Louisville International Airport

What We Did

Media Relations
Stakeholders Engagement
Social Media
Marketing
Advertising

The Challenge

The Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport planned to launch daily nonstop service to Los Angeles (LAX), a destination highly desired by regional business travelers.

Several airport stakeholder groups provided financial backing for the flight, including the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development, Louisville Tourism, Louisville Metro Government, Louisville Renaissance Zone Corporation and Louisville Regional Airlift Development (LRAD).

To ensure long- term sustainability for the service, the airport needed to standardize
messaging across key stakeholders, leverage collective marketing resources and build public awareness of the flight before the first tickets were sold – all in less than four months.

The Solution

C2 Strategic drove a high-energy, collaborative approach with each stakeholder group’s
leadership to optimize opportunities for media and influencer exposure. In three
months, C2 created an arsenal of new communications tools — including a comprehensive strategic communications plan, a road map for earned and social media opportunities, a promotional video series, op-ed articles and relevant graphics.

Our team worked hand-in-hand with each airport partner to develop foundational messages, frequently asked questions, a core PowerPoint presentation, fact sheets and talking points tailored for each stakeholder to guarantee that each partner spoke with a consistent voice about the flight’s economic and tourism benefits.

Finally, C2 Strategic leveraged its deep relationships with local and regional media to drive multiple media opportunities for airport executive director Dan Mann to promote the new flight.

The Results

From February to April 2019, our efforts earned nearly 100 media mentions with a reach of nearly 133 million at an estimated media value in excess of $200,000.

The inaugural flight sold out and was 86 percent full in the first month. Advanced bookings were strong throughout its first nine months of launch.

The success of the SDF-LAX direct flight is helping airport leadership and key stakeholders make the case for additional direct flights and the continued expansion of air travel for the Louisville region.