A3 ATLANTA · 2013–2020 · DELTA AIR LINES
A loyalty program that only knew how to count started telling stories instead.
SkyMiles mentions on Instagram up 278%. The first travel search engine fueled by Instagram. Narrated by Viola Davis.
The stakes
For Delta’s SkyMiles members, the loyalty program was all transaction and zero emotion.
That’s dangerous at Delta’s size. When your best customers only know you as arithmetic, the first competitor with better arithmetic wins. Points are the easiest thing in the world to outbid.
Nobody falls in love with a balance.
The move
Stop counting the miles. Start telling the stories the miles were made of.
The Milestone Awards found seventeen record-setting Medallion Members and thirteen remarkable employees, and treated them the way an awards show treats a career. An anthem narrated by Viola Davis. Profiles of the SkyGrammers, the Go Gifters, the Mega Milers. Trophies shipped in TUMI suitcases. Launched in L.A., where awards shows live.
#SkyMilesLife handed the program to the members. Onboard ads asked travelers for their photos, and every photo fueled a search engine: the next trip, found through somebody else’s eyes.
The Path You Make made it personal. 750,000+ members each got a film of their own year in the air.
The proof
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Year over year, off the campaign’s own results slide (shown above):
At scale: 30,000+ member photos. 750,000+ personal films. 10 million+ data points inside them.
The hardware
Atlanta ADDYs: Gold, Microsites · Silver, Social Media Campaign · Silver, Online/Interactive Campaign · Gold, Data Driven Media · Silver, Innovative Use of Interactive/Technology · Bronze, Copywriting
Regional ADDYs: Gold, Online/Interactive Social Media Campaign · Silver, Cross-Platform Online/Interactive · Silver, Data Driven Media · Silver, Innovative Use of Interactive/Technology
The credit
Digitas Atlanta, across seven years and four Delta programs.
The full case file
29 pieces · 10 videos on file · Delta Air Lines · 2013–2020
The Delta Milestone Awards
Seventeen record-setting Medallion Members and thirteen remarkable employees, celebrated on every channel.
Campaign Manifesto
Anthem Video (:60)Narrated by Viola Davis
The stories behind the numbers.
Every CTA drove to meet all the winners at DeltaMilestones.com
The winner's package: a TUMI suitcase, a trophy, a brass luggage tag, a handwritten note.
L.A. is where awards shows live. So that's where we launched.
Out-of-home, city by city: every hub and focus city.
SkyMagazine, on every Delta flight.
Social, on Facebook and Instagram.
#SkyMilesLife
The first travel search engine fueled by Instagram. A points program, turned into a movement of travelers.
Case Study Video
Onboard ads asked members for their photos. 30,000+ arrived, and every one fueled the search engine.
Social films that sent travelers searching.
Emails that used member photos to drive bookings.
The onboard film thanking the contributors. Narrated by Viola Davis.
The results.
Delta Sky Club
Making Delta Sky Club the one place to go when you're on the go.
The Path You Make
750,000+ of Delta’s most loyal members, each with a film of their own 2017.
10 million+ data points across the films.
Delivered by custom email and landing page.
Then the members did the talking.
Go See With SkyMiles
All transaction, zero emotion. So we reminded members what the miles are for: going to see this crazy world.
