benchmark report
airline marketing
ultimate las vegas upgrade
college partnerships
WESTJET WestJet’s “Ultimate Vegas Upgrade” is a perfect example of how airlines can collaborate with tourism authorities to create campaigns that grab major news headlines and create lasting memories for customers. Video is a major component of WestJet’s marketing strategy. What star ted as few clever stunts to surprise travellers around the holiday season has evolved into regular installations. The airline now creates a funny, exciting, or hear t-touching video roughly once per quar ter, and many brand fans have come to expect them. For its latest video , which saw 1.76 million YouTube clicks in just 3 weeks, WestJet linked up with the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority to plan a series of surprises for one lucky airplane full of people. After using a roulette wheel (how
NOV 2015 ISSUE
DELTA fitting!) to select flight 1116 from Toronto to Vegas, WestJet got to work organizing a host of experience upgrades that would await passengers at landing.
Courting the hard-to-reach millennial age group is on every airline’s agenda. Social media is one method to get at this demographic, but Delta is tackling the challenge in a samrt way.
Comedian and Vegas resident performer Carrot Top greeted flight 1116 passengers in the cabin, offering them two choices: collect their bags and leave, or follow him to an amazing surprise. Guests who chose adventure went on to enjoy hotel room upgrades, spa upgrades, view upgrades (via helicopter ride), VIP club outings and a massive par ty in the WestJet hangar with performers and DJs supplied by many of the city’s top hotels – each of which also benefitted from brand exposure in the popular video.
Delta recently partnered with nine highprofile colleges in the Eastern U.S. (including Penn State, Duke and the University of Michigan) to offer selected seniors an eight week internship at Delta’s headquarters in Atlanta. During that time, the students and the airline hatched a plan to integrate the Delta brand into college life in a way that would be meaningful and memorable to students. Michigan University was the pilot campus for the resulting activation, where Delta employees mobilized en masse to help students move in for the semester with luggage carts, refreshments and care packages that included the airline’s amenity kits. The airline also plans
to bring it’s Celebration Grill school.
event to the
In an airline release , Jeff Robertson, Delta Vice President Product Development, Sky Clubs and Marketing Communications calls students a savvy consumer group. “We will give students and alums the opportunity to really get to know our airline ... we believe this will position Delta as their trusted partner over a lifetime of travel,” he said. Marketing publications such as eventmarketer.com and advirtues.com wrote about Delta’s innovative effort to build positive relationships with tomorrow’s business flyers.
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EXPERIENTIAL SOCIAL DIGITAL TV, PRINT, OOH
