PACIFIC successfully repositions Flights.com as an experience provider.

Unboxing

The campaign increased YouTube subscriber traffic by 153%, experience page traffic by 50%, and social traffic by 291%.

/ Opportunity

Flights.com, a subsidiary of Expedia, Inc., exists to make traveling the world easy, affordable, and fun—but in the beginning, they were seen only as a flight provider. They wanted to go beyond flights to increase awareness of all their offerings. We had data, insights, and research about how long-term happiness correlates with experiences, rather than short-term purchases (a new phone, for example). We wanted to put together an experiential marketing campaign to connect with potential new customers in a big way.

/ Services

Creative & Web Design
Content Marketing
Experiential & Social Media
SEO
User Experience

/ Insights

We knew long-term happiness was linked to experiences, but in our research, another trend also emerged. A spike in search results and social conversations around the latest tech rollouts came to light, most prominently around the launch of a new iPhone.

Inspired by these insights, PACIFIC created the Unboxing Campaign. The concept was centered around the idea that the most famous tech rollouts could be used to remind people that experiences are much more rewarding than buying another gadget.

/ Results

The campaign kicked off with a parody of the most famous “unboxing” channel on YouTube. The video reached more than 770,000 views in only a few days, and generated amazing conversations. We also developed a full microsite that compares the price of a new phone to a travel experience, and we partnered with travel influencers to spread the campaign message.

Then, we hit the streets. On the day of the iPhone release, a street team arrived in New York with a challenge. Would die-hard fans eager for a new product be willing to leave the line for a free trip? The answer was yes—as proven by the results.

153%

YouTube subscriber increase

291%

Social traffic increase

/ YouTube Ad