Standing out in the sea of blue
During the pandemic, Atlanta-based Delta focused on customer and employee safety, but after the resurgence in travel, the brand found itself returning to more innovative marketing, according to Emmakate Young, Delta’s managing director of brand marketing, sponsorships and Olympics/Paralympics. In addition to video, the brand has been experimenting with experiential marketing as well. For example, it hosted an intimate concert with the Jonas Brothers at Madison Square Garden for its loyalty members, and created a Los Angeles Fashion Week runway show with Issa Rae and six diverse designers.
“We’re trying to think outside the box and bring things outside of the traditional—we’re pushing into more experiences,” said Young.
And amid the industry’s sea of blue, Delta added more color earlier this year with its “Kaleidoscope” campaign. “The world is losing color,” actress Viola Davis narrates in a voiceover for the spot, which was created with longtime agency partner Wieden+Kennedy.
Delta has also been building up its social media prowess. The carrier brought its social media marketing in-house a few years ago—that creative group is now called Window Seat, and it allows the brand to be more flexible when reacting to trends. For example, for a recent TikTok trend tied to the song “The Good Part” by AJR, Delta showed a before and after of its plane with new livery for its Olympics sponsorship.
