Spirit Airlines didn't need an expensive ad campaign. It needed an educational campaign to teach travelers about its a la carte business model. It needed to hug its haters and prove why it was different from legacy airlines.

So, Spirit embraced its un-airline personality and transformed into the most differentiated brand in travel. It trademarked its ultra-low base price as the Bare Fare. It spun social media venom into the Hate Thousand Miles Giveaway rewarding customers with 8,000 free miles for spewing hate at Spirit or any airline.

The campaign generated over 400 million PR impressions. It shifted a predominantly negative media narrative toward education, and even praise.

The promotion collected in nearly 54,000 “pieces of hate” and deposited 400 million+ FREE SPIRIT miles to traveler accounts.

3 million customers learned how to fly at Spirit.com, resulting in a 40% increase in Net Promoter Score YOY.

In May 2014, Spirit Airlines overhauled the brand with a bold brand identity and dedicated every touchpoint to educating customers on its a la carte model and Bare Fare prices.

In July, Spirit debuted a digital promotion no other airline would ever run.

Launched by an online video featuring provocative customer tweets, Spirit’s Hate Thousand Mile Giveaway site invited customers to spew 140 characters of hate for Spirit (or any airline) in exchange for 8,000 FREE SPIRIT miles. The provocative promotion ignited a media frenzy about the brand’s educational mission.

Unsure of how much hate Spirit would receive relative to competitors, we let hate pour in for four months. 28,000 “pieces of hate” and some surprising results later, Spirit issued a State of the Hate Report.

Detailing traveler’s hate for Spirit and the industry in general, the report struck a cultural chord and ignited a second wave of free publicity.

As a brand that spends very little on paid media, the effort was measured by performance in three areas:

1. Earned media/free publicity

2. Participation and education at Spirit.com

3. Customer satisfaction measured by Net Promoter Score

The Hate Thousand Mile Giveaway generated over 400 million PR impressions. It shifted a predominantly negative media narrative toward education, and even praise, for Spirit’s business model.

The campaign was featured in broadcast segments on CNBC, CNN, Fox & Friends, Good Morning America and The Today Show. And in USA Today, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Time.com, and Fast Company among others.

The promotion collected in nearly 54,000 “pieces of hate,” the same number of customer emails, and deposited 400 million+ FREE SPIRIT miles to traveler accounts.

3 million customers gained understanding of the business model on Spirit.com, resulting in a 40% increase in Net Promoter Score YOY.