Delta strives to deliver a comfortable on-board experience, one of the leading drivers of premium perception. We needed to connect with Delta’s target audience and strengthen the perception that Delta offers its most premium airline experience out of LAX. To do so, we researched Angelenos’ pain and passion points that Delta could directly align with; jet lag, health and fitness.

The only way Delta flights could be even more comfortable is if we made jet lag disappear. So, Delta partnered with Equinox to do just that. Equinox provided the authenticity and authority we needed to be credible in the fitness world, and their creation of an exclusive, custom-designed workout class fulfilled the need for premium customer care that Angelenos desire.

Our goal was to drive buzz and attention for Delta’s premium flight experience, and new Airbus A350 plane, in a highly competitive travel market: Los Angeles.

Based on Los Angeles-specific research, we understand that Angelenos consider comfort as one of the leading drivers of premium perception (Delta focus group).

Delta’s new Airbus A350 was designed with technical innovations that allow a more comfortable journey in every seat and were specifically created to combat the one thing every long-haul traveler hates: jet lag.

The other thing that helps overcome jet lag? Exercise.

Research by the University of Toronto proves that exercise helps with time-change adjustments and may speed up the return to normal circadian rhythms (fancy words for how our body clock works in a day).

We saw our opportunity to promote the “jet lag-combating” Airbus A350 by jumping on this bio-truth.

Angelenos are shamelessly known for putting health and wellness at the very core of their identity and lifestyle. With LAX being an airport that long-haul-flight travelers frequent, it was a perfect way to impact LA.

We had the jet lag-fighting plane in-air: now we needed the jet lag-fighting plan on the ground.

We partnered with premium fitness brand, Equinox (a high-end national gym chain, with 20+ locations across greater LA), and together, created a program that addressed the crappiest part of the long-haul flight experience – jet lag – while positioning Delta and their A350 as an antidote.

DELTA X EQUINOX = CURE FOR JET LAG

The connection between fitness and jet lag was an untapped space; no other airline had ever addressed a traveler’s needs outside of what happens on the plane.

We called it SWEATLAG: a science-based, jet lag-fighting workout, by Delta x Equinox.

We used splashy, high-impact media to grab the attention of recent travelers and drive class sign-ups.

The rest of our campaign was designed to tell LA travelers and prospects all about it.

We teased the campaign before Sweatlag classes were up and running. Outdoor billboards were placed along highly-trafficked routes close to gyms to pique interest and encourage attendance.

Dynamic digital outdoor boards were placed on roads exiting LAX airport using live flight data to register the flight number and origin of recent arrivals from key Delta long-haul routes, encouraging the passengers of those flights to book a class at Sweatlag.com. For example, “Just landed on flight DL8508? Sweat the Paris out.”

We created a visually-stunning infographic with a Health & Wellness publisher to discuss the scientific benefits of working out post-flight. Social posts teased out content from the classes, encouraging locals to sign-up.

Once classes were in session, we geotargeted recent travellers in the fitness and wellness mindset – at LAX, competing gyms, juice-bars and popular hiking trails.

And after classes ended, we created evergreen content to give the program legs.

Delta Sweatlag became the ultimate summer workout, and buzz for Delta was palpable.

Over 200 people attended the workouts throughout the 4-week class series, and some have asked for the class to be placed back on the schedule.

A combination of great PR, an intriguing brand partnership, and local talk-worthiness garnered a ton of earned conversation:

• We generated 707 conversations about #Sweatlag on Twitter

• The campaign was covered by 15 local lifestyle publications and 19 LA broadcast news outlets

While the campaign was live, net positive buzz increased +31% and media running on Facebook and Instagram generated a +30% lift in ad recall. Overall awareness in LA increased by 6% in the competitive summer season, where attention is scarce.

We found a truly new way of showcasing Delta’s new Airbus A350, a jet lag-fighting plane, by creating a unique and relevant jet lag-fighting plan.