A story that deserves more attention: Delta, St. Jude and a trip to the "North Pole"
I write a lot about consumer marketing stuff. A good deal of it is from big mass brands doing things that are funny and buzz-driving and, ultimately, not that important. And, yet, those things gets tons of press, engagement and enthusiasm. Yesterday, I came across a story that is far more touching, powerful and purposeful. Unfortunately, it’s gotten anywhere near the exposure of Taco Bell’s scented wrapping paper or Roasted Turkey Pringles. Which is a crying shame.
So the least I can do, is write about it here. Hopefully, folks can keep passing it along. That’s the only way I saw this is in the first place.
stjude.org
Here’s the (great) deal. Each year the folks at Delta and the Memphis Airport team up with St. Jude Children’s Hospital to coordinate a Fantasy Flight to the North Pole. The kids and their parents receive special boarding passes for the journey. Upon arrival at Memphis Airport, they are greeted with fanfare and slowly make their way through the terminal and onto the jet bridge, with representatives from St. Jude, Delta employees and airport personnel all taking part in the experience.
Once aboard, the families take their first class seats. This year, special therapy dogs even took part in the festivities to help spread the holiday spirit. The plane, usually the special charter vessel usually reserved for the NBA’s Memphis Grizzlies, was replete with holiday lights and decorations, filled with song and as bright as can be.
The trip to the “North Pole” — complete with simulated engine revving and captain’s announcements — ended at another area of the airport where the kids and their families got to meet Santa and indulge in other gifts and holiday entertainment. A wonderful series of photos from the Fantasy Flight experience can be found from this link via The Commercial Appeal.
This year marked the 10th Anniversary of the event (from Flymemphis.com):
This marks the 10th year that Delta Air Lines and Memphis-Shelby County Airport Authority (MSCAA) employees have coordinated this event. The local Transportation Security Administration (TSA) also assists in coordinating the Fantasy Flight, which also receives contributions from airport tenants HMS Host, Gate Gourmet, and Paradies Lagardère.
“For 10 years, airport employees have teamed together to host this wonderful holiday event,” said Scott Brockman, MSCAA President and CEO. “We’re so grateful to have such community-oriented partners at MEM, and we’re excited to once again spread Yuletide joy to these children and their families!”
Kudos to all involved in this effort. I hope now, or in the future, this story travels far beyond the Memphis local media. It deserves to be told and shared. It deserves to remind people to donate to organizations like St. Jude. It deservers to serve as a model for how those of us whose respective “stockings” are full can really make a difference.
My only recommendation for next year to the orchestrators? Shoot a bit of appropriate video to fuel the pass-along (which seemed to have been done in past years, but I couldn’t easily find any shareable clips from this year). Here’s an example from 2017:
[youtube=://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQ0JKmPdxgc&w=854&h=480]
Happy holidays to all — and to more stories like this that remind us of its true spirit.