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| Story Booth, for telling tales |
New York’s Rockefeller Center was recently the site of a new kind of marketing campaign when JetBlue customers lined up to enter a bright blue Story Booth and share their experiences flying with the airline. If the storytelling sounds familiar, that’s because it’s a spinoff of the airline's successful ad campaign for television.
The Story Booth program is an example of modifying a strategy that works well in traditional media and taking it to the streets, the newest platform for reaching consumers.
To find out how to get your client’s message out in front of consumers in real time, read on.
This is one in a Media Life series on buying the new out-of-home venues. They appear weekly.
Fast Facts
What
Spinning off elements of traditional broadcast or print campaigns into guerilla or alternative media.
Who
Mr. Youth, headquartered in New York.
How it works
Mr. Youth's goal was to take a successful traditional media campaign for JetBlue, in this case television, and extend it into a contemporary interactive street campaign.
“We’re utilizing best practices in each of the respective elements,” says Doug Akin, vice president for brand development.
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| The Story Booth, the ad come to life in New York's Rockefeller Center |
The experiential “buzz” programs target three audiences:
-A live interactive Story Booth modeled after a version of the television ad is traveling to 10 major markets over 18 weeks. Consumers are invited to share their JetBlue experiences. Street teams drive traffic to the site.
-JetBlue’s mobile marketing vehicle, called Blue Betty, is traveling to the airline’s destination markets. The interior simulates a JetBlue cabin to showcase the airline's amenities like DIRECTV.
-CrewBlue uses student ambassadors to promote JetBlue at events on college campuses.
The Story Booth television ads developed by J. Walter Thompson are based on testimonials by JetBlue customers.
“JetBlue television advertising is about real consumers talking about their experiences,” says Matt Britton, a Mr. Youth founding partner. “We were hired to be a physical extension of that. People who love their experiences want to talk about them.”
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| Blue Betty: A JetBlue cabin on wheels, traveling across America |
The Story Booth is set up in central locations in each market. “When the customer steps into the booth a virtual attendant that’s pre-programmed is on the screen,” Akin says. “The customer then has 60 seconds to share a story.”
People waiting in line can also hand-write their experience on a postcard to send to JetBlue headquarters. Postcard art reflects the local market, including snow-capped mountains in Colorado and a surfer in California.
A 50-inch LED screen mounted on the exterior of the Story Booth broadcasts ads specific to each market.
Testimonials recorded in the Story Booth could be used in subsequent advertising campaigns by the airline.
CrewBlue street teams of student use posters, flyers and chalk art to promote new JetBlue destinations, fares and on–board services. They also sponsor existing campus events and institute “Blue Days” where students who dress in blue can win free airline tickets.
On-campus marketing was tested in one market last year.
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| Blue Betty: Feeling of flight with mockup of plane's inside |
Blue Betty is set up with elements of the interior of a JetBlue cabin, says Tracy Sandford, the airline’s director of marketing. “It has seats, entertainment, route maps.”
The goal of the Blue Betty program is to attract new customers by touting the airline’s customer service, Akin says. The mobile marketing vehicle travels to festivals, fairs, sporting events and shopping districts. Ticket giveaways are part of each type of program.
Markets
This type of campaign is possible in the top 40 markets, Akin says. The Story Booth appeared recently in New York and is scheduled to travel to Los Angeles, Oakland and San Jose, Orlando and Fort Lauderdale, Boston, Burlington, Vermont, Rochester, N.Y., and Washington, D.C.
CrewBlue will be on 27 colleges campuses in Virginia, Massachusetts, New York and California this fall.
Blue Betty will visit more than 35 JetBlue destinations as well as some college campuses. Markets are in Washington, Oregon, California, Utah, Colorado, Nevada, Arizona, Texas, Louisiana, Florida, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Virginia, New York, New Jersey, Vermont, Maine and the District of Columbia.
Numbers
The Story Booth set up in New York’s Rockefeller Center had 75,000 people pass by and 20,000 directly engage in activities during the week-long campaign, Akin says. Of those, 500 recorded testimonials. Most filled out entries for the ticket giveaway.
How it is measure
The number of impressions was determined by the number of entries for the ticket giveaway.
Research
Follow-up surveying by Mr. Youth on JetBlue’s 2005 college campus campaign in Boston found that:
-Students who reported they were aware of JetBlue increased 41 percent over the course of the campaign
-Students who reported that they were very likely to fly JetBlue increased from 12 percent to 53 percent
What product categories do well
“Apparel, automotive, beauty products, things that people have ongoing loyalties with,” Akin says. “The angle is to reach loyal customers. Those who say they can’t live without this moisture cream. They use it all the time.”
Demographics
“There are three different target audiences for the three programs,” Sandford says. “The college program is very defined. The Story Booth is an extension of the television ad campaign targeting customers, and Blue Betty is very much targeting everyone.”
Making the buy
Lead time varies with the type of campaign with the testimonial portion requiring two to four months to implement.
Who’s already using elements of a traditional media campaign to bring their message to the streets
JetBlue Airways
What they’re saying
“At this point the feedback is mostly anecdotal. A big part of the Story Booth is that it has great internal marketing power for us. When our crew members can hear the stories, like a crew member helping someone out, it excites people and has huge implications internally.” – Tracy Sandford, director of marketing for New York-based JetBlue Airways
Web site info
Mr. Youth at www.mryouth.com
