The Virgin America First Class Shoe was specifically created to tap into the audience’s love for sneaker culture and passion for technology. We put all the high tech features of Virgin America First Class into the shoe–LED moodlighting, WiFi, a video display, a phone charger–they even had seat belt buckle shoelaces. It was a design feat that expanded the boundaries of what wearable technology could be. We made only one pair and put them up for auction on eBay on National Sneaker Day, with all proceeds going to a charity that fights poverty by distributing shoes. We seeded the story with sneaker bloggers, and it spread to tech, fashion, and mainstream media outlets around the world. Every time the shoe was written about, the features of Virgin First Class were repeated. Bids for the shoe soared to over $97,000.00.

On National Sneaker Day (October 9, 2016), we launched the Virgin America First Class Shoes, a proprietary and first-of-its-kind sneaker designed and built with the components and amenities of Virgin America's First Class cabin. With the only pair available being auctioned on eBay for charity, we developed a robust media strategy to unveil the shoes to top-tier business, consumer, design, creative and broadcast outlets including Mashable, Esquire, Gizmodo, CNBC, International Business Times and CNET. There was even an exclusive broadcast segment on Good Morning America. The press coverage put a spotlight on the innovative design and technology of the shoe, the charity auction, and Virgin America First Class amenities. In a week’s time, bids for the shoes had climbed to over $97,000.00 and Virgin America enjoyed 338,000,000 earned media impressions.

The shoes received global press coverage and were featured on many news stations, including a segment on Good Morning America which reached 1.6 million viewers alone. All of it drove to a charity auction on eBay where in just one week bids for the shoes climbed to $97,000.00. In the end, Virgin America spent nothing on media but enjoyed an incredible 338,000,000 earned media impressions and a surge in traffic to their online booking site. People around the world were reading and talking about the amenities of a ten year old airline product as if it was brand new.

With just $10,000, we took a 10-year-old airline product and turned it into a pair of high-tech sneakers that were written and talked about all over the world, each time repeating our message about the amenities of Virgin America First Class in a fresh and positive way. Not only did the Virgin America First Class Shoe generate millions of earned media impressions and bookings for our client, but they also expanded the boundaries of what wearable technology could be.

The Virgin America target audience was an upscale, fashionable, and creative business traveler. We knew they had a distrust of traditional advertising but a passion for the latest technology and a huge interest in sneaker culture. So to get their attention, we turned Virgin America First Class into a one-of-a-kind pair of high tech sneakers. Since there was only one pair, we upped the hype by auctioning the shoes on eBay where all proceeds went to charity. Because the shoes had so much outrageous technology built in, we were confident everyone from the sneaker bloggers to the technology, fashion, design and mainstream news outlets would pick up the story.

Despite being an innovator in the airline category, other carriers were starting to catch up to Virgin America by offering similar inflight experiences. We needed to remind flyers that Virgin America First Class was still the most luxurious and high tech experience in the sky. Problem was, we were talking to a jaded, upscale audience who ignored (and even distrusted) traditional media. The good news? We knew these people were into the latest technology. In fact, the only thing they were into more was sneaker culture.