Delta - The Delta Dating Wall

Delta - The Delta Dating Wall

Did you know that looking like a ‘World Traveller’ is more likely to get you noticed on dating sites? This is according to match.com’s ‘Singles in America study’ carried out in March.

According to the research, 62% of men and 74% of women want a partner with an interest in travel, while half of all singles say going to a new city for a date would be exciting.

That insight in turn formed the basis of a fantastic campaign by Delta, conceived by advertising agency Wieden & Kennedy.

Images and scenes from nine destinations (Honolulu, Paris, Los Angeles, Pisa, London, Mexico City, Amsterdam, Moscow, and Zurich) were painted onto a Brooklyn, New York, wall by well known illustrator and graphic novelist Andrew Rae.

This then became the #DeltaDatingWall, created in association with mobile dating app ‘Tinder’.

The wall celebrates fact that Delta flies to more international destinations from JFK than any other airline, and gives anyone passing by the chance to have a photo done with a chosen destination in the background that they can then use for their Tinder profile picture.

The wall is going to be in place all Summer, and this was supplemented by an event on 17 June, where singles were able to come along and have a Tinder profile shot taken by a professional photographer.

In the past, one issue we’ve had with experiential events is that their reach is limited. You only get to the people walking past, or walking into your installation.

This isn’t the case with the dating wall. First of all there is the tie-up with Tinder, which gives the whole project an extra push.

Secondly, the whole concept is fun and lends itself to ‘talkability.’ You could see someone reading about the campaign and deciding to actually change their profile picture on the back of it.

Most importantly however, this idea was different and original enough to make it into websites read by millennials worldwide, including Mashable and Perez Hilton (who described it as ‘The Most Extra Thing Ever’).

The Dating Wall isn’t the only piece of wall art Delta has commissioned in New York. Another wall has appeared in the middle of the Brooklyn ‘Smorgasburg’ event.

This time, the illustration was developed by graphic design studio ‘Hide your Toys’, with the theme being “Go Where Your Food is From.”

Key Take-Away

This campaign was a success for four key reasons. It combined an insight (every single wants greater dating success), a creative execution that was really different (the dating wall), a commercial partnership with a big brand among the target audience (Tinder) and a commercial message (more destinations from JFK) that didn’t seem false and contrived.

So many marketing campaigns are basically variations of something that has been done before. Well done Delta on coming up with something different and original, and for making the cover of our magazine this month.