Westjet - Above And Beyond Stories

Westjet - Above And Beyond Stories

Canada’s airspace is largely a duopoly, where WestJet and the country’s flagship carrier Air Canada compete head to head for passengers on nearly every route. WestJet has always positioned itself as the more “in-touch” or caring airline of the two, and its ‘Above and Beyond’ campaign does a great job reinforcing that stance.

The ‘Above and Beyond’ project sets out to recognize everyday Canadians who inspire others through good deeds or by overcoming life’s challenges. Late last year, WestJet set up a micro-site for the initiative and put out a general call for compelling stories. So far, eight of these real-life stories have been made into short videos and posted to the airline’s YouTube channel as well as the ‘Above and Beyond’ web page.

All of the videos have been well-watched. One story in particular, about a bullied high-school boy who became prom king, went viral. Today it has been viewed 5.5 million times and has amassed overwhelmingly positive commentary from over 700 YouTube watchers.

Josh’s story was picked up by Huffington Post in an article that was shared many times on social media.

What works so well about this campaign is that it has nothing to do with flight or travel. Refreshingly, there is very little WestJet branding on the micro-site or in the videos (just a logo at the very end of the clips). By keeping self-promotion out of this endeavour, WestJet is showing customers that it cares about people, and not just dollars.

More ‘Above and Beyond’ stories are expected this summer.