From focus groups, WestJet learned that a major problem plaguing their business traveller target is that they often feel disconnected from the ones they love - particularly when they’re travelling up to 16 times a year for work. WestJet wanted to ease this pain point for business travellers. So, the brand created The WestJet Flight Light, a device that uses live flight data to connect business travellers to their loved ones, in situations where they previously felt disconnected. By using this data, we were able to help solidify WestJet’s reputation as Canada’s caring airline, and resonate with business travellers.

After seeing their first profit loss in thirteen years, WestJet, the friendly upstart airline from Calgary, sought growth by upgrading their product offering. Once a low-cost domestic carrier, WestJet transitioned to a full-service global carrier, complete with a fleet of new aircraft equipped with WestJet’s first ever business cabin.

WestJet needed to build credibility with frequent business travellers to whom these new services were targeted. But the number one player in the category had already staked its claim to this group decades before.

We set out to drive positive sentiment, consideration and bookings with a target who had never even considered WestJet before. Rather than taking a traditional approach, we unearthed a problem that was plaguing business travellers and set out to help solve it in an empathetic way, using data that WestJet already had at its disposal.

The average business traveller travels up to 16 times a year. That is 32 flights where they’re away from their loved ones with no means of communication. We saw an opportunity to take this time apart and turn it into time together, using data from the traveller’s flight.

We created the WestJet Flight Light, a night light that took real-time WestJet flight data and paired it with a projection system to show a user’s flight path in a creative and kid-friendly way.

The light, which was the first of its kind, was modelled after the WestJet Dreamliner. It had three simple steps to activate:

1. Parents entered their flight number into an app that was specially created for the device.

2. The app sent live flight data to the Flight Light.

3. Kids could turn on the device and see their parent’s journey projected on their bedroom ceiling

The data used was based on WestJet’s existing flight API that allowed us to pull the user’s flight information and project their flight path from the device in real time.

The projector device converted flight information into an easy-to-follow illustration for kids that updated in real time. Data was projected on a child’s ceiling, featuring the arrival and departure locations for their parent’s flight, as well as the weather.

Data targeting was one-to-one. The app and device allowed business travellers to remain connected to their loved ones during their flight. The data was completely personalized, based on the departure and arrival locations of the travelling parent. This one-to-one connectivity via the app and device also allowed parents to send personalized messages to their child, which were projected on the ceiling at the touch of a button.

We relied heavily on flight data to accurately show a user’s flight path in real-time and to project exactly when their flight would be complete. We needed these real inputs to tangibly solve a pain point for business travellers.

The device was WiFi enabled, and synced with the user’s phone via an app so that they could input and update flight details at any time. The app even allowed them to send messages and emojis which were then projected onto their child’s ceiling.

We distributed Flight Lights to WestJet pilots and cabin crew members, as well as several business travellers who were well known media personalities.

To bring this brand experience to life we created Home Again, a video that used the Flight Light to show how we could help business travellers pursue opportunities all over the world without losing connection with their loved ones at home.

One of the key objectives of the WestJet Flight Light was to build positive perceptions of WestJet amongst business travellers. And it did just that.

Sentiment for the wider Flight Light campaign was 78% positive, with business travellers praising WestJet for “no end to their personal side of customer service”, “understanding the needs of a travelling parent”, “taking a different approach to the whole flying experience and what surrounds it” and asking competitors to “take note.” On average, WestJet campaigns receive 55% positive sentiment amongst travellers. The Flight Light product and the WestJet brand were widely well perceived by an entirely new target to whom we’ve never spoken before. Individuals even went out of their way to praise us over our primary competitor.