As Virgin Atlantic emerged from the global pandemic it was clear that whilst the business had survived, the brand was not unscathed. Less desirable than competitors, it was struggling to cut through to a broad base of consumers. To appeal at scale, research identified that Virgin Atlantic needed to demonstrate it was a brand led by purpose, which offered personalised experiences.

Our response was ‘See the world differently’: a purposeful brand platform for developing fresh thinking about both the business and the big issues facing travel. It married the iconoclastic spirit that had always made Virgin Atlantic different, with a powerful insight about the brand's ‘Experience Embracer’ audience who seek a fairer, more inclusive approach to travel.

Our brief: Establish Virgin Atlantic as the most inclusive airline in the sky, by using the brand platform to show how Virgin Atlantic sees equality & inclusion differently.

In ‘Runway on a Runway’ we turned a sleepy airstrip in Bedfordshire into the world's most inclusive catwalk. Drag Race icon Michelle Visage and select non-binary influencers joined one of Virgin Atlantic’s trans pilots and their cabin crew to model the brand's more fluid approach to uniform. Simultaneously stylish and sleek, this empowered band of people took to our inclusive catwalk with flair and ferocity.

Our film went viral achieving 56 million impressions in paid social. And a further 8 million organic impressions. With 8k posts on one day and 1.4M views to date, it is Virgin Atlantic’s most popular content of the year. We trended on Twitter and non-binary icon, Sam Smith, shared the story on Instagram.

Virgin Atlantic saw increases in key image statements including:

22% increase in being seen as ‘inclusive’

13% increase in being seen as an airline for ‘someone like me’

15% increase in being seen as an airline with a purpose, that’s trying to make people’s lives better

The brand saw a 6 point increase in colleagues saying they felt ‘included at work’. And a 6 point increase in colleagues saying they could be themselves at work.

Finally the campaign drove a massive uptick in recruitment, with Virgin Atlantic seeing 10,000 applications for 800 frontline crew roles.