Inside the Campaign: United Airlines “Real Time Taxi” — by mcgarrybowen, with Media Partners Kinetic, MEC, Verifone
Campaign: “Real Time Taxi” as part of the The New United in New York campaign
Agency: mcgarrybowen, with media partners Verifone, Kinetic, MEC
Client: United Airlines
Background
JFK has long been considered “New York’s Airport.” However, Newark Airport (EWR) has many claims to be better for New York travelers; the most compelling being its proximity and ease. This dynamic out-of-home (OOH) campaign for United Airlines uses GPS real-time traffic data to dispel the myth that travel to JFK is faster than travel to Newark Airport (EWR). To prove it, United fitted 125 New York City taxis with GPS software to show a real-time comparison of the travel times between the city and JFK and EWR airports.
This campaign for United Airlines is launching on the heels of a $120 million renovation to United Terminal C at Newark Airport. By the numbers, over 41 million passengers fly out of Newark each year (with over 28 million on United). It ranks 15th in terms of passenger volume among US airports.
Strategy
New Yorkers are always on the move and place a lot of value on their time, which makes taxi tops the perfect place to execute this hyper-targeted strategy usually limited to online platforms. The campaign serves dynamic messaging showcasing the drive times to JFK vs. Newark in context, fueled by real-time mobile and taxi-location data. The intended result is for New Yorkers to realize the advantage of saving precious time by traveling to Newark versus JFK, and to reconsider their airport and airline choices when planning their next getaway.
Execution
mcgarrybowen worked with Verifone to develop the technology to create Real-Time Taxis—a first-of-its-kind campaign to use live traffic data to create a dynamic display for taxi tops. The digital taxi displays work by syncing real-time data from the Curb application, updating with every change in a taxi’s location and evolving traffic patterns. More than 45,000 data points were analyzed to optimize the campaign throughout keys areas in NYC.
Media was secured by Kinetic and MEC for all executions in New York City. In addition to taxi tops, the campaign is supported with other OOH executions including billboards, bus shelters, phone kiosks, newsstands, and in-airport units.
Credits:
Creative Credits
Advertising Agency: mcgarrybowen
Chief Creative Officer, New York: Matthew Bull
Managing Director, ECD: Haydn Morris
Group Creative Director, Copy: David DiRienz
Associate Art Director: Steven Graziano
Sr. Art Director: Erik Jansen
Copywriter: Anthony Pagaza
Account Managing Director: Joey Ziarko
Account Executive: Amy Laughlin
Account Superviser: Kayla Friedman
Executive Director, Strategy: Diane Epstein
Media credits
Taxi Media Network: Verifone Media
Verifone, Vice President Taxi Media: Chris Polos
Verifone, National Account Manager: Lonnie Passy
Verifone, Sr. Product Manager: Daniel Fish
Media Agency: Kinetic & MEC
Kinetic, Director: Robin Yablonski
Kinetic, Manager: Stephanie Chiu
Kinetic, Account Executive: Kelsey Moran
Kinetic, Assistant Account Executive: Micaela Moffa
MEC, Partner/Director: Megan Warfield
MEC, Manager: Jimmy Feliz
MEC, Senior Associate: Chris Brady