We set out to transform travelers’ holiday airport experience from dread to joy in an instant. To do this, we surprised them with impromptu events, entertainment, and free gifts that emerged from gigantic gift boxes inside the terminals. We offered up cheerful ideas for last-minute gifts for the nice and the naughty. Even made indulgent suggestions for the travelers themselves. In the end, our goal was to give each traveler joyful smiles and sharable moments to take with them on their flights.

Overnight, our team built two larger-than-life gift boxes in DFW Airport’s highest-traffic terminals. Each box was designed to open wide to reveal a dramatic holiday surprise inside. On December 8, we let the boxes fly open to the delight of travelers and media alike. For the next two weeks, everyone was treated to a joyful series of surprises such as live music, a special performance by the Dallas Black Dance Theatre, DFW therapy dogs to pet, free samples from stores, even a special appearance by the Coca-Cola Polar Bear. We transformed holiday travel into memorable moments of joy that allowed travelers to get a head start on celebrating the holidays.

In response to our holiday promotion, DFW Airport received a generous amount of positive coverage in the form of 99 online articles, release postings, blogs, radio segments and video clips, which included attention from several major news outlets. Brand engagement saw a huge lift as well. During the month of December, DFW earned more than 650,000 online and social views along with 362 views from Facebook Live. By creating memorable experiences that people were excited to share online, we were able to spread joy to hundreds of thousands all over the world. Ultimately, our surprises showed travelers that joy starts at DFW Airport by replacing their holiday stress with holiday happiness and leaving a lasting impression that stayed with them well beyond the season.