After holding numerous focus group tests in Edmonton, Red Deer, Saskatoon, and Grande Prairie, it became clear that people drove to Calgary to fly primarily out of habit. This prompted us to create a breakthrough idea that would have people stop their habit; this grew into a loyalty platform that focused on the idea of habit cessation. We needed people to “Stop the Calgary Habit” because, when they went south, so did their air service. We needed people to see that changing their behaviour would mean a better air service closer to home.

With that, we developed an EIA Activist Team who had been former Calgary addicts or habitual users who ere trying to convert others and make them aware of the damage to Edmonton’s air service that was being done every time someone chose Calgary over Edmonton. These manifested themselves into confessional TC+V spots where a man shamefully makes his Edmonton habit known, and radio spots where friends and family intervene on a loved one to get the to kick their Calgary habit. This same theme was run in outdoor, magazine and an innovative microsite where you could go to get the tools you needed to quit, including a virtual “Quit Kit’ containing such items as an Emergency Hypno Cure, a Support Sphere (which when shook would deliver new tips on quitting), real parking and food and beverage incentives at EIA, a cost calculator to calculate the comparative costs of flying from Edmonton and Calgary, and a habit quiz that would gauge how deeply imbedded your Calgary habit actually was.

Once launched, this campaign created a buzz all across Canada and into the United States with coverage in USA Today. Daily newspapers, TV and radio covered the launch extensively and online forums and blogs raged for weeks with opinions on both sides – pro Edmonton and pro Calgary. A conversation was started that wasn’t there before, new and nation-wide awareness of the issue was achieved, and for the first time people saw the issue plainly in front of their faces.

The net result was an incredible reduction in drive leakage. Within the first six months of the campaign, EIA estimates that between 22,500 to 30,000 fewer Edmontonians drove to Calgary for flights. That represented a 3%-4% reduction in drive leakage, or as much as three to four times greater than EIA’s initial 1% goal going into the campaign. The new traffic represented new revenues for EIA (estimated between $600,000 to $750,000 in airport improvement fees alone). Because of the additional interest and growing loyalty, the campaign also helped EIA attract new direct non-stop flights (which were up by 21% shortly after the campaign).