ABOUT THIS ENTRY
World Class Athletes are also World Class Travelers, so in 2023 Delta Air Lines debuted Home & Away, a series of pro-athlete curated travel guides in their home and away markets—providing fans with the opportunity to explore local small businesses around the US just like their favorite athletes.
The program features 10 of the biggest names across a variety of sports including Sue Bird, Jalen Brunson, CC Sabathia, and more. The website also highlights seven of Delta’s partner teams and a total of 125+ locally owned small businesses across seven key Delta markets. 95% of the businesses featured on the site are owned by women or BIPOC entrepreneurs.
Each athlete selected their favorite local spots in both their home team’s market and an away market of importance to them. All content deployed via athlete and Delta social channels through a robust media plan and lived on the Delta website.
How does this represent “Excellence in Engagement”?
Our goal was to create social-first branded content that fans would actively enjoy consuming and engaging with across social channels. We measured our success in two key metrics: comment sentiment and engagement rates.
Across the board, our branded content received equal or higher engagement rates than the athlete’s non-branded content, with overwhelmingly positive sentiment reflected in comments. Overall organic engagement rate was 4.1%, which is more than 200% higher than the industry standard, with 27 out of the 37 total athlete posts being higher than their overall in-feed average engagement rates.
We feel that excellence is represented by campaigns that both serve the brand goal AND deliver insightful, entertaining content for fans to enjoy&Mdash;and by this definition we feel Home & Away represents excellence in engagement.
Objective
Delta wanted to develop a concept that better connects them to their communities through a values-led program that would drive meaningful impact and highlight key brand messages throughout the year.
Strategy & Execution
Delta worked with partner teams and players to release a travel guide that let fans visit their favorite player’s favorite spots across the country. The campaign was designed to highlight businesses owned by diverse entrepreneurs, giving their business a lift and connecting fans with unique travel experiences.
The campaign led Delta to seven markets around the country and featured more than 125 local businesses selected by athlete/team partners—then production days featuring the athletes visiting the businesses were coordinated. All videos were shot & edited on iPhone to create an organic feel that made viewers feel like they were riding along with our athletes to their favorite spots.
Content was released on a rolling basis, with launch dates selected based on relevant timing for certain athletes within their season. Each video along with an array of photos lived both on social (Instagram and TikTok) and a custom microsite.
The Home & Away website enables fans to search their favorite athlete/team spots in a variety of cities across the US. The individual pages showcase the businesses through imagery and player quotes, plus a map function that allows guests to directly reach out to any business of interest.
Organizations
- Delta Air Lines
- Octagon
Links
Credits
Emmakate Young
Head of Brand Marketing
Delta
Chase Woodfin
Manager, US Sponsorships
Delta
Katherine Morris
Marketing Manager, Brand Sponsorships & Activation
Delta
Heather Hall
Manager, Marketing - US Sponsorships
Delta
Zachary Robbins
Group Director
Octagon
Matthew Malichio
Executive Creative Director
Octagon
Lindsay Wynalek
Senior Vice President
Octagon
Sean LaGmma
Executive Producer
Octagon
Josh Patterson
Group Creative Director
Octagon
Jason Sifre
Creative Director
Octagon
Sarah Rouse
Sr. Account Manager
Octagon
Evan Bowie
Sr. Account Manager
Octagon
Melissa Johnson
Sr. Producer
Octagon
Rustin Jessen
Sr. Producer
Octagon
Stephanie Uriostegui
Producer
Octagon
Will Stephenson
Sr. Director, Strategy
Octagon
Ryan Scott
Strategist
Octagon
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