SEE THE WORLD DIFFERENTLY
THE HEAD SCRATCHER
To cement Virgin Atlantic’s position as the most inclusive airline in the skies, we listened to its people, ripped up the (Vivienne Westwood designed) uniform rule book and re-wrote its gender identity policy offering its people the option to choose the uniform they identified with most and also introduced pronoun badges, gender neutral ticketing systems and mandatory inclusivity training for its people.
THE IDEA
We announced it to the world with an inclusive, stylised fashion forward ‘runway on a runway’ content campaign, fronted by Drag Race sensation, mother to a non-binary child and LGBTQ+ ally, Michelle Visage, alongside Virgin Atlantic’s people, LGBTQ+ influencers, trans and non-binary pilots and crew, punchy media relations and a sprinkling of Virgin flair.
We captured content designed to bring Virgin Atlantic’s brand platform of ‘See The World Differently’ to life and honour the brand’s heritage of challenging the status quo – building an emotional connection through telling the stories of the real crew members positively impacted by the change.
An inclusive influencer programme spread the world on social, while paid media complemented the campaign.
THE RESULTS
Winner of Marketing Campaign of the Year (Burberry Diversity Awards 2023), Consumer Campaign of the Year (PR Moment Awards 2023), Superior Achievement in Brand Building and Superior Achievement in Measurement & Evaluation (Sabre EMEA Awards 2023).
Our announcement dominated the headlines, with over 550 UK articles (2,000+ globally) including 51 nationals and an earned reach of over 4.6 billion.
Within just two days the story had gone viral, reaching over 3.4 million on social, generating 2.2 million engagements and an average engagement rate of 4.1%. We trended on Twitter and even got the seal of approval from non-binary icon and singer, Sam Smith, who shared the story on their Instagram twice.
Post campaign, Virgin Atlantic saw an 10% increase in colleagues saying they felt ‘included at work’ and an 11% increase in agreement that Virgin Atlantic is a brand that ‘encourages employees to be their true selves at work’.
And since the campaign went live, job applications to Virgin Atlantic have doubled.
Post the campaign Virgin Atlantic saw increases in key image statements including:
22% increase in being seen as an ‘inclusive’ airline
13% increase in being seen as an airline for ‘someone like me’
15% increase in being seen as an airline with a purpose, that’s trying to make people’s lives better
