meeting until it was time to take off.

As explained in the YouTube video about the campaign, which was promoted on social media, each editor had to do a bit of investigating, reviewing the other’s online work and social media profiles to determine what destinations and travel itineraries their counterpart might enjoy during a 24 hour getaway. Because their own itinerary wouldn’t be revealed until right before departure, each had to improvise their packing, proving their travel savvy.

The two editors met at the airport to exchange their surprise trips then set off; Johnston headed for Helsinki and Thomas to Madrid. Their adventures were chronicled on social media and later as articles in their respective publications. While Thomas wrote a short introduction with a link to the video, Johnston was more generous with her reporting , even including helpful travel trips for readers the next time they found themselves in Helsinki.

Both Johnston and Thomas captured British Airways’ underlying message of “seize the moment” in an authentic and interesting way. Perhaps, next time, British Airways could consider requiring a minimum word-count from participants, but with the social media posts and the reach of each editor’s platform it was a win-win all the same.