Delta Air Lines approached Sky Media with a challenge. The brand wanted to elevate its global partnership with The Masters to upmarket males across the UK. The partnership united the leading US global carrier with golf’s premier tournament to improve brand perceptions of Delta as a premium and upmarket offering in the U.S. Subsequently, a platform was needed in the UK to extend awareness, promote premium brand values and ultimately, drive trial.
Research shows the Sky Sports Golf audience are twice as likely to be high-net- worth individuals (earning £50k+) who fly business or first class vs. the UK population. This offered Delta a lucrative audience and platform to deliver its brand message.
Teeing off professional golf’s first major championship of the year, Sky Sports and Delta partnered to enhance the viewing experience for audiences across the country.
Taking advantage of the intensity of the final 9 holes, in the final week of the masters, which holds a captive audience on the edge of their seats, Sky & Delta co-created 9, short-branded documentaries to be broadcast within the Masters coverage, named ‘the Last Nine’. These short films told the stories of world-class golfers – including last year’s champion, Sergio Garcia alongside golfing hero Bubba Watson – and their experiences of the ‘Last 9’ at The Masters where the “minimum requirement is perfection”. The documentaries would mark the first time advertiser funded programming has featured across Sky Sports premium golf estate, taking the partnership beyond a branding exercise, into the editorial.
Boasting multiple award wins, including a BAFTA for its unrivalled coverage of golf’s heritage professional championship, The Open, Sky Sports provided a fitting and premium environment for the content to live. Working hand-in-hand with production, the partnership delivered content on par with the editorial coverage to ensure a seamless and quality delivery.
Leveraging the relationships Sky Sports hold with world-class golfers, each 5 minute documentary featured ex-champions sharing their advice with current and upcoming Masters Competitors on how to improve performance, reinforcing Delta Air Lines’ mantra of constantly striving for perfection.
Each documentary was carefully woven into editorial coverage across Sky Sports Golf channel, enhancing viewer experience with unparalleled insight. This approach continued onto Sky’s on-demand platforms to extend reach and offer viewers an outstanding and accessible viewing experience. Further targeting to core affluent audiences was activated via AdSmart and Sky AdVance across linear and digital throughout the campaign to ensure the content was not missed.
Illustrating the dedication required to achieve perfection in golf, the 9 episodes culminated in an hour-long documentary, edited and curated by Sky Sports to be broadcast across linear, on-demand and digital platforms. This not only added to the viewing experience of consumers across the UK with Delta at the forefront, but also extended brand reach and engagement for Delta beyond the Masters week with the content available for a month post event.
Adobe and Sky Arts
