United Airlines has a 50-year history with the U.S. National Football League (NFL) and is currently the official airline for seven NFL teams, including the two that played in this year’s Super Bowl. United also regularly adds extra flights to make it easier for fans to attend big games and added 43 additional direct flights for the 2024 Super Bowl.

With such strong ties to American football, United wanted to use the Super Bowl as an authentic opportunity to reach all fans, not just those cheering for the final two.

This “Believing Changes Everything” campaign had three goals: capture the greatest Super Bowl share of voice among airlines, outperform the industry standard rate of 56% for positive sentiment and drive ticket sales while reminding viewers that United never charges a change fee on tickets. Ever.

While all other brands ran a standard (and expected!) national ad play, United called a trick play and went all in on regional spots rather than one national spot. Instead of leaning into the glitz, glamour and humor, United led with heart to make personal, emotionally resonant local 30-second ads for Cleveland, Denver, Houston, Kansas City and Chicago with cultural nuances that could ONLY run in those cities.

To do this, United teamed up with Emmy-award winning actor Kyle Chandler, star of the hit U.S. television show “Friday Night Lights,” to deliver the moving messages. Who better to encourage fans to believe, than America’s favorite football coach?

In his poignant speeches, Chandler spoke directly to audiences, encouraging local fans to believe so hard that they buy tickets to NEXT year’s Super Bowl. And if things don’t work out, United never charges fees to change a flight. Ever.

The target audience was cities with the biggest Super Bowl fans and fans of specific teams that didn't make it to the big game, united by a passion for their own favorite team and a likelihood to travel to the important games.

The cost to air a 30-second commercial during the Super Bowl averages $7 million. That’s what made United’s personalization of its fan message even more of a hack: it only spent 20% of its normal Super Bowl ad budget by airing six commercials in targeted local markets. This strategy also optimized United’s ability to speak directly to local fans through highly pinpointed digital executions and local media outreach.

The game plan was a four-part social, earned media and broadcast blitz:

Playoffs (January 22)

- Activity: During the playoffs to determine Super Bowl participants, United placed 3 social teasers, one for PR use; and 2 social posts in playoff markets

- Approach: Get people thinking about their fan belief and United’s flight flexibility

Warm Up (February 5)

- Activity: Place one social post per market and issue national and local press releases

- Approach: Declare “Believing Changes Everything” by releasing unique spots in key markets

Game Time (February 11)

- Activity: Place 1 national social post and 1 social post for a prize giveaway in priority markets

- Approach: Reaffirm United’s local market support for NFL fans

Overtime (February 12 and beyond)

- Activity: Place one social post per key moment

- Approach: Stay top of mind during key moments before/during/after the Super Bowl

United scored big with “Believing Changes Everything”:

- 87-100% positive online sentiment in five markets

- 89% airline industry SOV surrounding the game

- 2.1M views on YouTube

- 14K reshares across TikTok, Meta and LinkedIn

- 10.5K mentions on social

- 85+ stories in national and local media, including Sports Illustrated, USA Today, Ad Age, and Kansas City Star

The biggest victory? The campaign increased purchase consideration and action, making a direct impact on United’s business:

- United witnessed a 10% increase in traffic to united.com in the two days after the Super Bowl, with 2M visitors per day.

- Campaign corresponded with an 8% increase in total bookings in the two weeks after the game.

- Digital ad-exposed audience purchased tickets totaling $8.7M.

- Seven of the nine cities where ads ran experienced a rise in sales compared to February 2023. Most notable sales increases:

- Kansas City (+9%)

- Cincinnati (+6%)

- Baltimore