Case Study 01: Southwest Soundstage
Client: Southwest Airlines
Project: Southwest Soundstage: Elevating Brand Engagement Through Music
Southwest Airlines, a global aviation giant and one of the largest advertisers in the United States, embarked on a strategic partnership with iHeartMedia Atlanta in 2014 to elevate its brand visibility and expand its market reach along the East Coast, commencing with Atlanta, home to the largest airport in the United States.
Company: iHeartMedia, Inc.
Client: Southwest Airlines
Industry: Aviation
Project: Southwest Soundstage
Video: Southwest Soundstage Recap
Project Director & Live Event Broadcast Director: Steven Garza
Objective
Acknowledging iHeartMedia’s demonstrated proficiency in orchestrating successful global brand launches, Southwest Airlines enlisted its expertise to craft a unique and impactful campaign tailored specifically for the Atlanta market. Intending to extend its reach to other iHeartMedia East Coast markets in the future, Southwest aimed to capture a significant portion of the Eastern market share while solidifying its foothold in the region.
The primary objectives of the campaign were twofold:
- Develop an integrated marketing campaign to enhance the perception of Southwest Airlines’ products in the new territories and evolve its brand identity to meet the changing demands of consumers in the evolving market.
- Compete directly with Delta Airlines, particularly in their home turf, which includes Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, the world’s busiest airport, and capture a larger share of the market.
Solutions
Southwest Airlines has a rich legacy of crafting impactful national campaigns in collaboration with iHeartMedia, the world’s largest radio broadcaster boasting nearly 1000 radio stations across the United States.
Recognizing the expertise and regional insight of iHeartMedia’s Atlanta team, Southwest entrusted them to spearhead a bespoke consumer-facing initiative. This program aimed to invigorate the brand’s identity, positioning Southwest strategically in Atlanta to seize a larger share of the market.
Execution:
- Experiential Audience Strategy
- Experiential Digital Strategy
- Content Development
- Consumer-facing Content Strategy
- Promotions Development
- Promotions Strategy
- Influencer Strategy
- On-air Campaign
- Digital Campaign
- Social Media Campaign
- Live Concert Events
- Live Concert Broadcasts
Program: Southwest Soundstage
Experiential Marketing
The “Southwest Soundstage” initiative emerged as a pioneering venture, captivating audiences for five years until the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. This program, designed to cultivate connections between music enthusiasts and emerging artists, provided an exclusive platform for listeners, social media followers, and event attendees to engage with up-and-coming talent before they attained widespread recognition.
Operationalized in 2015, the Southwest Soundstage epitomized innovation in experiential marketing. Combining intimate live performances with immersive online broadcasts, Southwest Airlines, and iHeartMedia Atlanta transformed conventional concert experiences into unforgettable encounters. The meticulously curated lounge ambiance, complete with branded amenities and state-of-the-art broadcasting facilities, set the stage for unforgettable performances by acclaimed artists such as Ed Sheeran, Dua Lipa, and Twenty One Pilots.
Southwest Airlines took music enthusiasts on a journey to meet their favorite artists and witness live performances in an exclusive and intimate setting. These live performances were broadcast over the internet to larger audiences worldwide, showcasing Southwest’s commitment to innovative audience engagement and evolving amidst the pandemic.
The Southwest Soundstage, curated by iHeartMedia Atlanta, featured a concert-ready music lounge complete with a clubhouse-like waiting room, kitchen and bar, cloud-based selfie stations, artist meet-and-greet areas, an artist green room, and a performance space equipped with state-of-the-art sound, visuals, and broadcasting equipment.
This setup rivaled a television station, ensuring high-quality broadcasts to internet audiences and radio stations alike. Southwest Soundstage provided Southwest with brand ownership sponsorship opportunities, leveraging signage placement to maximize audience exposure and brand recognition. Audiences were greeted with Southwest-branded amenities, including cloud-based selfie stations, collectibles, and snacks, creating a memorable and immersive experience for attendees.
Campaign Results
The Southwest Soundstage program yielded exceptional results, exceeding expectations in audience engagement, social media reach, and artist partnerships. With over 60 VIP experiential meet-and-greets and live performances, the campaign facilitated meaningful interactions between fans and their favorite musicians.
Notably, Southwest Airlines achieved unparalleled exposure, with social media impressions soaring to millions across consecutive years.
- Over 60 VIP experiential meet-n-greets and live artist performances.
- Over 60 artists served as influencers to market Southwest’s brand before the adaptation of influencer marketing.
- Marketing on 2 top-positioned reporting radio stations and 2 different formats.
- Year-round consistent exposure 24/7/365.
- Unparalleled social media exposure.
- 75 promos per month per station. 2700 promos per year per station. 5,400 total promos.
- Net reach 775,600 per month. 9,307,200 million per year.
- 2015 Social Media reach 580,000 impressions.
- 2016 Social Media reach 5 million impressions.
- 2017 Social Media reach 7.6 million impressions.
- 2018 Social Media reach 16 million impressions.
- Over 1500 face-to-face engagements with music fans will associate Southwest for life with each VIP experience and meeting their favorite musicians for the first time.
- Exclusive performances from Ed Sheeran, Twenty One Pilots, AJR, Charlie XCX, Little Mix, Dua Lipa, Noah Cyrus, Bazzi, The Unlikely Candidates, Charlie Puth, Wyclef Jean, New Politics, Clean Bandit, Daniel Skye, Iggy Azalea, Ashley Simpson, Drake Bell, Gavin James, Lauv, Olivia Holt, R5, Hey Violet, In Real Life, Logan Henderson, Troye Sivan, 5 Seconds of Summer, Fitz and The Tantrums, PVIRS, Sir Sly, Aaron Carter, Why Don’t We, Vance Joy, Nathaniel Rateliff, Andrew McMahon, The Avett Brothers, Bleachers, K.Flay, Manchester Orchestra, Dreamers, Christ Shiflett of Foo Fighters, Dashboard Confessional and many more.
Record labels response.
“I’ve worked in Atlanta for many years and in the Southeast and I have to say that the Southwest Sound Stage is one of the best client sponsored music programs I have ever seen. It’s beautiful. Everyone loves coming in here, listeners and the bands (they get excited with the peanuts) and are really happy to do all of our performances here. Its great to work with the stations and everyone in the cluster, such an innovating team and we’re just really happy to brings all of our bands to a great place like this. Thank you so much!”
JENNIFER ZIDEL – RCA RECORDS
” I just wanted to leave you a quick note to tell you how much we enjoy bringing our artists to the Southwest Sound Stage here in Atlanta. It is one of those venues where we know our artists will be treated correctly, the sound is Impeccable and the visuals will be great. It is just a comfortable creative environment for our artists! You get a full thumbs up from all of us at Capital Records, thank you!”
CHRIS SICILLANO – CAPITOL RECORDS – UNIVERSAL MUSIC GROUP
Campaign Achievements
The Southwest Soundstage proved to be a resounding success, benefiting Southwest Airlines, iHeartMedia Atlanta, record labels, and artists alike. This initiative not only solidified Southwest’s dominance in Atlanta but also served as a pilot program for expansion into other key iHeartMedia markets along the East Coast and West Coast, including Washington DC, Ft. Lauderdale, Miami, and Los Angeles.
Consequently, Southwest Airlines exceeded its original objectives, significantly increasing its market share in these vital airport markets and forging deeper connections with audiences than ever before.
Awards
The Southwest Soundstage program was the recipient of 3 industry awards awarded by The Academy of Interactive and Visual Arts.
- 2018 Communicator Award – Effective Marketing
- 2018 W3 Award – Excellence in Web Creativity
- 2017 Communicator Award – Branded Content
Southwest Soundstage Recap
The program’s concert roster and history are also available on IMDB.
About Southwest
Southwest Airlines Co., typically referred to as Southwest, is one of the major airlines in the United States and the world’s largest low-cost carrier. It is headquartered in Dallas, Texas, and has scheduled service to 121 destinations in the United States and 10 additional countries.
The airline was established on March 15, 1967, by Herb Kelleher and Rollin King as Air Southwest Co. and adopted its current name, Southwest Airlines Co., in 1971, when it began operating as an intrastate airline wholly within the state of Texas, the first flying between Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio.
Southwest currently serves airports in 45 states and multiple Central American destinations. Southwest’s business model is distinct from other US airlines as it uses a rolling hub and point-to-point network and allows free checked baggage.
It exclusively uses Boeing 737 jets in its fleet. The airline has nearly 60,000 employees and operates about 4,000 departures a day during the peak travel season.
Southwest Airlines flew its Boeing 737s into Atlanta for the first time on Feb.12, 2012.
Source: Wikipedia