In 2021, a new type of Space Race was emerging. The story unfolding was the democratization of space travel. Inspiration4 would be the first all-civilian mission into space, inviting the public to join the crew. It was proof that a trip to space could be a life-changing fundraiser and that regular people can touch the stars. Inspiration4 made the possibility of civilian space flight real for the public by merging storytelling, advertising and PR with a philanthropic cause.

In November of 2020, Shift4 approached us with an important mission. Their CEO, Jared Isaacman had secured four seats on board a SpaceX rocket in what would be the first all-civilian space flight, which Jared would command. He’d be bringing three civilians along, putting the seats up for grabs in a nationwide contest. Jared had been dreaming about this journey since childhood, and his ambitions for how it would be announced and how it would impact the world were as big as the dream itself.

Although much of the mission at its onset was still undefined, one certainty was that the mission had to be attached to a worthy cause. The campaign behind the mission would start with a message introducing the launch and inviting viewers to literally join the crew. In essence, we were going to recruit the public, and thereby challenging them to think

Specifically, the goal was to fly the first all-civilian, non-professional astronaut crew into space, and in the process, raise a $200M bounty for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

Accepting this massive undertaking presented us with an unforeseen series of first-ever challenges that seemed to come one after another…

•Mission idea, mission branding and logo, mission patch

•Contest + sweepstakes

•Marketing campaign for the mission

•Realizing the mission – training, mission goals

•Introduce a bigger story – Netflix docuseries with Time Studios

Choosing the biggest platform in the world: the Super Bowl, we put out a clarion call to invite anyone to go to space for free. Bringing the world on board, the :30 announcement at the Super Bowl was amplified by a bespoke media strategy that could achieve unparalleled reach, reinforced by high impact creative that drove conversation. An all-civilian crew selection solidified the mission and gained media attention.

This wasn’t just a milestone in Isaacman’s life, but for all of humanity. We saw a unique opportunity to elevate a historic moment into a culturally transcendent one. We branded the mission’s purpose according to four aspirational pillars of human achievement: hope, prosperity, leadership, and generosity. Each crew member chosen would embody one of the four pillars. Following the Super Bowl announcement, the selection of the crew became part of the communications strategy and a focal point, sustaining the campaign and driving donations as the launch date approached. In addition to branding the mission, we designed the mission logo and the mission patch that would ultimately end up on both the Inspiration4 rocket and on the astronaut suit respectively. We also developed the colors, fonts, & tone of voice. All these designs worked together in concert under our ownership, creating consistency across all touchpoints of the mission.

The team shaped Jared’s ambition into a 360 ° campaign with a powerful call to action: Join us in space. This massive undertaking would define the scope of the campaign:

•The Super Bowl spot – wielding the biggest platform in the world, we invited the public to go to space. An all-civilian crew selection solidified the mission and gained worldwide attention. Bolstering the spot, we also developed the supporting media strategy that would cover targets not necessarily watching the Super Bowl, and implemented a paid campaign of TV, social/digital, and search. The supporting campaign ran over 200 creative variations across all channels and conducted more than 53,000 optimizations across all plan dimensions.

•Netflix series: Dreaming bigger, the team was determined to document the entire process. With TIME Studios as a partner, we documented the crew’s journey. Netflix purchased the 5-part series, providing a massive platform to share

Inspiration4’s mission concluded in September 2021—making history with the first Black female pilot, the youngest American in space, and the first person to fly to space with a prosthetic— proving to dreamers that the sky is not the limit. To date, the mission has already eclipsed its initial goal, having amassed $243 million, much of which came from everyday Americans moved by the mission and its beneficiaries.

• $243M+ raised for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital – current amount would fund:

o 15,070 major surgical procedures

o 918,461 red blood cell transfusions

o 20,893 days of inpatient care

o 8,113,075 days of meals for St. Jude families

• 85M impressions from the Super Bowl spot, reaching 40.5M households and driving 235,000 visitors to Inspiration4‘s site

• Press

o 25k+ articles

o 135 Billion impressions throughout campaign

o Largest single year fundraising campaign initiative in St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital’s history