If you’ve ever crafted a business plan or networked with other professionals while traveling in Virgin Atlantic’s Premium Economy cabin, the company’s latest promotion may be for you.
Virgin Atlantic is currently accepting submissions for a #FlyPE contest that awards free ad space to small businesses that have used the company’s Premium Economy cabin to grow in some way. All you have to do to enter is send a tweet to @Virgin_Atlantic that includes #FlyPE and explains how Premium Economy has helped or could help you grow your business.
The promotion’s first winner, Emmaus Beauty, is a natural skin care treatment company. Founder and CEO Aminah Sagoe (pictured above) wrote her product launch speech in Virgin Atlantic’s Premium Economy cabin:
@VirginAtlantic I wrote the speech for the launch of my skin care brand (Emmaus) in the comfort of my spacious Premium Economy seat. #flyPE
— Emmaus Beauty (@EmmausBeauty) September 16, 2015
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Two weeks after Sagoe sent that tweet, she received a message saying she had won the free ad space. She then got the opportunity to work with Virgin Atlantic’s creative team to put together a free campaign for her business.
Sagoe said in an exclusive interview with Small Business Trends, “One minute I was sending a tweet to Virgin Atlantic (per instructions), the next minute (well two weeks later to be exact), I was dancing for joy, when reading my congratulatory email. Three weeks after the tweet, I found myself whirling through forms and prep work, and finally the day of the shoot arrived. Fast forward, I was staring at a huge screen, in the midst of New York City.”
Virgin Atlantic is offering the free ad space on a variety of different platforms, including YouTube video ads, display and video ads on Entrepreneur.com and outdoor advertising in New York City. The company says that the mix of platforms might change for other winners. They will determine on a case-by-case basis which platforms will work best for each business.
Virgin Atlantic covers everything including production, creative development and media placement. So it’s completely free for winners.
Virgin Atlantic helps coordinate all aspects of the ad campaign. But Emmaus and the other winning companies still have creative control over the message of their ads. And aside from a mention of the contest at the end of each ad, the messages are that of the winning businesses, not of Virgin Atlantic.
Corporate Communications Program Manager for Virgin Atlantic Jaime Fraser explained in an email to Small Business Trends, “We collaborate with the winners on the production, so we give them access to the resources we have, including our creative teams. But the content that they focus on and the products they promote are completely up to them.”
Virgin Atlantic will choose another winner soon. That winner’s ads will be featured on the company’s Q1 2016 campaign. Interested businesses have until 11:59:59 a.m. Eastern Time on Friday, November 27 to tweet their entries to Virgin Atlantic using the dedicated hashtag.
The only real eligibility requirement for the campaign is that businesses be registered in the United States. There are no official size requirements to determine what exactly qualifies as a small business. But the company is looking to showcase brands, like Emmaus Beauty, that exemplify Virgin Atlantic’s “Let It Fly” spirit.
Fraser said of the current winner, “As we’ve been working with her we’ve been so impressed by her tenacity and drive – she’s taking on the giants of the beauty industry and challenging the status quo. As a challenger brand ourselves, that’s a quality we really admire.”
Nice way to celebrate. I think that a lot of businesses would be interested for they have a big name in this industry. Talk about leverage.
Yes – a great opportunity!