Those looking for a warm getaway from New York's currently freezing temperatures have a new travel option, now that JetBlue has direct flights from the city to Palm Springs, California. As a quirky way to publicize the new offering, the airline partnered with the Greater Palm Springs Convention & Visitors Bureau to give New Yorkers various warm-weather-related freebies. The catch was that the prizes were sealed in ice.
The activation, which was produced by Ignited, took over Washington Square Park and the Flatiron district's pedestrian plaza on January 7. Passersby were encouraged to heed the campaign's advice and "break out of the New York chill" by breaking the ice to obtain the goodies, using whatever materials they had—including bottle openers and keys.
David Shanks, vice president of digital marketing and information technology at the Greater Palm Springs Convention & Visitors Bureau, said the activation was inspired by multiple ideas that all involved ice. There were two different approaches to the activation based on the two locations.
"At Washington Square Park, we stood back and let people ask questions and use what they had to break the ice," said Shanks. "At Flatiron, we had branded staff who explained the message and we let people know that at 2 p.m. we would have mallets."
Shanks said that because of the high frequency of brand activations in Manhattan, the primary concern was that this would get lost in the shuffle—but from a social media standpoint, he said both were a success.
Keeping with the warm climate theme, prizes ranged from golf clubs and flip-flops to tennis rackets and round-trip airfare for two to Palm Springs.
