THE OPPORTUNITY: As Southwest Airlines grows across the United States, Chicago quickly has become a hub the brand wants to invest in. Freshly off Jack Morton helping secure Southwest Airlines as the official sponsor of the Chicago Cubs, we set out to authentically launch the partnership to Chicagoans letting them know that Southwest  is the perfect airline to fly out of at both Midway and O’Hare.

However, with airlines being so similar, we had to introduce the partnership to Chicagoans in a way that set Southwest apart: with authenticity, joy and hospitality.

THE INSIGHT: True Chicagoans call dibs on their parking spots with random objects and most commonly a foldable lawn chair.

THE EXECUTION: Fans of Chicago were first teased of the partnership with lawn chairs randomly popping up in shoveled away parking spots a week prior to launch hinting that Southwest was “calling dibs” on something big.

Combined with our press release and local influencers, we then surprised locals by shoveling away snow in-front of the iconic Wrigley Field Marquee gate (the Southwest Entrance) and placed a larger than life Southwest Airline seat to cement our dibs on the Chicago Cubs as the official airline.

Fans flooded to Wrigley Field where they entered through our runway tunnel. In the tunnel, as they prepared to help Southwest call dibs, they were greeted with hot cocoa and warm hospitality, educated of the partnership, and outfitted to call dibs. To add that surprise and delight that Southwest Airlines so famously owns, fans were offered the exclusive experience to meet the Chicago Cubs player and icon: Pete Crow-Armstrong.

Fans jumped into the oversized airline seat and called dibs as well as entered into a Southwest Airlines sweepstakes to possibly win exclusive experiences only Southwest could deliver to Cubs’ fans like free flights to Spring Training.