2025 Gold Travel and Leisure

Agency: Uncommon Experience Studio

Client: British Airways

Entry Title: Escape key

Executive Summary

British Airways faces a perception challenge: while customers value the brand’s quality, many question the value for money. Weekly Offers is designed to tackle that head-on, creating a ritual that drives conversion spikes and reframes the brand as ‘premium value’.

Strategy

Consumer insight showed that value-seeking travellers spend longer in planning, compare multiple brands and often default to cheaper carriers. Yet they still aspire to the quality British Airways offers.

The strategy was to disrupt that planning phase with a ritualised trigger - a midweek event that built urgency, excitement and routine. The ESC key concept was born from behaviour: millions sit at desks daydreaming of escape. What if British Airways gave them a literal escape key? This metaphor provided both a cultural truth and an instantly recognisable visual identity.

Strategically, the mechanic worked on three levels: High-impact OOH and social video launched the concept, making ‘Hit Escape’ a cultural shorthand; every Wednesday, CRM and ba.com delivered the latest drop, building ritual through consistency; and offers focused on short-notice availability, ensuring strong commercial impact without undermining full-fare sales.

Creativity

Weekly Offers needed to stand apart from British Airways sales events and look nothing like low-cost competitors. The creative identity was simple yet distinctive: bold black-and-white typography inspired by keyboards, paired with vibrant destination imagery.

Each week, executions flexed to showcase that week’s offer, but the framework remained unmistakably ESC. Assets spanned the funnel at launch: OOH and press introduced the mechanic, social video and digital display built intrigue and FOMO. CRM became the heartbeat of the programme - personalised, timely and driving direct clicks.

A ba.com landing page provided a consistent hub for all offers, reinforcing habit and ensuring ease of conversion. Tone was witty, premium and urgent - ‘Don't miss your chance to escape’.

Results

The campaign drove clear increases in bookings across the featured routes, helping British Airways to fill available seats and boost shoulder-season performance. Incremental revenue growth was observed week on week, directly attributable to the new offers mechanic.

Owned channels became the heartbeat of the programme. CRM achieved consistently stronger performance driving an uplift in CTR of X% vs British Airways’ business-as-usual benchmarks. The regularity of the mechanic encouraged repeat behaviour, with customers beginning to actively anticipate Wednesday drops. Website analytics confirmed repeat visits, demonstrating that Weekly Offers was embedding itself into customer routines.

The Team

Shaun Rogers, Senior Creative Artworker, Uncommon - Michael Pinchbeck, Design Operations Manager, Uncommon - Paul Mason, Senior Designer, Uncommon - David Pomfret, Managing Partner, Uncommon - Alice Barnes, Business Director, Uncommon - Lily Snow, Account Director, Uncommon - Sejal Patel, Producer, Uncommon - Alistar Owen Planning Director, Uncommon - Nils Leonard, Founder, Uncommon - Lucy Jameson, Founder, Uncommon - Jacqueline Hedge, Senior Creative, Uncommon Experience Studio - Becca Duggan, Senior Creative, Uncommon Experience Studio - Gracie Hawes, Senior Creative, Uncommon Experience Studio - Rose Charles, Account Director, Uncommon Experience Studio - Leonie Hondeborg, Strategy Director, Uncommon Experience Studio - Lauren Ashford, Business Director, MG - Frankie Tomlinson, Global Brand Communications Manager, British Airways - Ellen Bright, Marketing Lead Manager, British Airways