Challenge
Emirates Airline partnered with LCI to promote the launch of the world's first nonstop service between San Francisco and Dubai, one of the hottest new destinations for business and leisure travelers.
With the San Francisco service launch still five months away, LCI was charged with building buzz for Emirates around the airline's plan to bring its first Airbus A380 aircraft – the world's largest passenger plane – to San Francisco International Airport for one day only. As the A380 aircraft would not service the San Francisco route, LCI needed to create local relevance and make sure target messages about Emirates' San Francisco service reached regional audiences.

Strategy
To create a local news hook, LCI confirmed that Emirates' plane would be the first fully-outfitted A380 aircraft to be unveiled on the West Coast. LCI recommended leveraging the arrival of the first A380 in San Francisco to position Emirates as a leader in airline innovation and build positive awareness for the brand in advance of the December service launch.

LCI worked with Emirates to create a high-profile event at San Francisco International Airport that was positioned as an exclusive opportunity for media to fly on Emirates' A380 – the ‘rock star' of modern aircraft. A two-hour demo flight allowed journalists and VIPs to experience Emirates' luxury product and world-class service in the air.

To create multiple photo opportunities, LCI designated a ‘viewing deck' for media to shoot the arrival of the A380 aircraft and celebratory water cannon ceremony. LCI recommended that Emirates host a press conference with media Q&A to ensure that all journalists – even those who could not participate in the demo flight – received valuable content for stories. Our team also arranged one-on-one interviews for top-tier journalists with Emirates executives who arrived from Dubai on the A380 aircraft.

The A380 event served as a 'springboard' to highlight Emirates' service launch between San Francisco and Dubai. To generate positive awareness for Emirates' new local service and ensure accuracy of coverage, LCI prepared spokespersons with messaging to bridge from the A380 to the San Francisco service launch with the Boeing 777-200LR aircraft.

Results
LCI landed front page stories on Emirates in the San Francisco Chronicle and San Jose Mercury News. The A380 event generated a total of 18 television and radio news segments on the four TV network affiliate stations; major independent player, KRON-TV; and KCBS-AM radio. WIRED.com, San Francisco Examiner, Contra Costa Times and PR Week published feature stories on Emirates, among other publications. Forty-two journalists toured the aircraft or participated in the demo flight, helping to build productive relationships for Emirates in advance of the San Francisco service launch.