Introduction
On October 5, 2019, Delta Airlines completed their fifth-annual WING flight, a flight entirely orchestrated and executed by women, in honor of International Girls in Aviation Day. WING, standing for “Women Inspiring our Next Generation,” is a program founded by First Officer, Cheri Rohlfing, and Manager of Pilot Development, Beth Poole, along with more than 50 other Delta employees and partners. The program’s development was established in response to the gender gap in the aviation industry as well as a means to spark interest in science, technology, engineering, and math affiliated careers to girls at an early age.
The flight flew 120 girls from schools with STEM and aviation programs to NASA’s Mission Control Center in Houston, where they delved into the world of flight and space exploration and met women in NASA’s program such as astronaut Jeanette Epps. The flight also included an interview session where the passengers could ask the Delta staff about their roles at the airline in addition to general questions about the aviation field.
Delta began the WING campaign with its first flight in 2015, and since then, over 600 female students have flown through the program. Delta’s WING campaign is an important case to analyze because it has consistently generated positive news and media coverage for the organization as well as impacted the future of female pilots by uplifting and encouraging adolescent girls to further their education of a typically male-dominated industry.
Research
It’s assumed that Delta did not conduct any primary research to determine that lack of gender diversity in STEM-related fields, but instead looked at preexisting research done by other organizations. In their press release, Delta referred to a statistic from a notable study conducted by the Federal Aviation Administration in 2017. According to the study, only 7% of U.S. pilots are women. Delta took notice of the lack of female pilots in their registrar and determined the need for change. Delta reported on their website that approximately 5% of its pilots are women, which is below the nation’s already low average. The comparison exposed that Delta was a part of the problem, and subsequently led to the establishment of its WING program to combat the lack of gender diversity in the aviation industry. To ensure an impact on the future of potential female aviators, the campaign targeted student-age girls who qualified for the WING program as well as Delta’s current female employees. The women would serve as influential figures to all girls who have an interest in STEM and help alter the mindset that men are the only ones who can have careers in the field.
The campaign occurred during a crucial period where female-empowerment and gender equality were heavily discussed topics on social media. Delta incorporating this trend into their agenda would ensure media coverage, and when executed correctly, a successful campaign. Delta has had a long history of advocating for gender equality, achieving 100% pay parity for their frontline employees in 2019, being awarded “Best Workplace for Women” by Great Place To Work and Fortune for multiple consecutive years and partnering with a multiple of women’s empowerment foundations such as Girls Who Code and the Society of Women Engineers.
Objectives
The WING campaign illustrates Delta’s goal to neutralize gender inequality in the aviation industry and fulfill their corporate social responsibility. According to Delta’s website, their objective with the campaign was to improve the gender gap by exposing young girls to female representation in STEM and in turn attract more women to the aerospace and aviation fields. Delta’s principal internal objective was to increase the number of female pilots in their own company. Poole stated that exposing girls to aviation at a young age would inspire them to be “pilots in the Delta cockpit” in the future, with prospective generations of women following. Delta reported that 7.4% of their new hires have been women throughout the last four years, and are “working to drive those numbers upward.”
Programming
Delta’s key messaging with the WING campaign was to show that it cares about the future of female youth and women’s empowerment. Featuring themes of feminism, an especially salient topic in the media, was a strategic decision. The WING flight took place in correlation with the date of International Girls in Aviation Day and featured a staff entirely composed of women and discussions with key female figures, such as astronaut Jeanette Epps. In addition to the flight, Delta hosted an event to celebrate the holiday in Madrid on the same day as the flight.
According to PR Week, Delta mostly relied on an organic social media approach, meaning that instead of depending on paid media to spread its campaign message, Delta trusted publications to pick up the news and write positively about WING after Delta posted information about campaign through its own social media channels. Delta promoted the campaign on its blog and other social media platforms by posting promotional pictures, videos and articles about the WING flight. This media was shared by other accounts and media outlets. Delta also used paid media to widen the campaigns’ reach. In March 2019, Delta contacted the Today show and began planning a segment that would highlight the campaign. Natalie Morales, an anchor for NBC News’ TODAY show, covered the WING flight’s journey to Houston and even brought an all-female news crew. Morales’ exclusive coverage was aired on the Today show and posted on its social media accounts. Before the segment aired, Delta sent press releases and other assets under embargo, including a selfie of the all-female crew and passengers in the main cabin which was taken by the pilot.
Evaluation
On their website, Delta self-reported that the campaign performed successfully and generated extensive news and media coverage. According to PR Week, the WING flight campaign produced over 420 earned media stories by big-name outlets such as People, Forbes, CBS News, CNN Travel and USA Today. In addition to the Today show coverage, more than 200 local broadcast channels mentioned the all-female flight on their shows. Delta’s press release generated a multitude of impressions, 9,800 in total and Delta News Hub and Apple News each produced 1,700. Within the first week of the campaign, the story was referenced in 4,700 public social media posts and almost 500,000 shares of earned media articles. Delta’s female empowerment campaign also fostered relationships with multiple organizations, such as Girl Scouts of the U.S.A, which expressed interest in a potential partnership in the future.
Alternative Ideas
Although Delta did an exceptional job with executing this campaign, there are a few alternative ideas that could have had a positive impact on it’s success. For example, had Delta invited more than one reporter to observe the WING flight, their outreach on the campaign could have been much wider. In addition, splitting the WING program into two separate age groups to hold more targeted conversations could have provided a more beneficial opportunity for the passengers. When comparing a girl at 12 years old versus 18 years old, there is a clear gap in knowledge and experience. Girls who are 12 years old are just starting to find their interests, while by 18 years old are looking to start their collegiate and professional careers. Lastly, by only sourcing students from STEM-related schools, Delta is alienating those who have an interest in STEM but don’t necessarily have the resources or abilities to attend these schools. Having access to the WING program would prevent these students from being deterred from STEM occupations and provide them with previously unattainable opportunities.
Summary
In summary, Delta’s fifth WING flight campaign was a strategically intelligent decision because it took the trending topic of female empowerment and combined it with pertinent issue of gender diversity in the airline industry. Not only did Delta show the public that it prioritizes corporate social responsibility, but it also used the WING campaign to interest more girls in aeronautics and fulfill their goal of hiring more female pilots. Statistically, the high number of earned news and media coverage and impressions prove that the public was receptive to this campaign.
