“First choice” is a critical brand health metric correlated with market share.

In East Coast markets like NYC, Boston, and South Florida, JetBlue has invested in building its route network and brand. The airline leads in “first choice” over competitors by 30% (on average) and thus, in market share as well.

But on the West Coast, JetBlue was middle of the pack at best, “Jetwho?!” at worst. Improving “first choice” was the essential first step in achieving growth.

With only $500K, and no brand campaign or awareness-driving media like TV, we needed two major outcomes:

• Increase “First Choice” at least +15ppts in the LA market

• Drive buzz (we needed to earn the impressions we couldn’t afford)

• *Bonus - increase transcontinental bookings

Pie in the Sky

As New York’s Hometown Airline, JetBlue knows no one does pizza like New York. So, we decided to fly an iconic taste of our home—authentic New York pizza, to LA. Pie in the Sky was the first same-day transcontinental pizza delivery service by plane, designed give West Coasters unfamiliar with the brand a real taste of the JetBlue experience.

Executing this idea meant building the business and the technology to make it happen.

First, we partnered with the greatest, authentic New York pizza institution: Patsy’s Pizzeria of East Harlem. Then, we designed the service, and the site (jetblue.pizza) that allowed LA folks to order authentic New York pizza online, track it in-flight, and get it delivered to their door.

Delivering hot, fresh pizzas required 35 kitchen staff, 24 pizza ovens, 50 delivery drivers covering 3,000+ miles, and a custom algorithm designed to circumnavigate L.A. traffic.

Give West Coasters a taste of the JetBlue experience: Deliver authentic New York pizza to LA.

Having the JetBlue experience (award-winning service, unlimited snacks/drinks, the most legroom in coach, fast, free Fly-Fi) was “love at first flight.” Qualitative research proved it.

But, only 11% of the LA market had ever flown JetBlue. Raising “first choice” meant getting non-customers to have the JetBlue experience.

Giving away free flights was unscalable and expensive. We needed another way to sample the JetBlue experience.

And then it hit us…sometimes, the best way to someone’s heart is through their stomach. No seriously! Food is experiential, cultural, emotional. Food creates memories and forges relationships.

Food was the ultimate vehicle to help us sample the JetBlue experience. And pizza was the one food that linked New York with LA (and everyone else).

“Pie in the Sky” took flight in a few key ways:

We enlisted influential voices to buzz about it. Like film icon, pizza guru, and proud New Yorker/Patsy’s lover Spike Lee. Celebrity pizza lovers Chrissy Teigen, Lisa Rinna, and Sofia Richie, and LA- and New York-based editors like VICE Munchies, Metro, and Bon Appetit Magazine.

We targeted LA residents who were foodies/pizza lovers, and true New Yorkers “at heart.” Reaching a range of celebrities, press, and locals alike who live in LA (but visit NY often), we served up custom social content in their feeds and high-impact OOH in their neighborhoods.

“Pie in the Sky” was the activation that did the impossible: deliver over 1,000 authentic New York pizza pies to LA over 3 days. The takeaway for LA folks? If JetBlue would go to these lengths to get them a quality slice, imagine the experience of flying JetBlue.

Fast Company called it a “steaming box of earned media gold.”

“Pie in the Sky” was a completely ownable brand experience that allowed us to fly a slice of home to LA, while providing a taste of the JetBlue experience we deliver every day.

• Drove a +22PPT lift in “First Choice” among West Coast non-customers

• Earned 923M PR and social impressions, worth $4.1M in earned media, 8X our paid investment!

• Caused a +26% lift in LA to JFK transcontinental bookings during the same campaign period YoY

• Garnered 100,000K+ site visits to jetblue.pizza

• Made $14,490 in incremental revenue from pizza sales

Behold, the power of appealing to the heart, by way of the stomach.