Summary: How do you inspire travel agents to sell European vacations? This immersive, passport-themed campaign put agents in the traveler’s seat—with a tactile puzzle-book promo, real rewards, and cleverly disguised product education that drove bookings and brought Europe to life. 

✈️  American Airlines + Hertz | This Time It's Your Turn!

Client: American Airlines & Hertz
Category: Travel Industry Promotion | B2B Engagement | Sales Incentive
Target: U.S.-based Travel Agents
Partners: American Airlines + Hertz

🎯 Objective

Despite being the engine behind thousands of dream vacations, travel agents rarely get to experience the perks of international luxury themselves. American Airlines and Hertz set out to change that with one goal in mind:

Get agents excited to book Europe-bound trips—and educate them on travel products in the process.

The mission was twofold:

1. Drive bookings on American Airlines with Hertz rentals across Europe

2. Deliver destination knowledge through an engaging, memorable medium

💡 The Big Idea

"This Time It’s Your Turn" turned the tables by putting agents in the traveler’s seat—offering them the chance to win the European vacation of a lifetime through a fun and cleverly disguised learning tool.

A passport-to-prizes promotion, masquerading as a puzzle book.
A quiz. A contest. A game. A sales tool.

🧳 The Interactive Kit

The campaign was delivered in a tactile, fold-out format reminiscent of a well-worn travel journal or passport, filled with colorful destinations, trivia challenges, and stamp-matching activities.

Included were:

• A pull-out European map with key cities highlighted (London, Brussels, Milan, Stockholm)

• Destination stickers and "passport stamps" that agents had to correctly match

• Trivia questions disguised as crossword clues, geography hints, and riddles

• Hidden visuals showcasing American Airlines flights, Hertz vehicles, and iconic European landmarks

Agents completed the activity and mailed in their entries to qualify for grand prizes.

🎁 The Rewards

The Grand Prize was designed to feel just as luxurious as the trips agents booked for others:

• ✈️ First-class airfare on American Airlines

• 🚗 Hertz rental car for a self-guided European tour

• 💶 $1,000 in travel cash

• 🏆 Prestige and bragging rights among peers

Hundreds of smaller rewards were included to keep participation high—travel accessories, luggage tags, gift cards, and product-branded merch.

🛠️ Execution & Distribution

• Promo kits were mailed to travel agencies nationwide and presented at industry roadshows

• Sales reps used the game format as a conversation starter to introduce product updates and travel packages

• The interactive format helped "sneak in learning” about airline routes, Hertz offerings, and key European cities

📈 Results

• Engagement rates soared, with 65% of kits returned completed (well above industry norms)

• Participating agencies booked 28% more Europe travel during the campaign period

• Brand recall among agents improved significantly—particularly for Hertz’s European product line

• Sales reps reported stronger relationships with agency clients thanks to the personal, gamified interaction

🧠 Key Takeaways

• Gamification works—especially when it feels like a break from the usual B2B sales push

• Tactile engagement (stickers, maps, puzzles) reinforces learning and recall

• Positioning the agent as the customer builds empathy, excitement—and ultimately, better sales

"Discover the Great Cities of Europe—On Us."
They book the trips. We booked them a reason to care.

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Summary: How do you make a nonstop flight unforgettable? This edible mailer disguised as a pizza delivery served travel agents a giant cookie—and a cleverly packaged message about American’s new Chicago–Milan route. A delicious blend of surprise, strategy, and sweet incentive. 

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🍪 American Airlines + Hertz | Ristorante Milano Cookie

Client: American Airlines + Hertz
Campaign: Launch of Nonstop Service — Chicago to Milan
Medium: Edible Direct Mail | B2B Sales Promotion
Target Audience: U.S.-based Travel Agents

🎯 Objective

With a new nonstop route between Chicago and Milan, American Airlines needed to cut through the noise and build immediate awareness—and booking momentum—within its most critical partner audience: travel agents.

Rather than relying on the usual fare of brochures and email blasts, the team asked:

“What if we served the message... literally?”

The mission:

• Generate buzz and excitement in agency offices

• Communicate flight details and partner rates clearly

• Create a memorable, shareable brand interaction

• Drive actual bookings on the new Milan route
  
  

💡 The Concept: “Ristorante Milano”

Instead of paper mailers or inbox clutter, travel agents across the country received something totally unexpected:

A custom pizza box from “Ristorante Milano”…
…but inside, no pizza.
Just a giant 12-inch cookie topped with shredded coconut and chocolate chips, sliced like a pie and ready to enjoy.

Atop the cookie sat a clever “take-off menu”—the edible campaign’s print collateral—outlining:

• American’s new nonstop flight service from Chicago to Milan

• Hertz’s affordable Europe-bound rental car rates

• Special sales incentives and booking rewards

The theme: Italian-inspired, tastefully executed.
The delivery: unexpected, delightful, and delicious.

📦 Kit Contents

• 🍕 Branded Pizza Box – featuring Italian flag stripes and dual American Airlines/Hertz logos

• 🍪 12" Cookie – chocolate chip with coconut topping, sliced into wedges

• 📋 "Take-Off Menu" – promotional insert styled like a ristorante menu

• 📄 Recipe for Success Sheet – outlining booking instructions, route highlights, and special agent incentives

🛠️ Execution & Distribution

• Kits were delivered by courier or hand-carried by sales reps directly to top-performing travel agencies

• Agents were encouraged to share the cookie with colleagues and read through the promotional material as they enjoyed the treat

• Hertz promotions were co-branded into all materials, reinforcing the cross-sell opportunity for European travel packages

📈 Results & Impact

• 📞 Immediate lift in call volume and inquiries for Milan-bound travel packages

• 📅 Booking targets were exceeded for the launch quarter of the Chicago–Milan route

• 🤝 Strengthened relationships between airline reps and travel agents, with many reps reporting “best ever” feedback on a promo

• 💭 High recall and retention of route details and incentive offers—agents remembered the message because they remembered the cookie

“Everyone loves pizza. But everyone really loves a cookie that looks like pizza and comes with an airline bonus.”
— Midwest Sales Manager, American Airlines

🔑 Key Takeaways

• Edible marketing creates memorable moments—especially when unexpected and well-themed

• Creative packaging (like a pizza box) builds anticipation and shareability

• Tangible, multisensory engagement beats dry collateral for driving learning and loyalty

• Great promos aren’t just about messaging—they’re about delivering joy, surprise, and value

🍴 Final Word:

“Ristorante Milano” was more than a cookie.
It was a story agents could bite into—and a route that flew straight to the top of their sales sheets.

🍪✈️ A recipe for success—served one sweet slice at a time.

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Summary: How do you turn a travel training kit into an unforgettable sales adventure? This oversized, gameified poster campaign transformed the backroom into a global scavenger hunt—equipping agents with upsell tips, destination knowledge, and a shot at prizes, all disguised as play. 

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Client: American Airlines + Hertz
Medium: Interactive B2B Training Game | Sales Incentive Program
Target: Travel Agents
Focus: Global destinations | Upsell training | Booking stimulation

🎯 Objective

Most travel agent promos are forgettable—flyers, PDFs, or generic incentives that barely scratch the surface. American Airlines and Hertz set out to do something different.

How do you equip agents with upsell tools, global knowledge, and booking incentives—without putting them to sleep?

The goal was clear:

• Boost international package bookings

• Educate agents on flight routes and Hertz rentals

• Gamify product familiarity to increase attention, retention, and application

🧩 The Solution: Gamified Global Sales Adventure

Enter the Bring Your Clients the World kit:
A giant game-poster experience, rolled up and shipped in a tube—ready to turn breakrooms and back offices into immersive sales adventures.

Think: Hidden-object puzzles. Decoder clues. Scratch-off trivia. Magic pens.
A full learning experience disguised as play.

🧳 What's Inside the Tube?

1. Oversized Interactive Poster

• Full-color, globe-centric visual featuring landmarks, cultural cues, and culinary snapshots

• Country flags, visual puns, and symbols offered hints to prize questions

• Agents visually “traveled” across continents through clues embedded in photos

2. Scratch-Off Quiz Cards

• Each card featured fun, multi-choice travel trivia with immediate win/loss responses

• Correct answers unlocked eligibility for weekly prize draws

3. Red-Window Decoder Cards

• These magic overlays revealed hidden phrases or answers on the poster

• Created tactile fun and prompted deeper scanning of destination features

4. Magic-Reveal Pens

• Used to uncover invisible ink responses, adding mystery and excitement to learning

• Some clues were riddles, others were product-specific (e.g. Hertz fleet options, route maps)

5. Instruction Sheet + Entry Coupons

• Simple instructions for participation

• Prize submission forms for tracking engagement and booking results

🏆 The Payoff

Agents who completed poster interactions and submitted their entries qualified for:

• International airline vouchers

• Hertz rental certificates

• Travel accessories

• A grand prize global getaway for the top-selling office

Participation wasn’t passive—it was playful, practical, and profitable.

📈 Results

• 🔺 40% increase in bookings for multi-component international packages (flight + Hertz)

• 📚 Agents reported a dramatic boost in destination knowledge retention

• 🧠 Over 75% of participants said they “learned more this way than any webinar or flyer”

• 🏆 Campaign earned internal recognition as one of the most engaging dealer initiatives of the year

• 📸 Offices proudly displayed completed posters and posted photos with prize kits, creating buzz

💡 Why It Worked

• Visual storytelling anchored learning in real-world context

• Hands-on interactivity made training fun and memorable

• Game-based learning rewarded curiosity, encouraged competition

• Layered message delivery (via multiple formats) increased effectiveness

“Bring Your Clients the World” proved that when learning feels like play, selling feels like second nature.

Not just a training tool—but an experience that brought the whole team along for the ride.

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Summary: What if sales felt like a victory lap? This gamified leaderboard promo turned travel agent offices into racetracks—rewarding every Hertz + American Airlines European booking with a Hot Wheels advance, team cheers, and serious bragging rights. 

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Client: American Airlines + Hertz
Channel: Internal B2B Sales Incentive Program
Medium: Gamified Breakroom Display | Physical Leaderboard + Print Collateral
Target: Travel Agents (primarily in-office/agency teams)

🎯 Objective

With a strong inventory of Hertz rental car offerings in Europe and newly expanded American Airlines international flight routes, the brands sought to:

• Drive bookings of bundled flight + car packages to European destinations

• Engage front-line travel agents in a way that was hands-on, ongoing, and highly visible

• Transform everyday sales into team-based competition to sustain attention and performance over time

This wasn’t just about sales—it was about culture, morale, and shared momentum.

🏎️ The Big Idea: Race Thru Europe

What’s faster than a sale?
A Hot Wheels car tearing across a leaderboard with your name on it.

“Race Thru Europe” reimagined sales tracking as a visual race to the top. A wall-mounted Grand Prix race board became the centerpiece of the back office—giving every team a lane, a car, and a goal.

With every qualifying booking of a Hertz rental and American Airlines flight to Europe, that team’s car moved one space closer to the finish line.

The faster the sales, the faster the car.
The more bookings, the better the bragging rights.

🧰 Campaign Components

1. Oversized Leaderboard Display

• Laminated Grand Prix map of Europe, complete with scenic route markers

• Velcro race lanes allowed Hot Wheels cars to be repositioned as teams advanced

• Each team had a designated car and lane (up to 5–6 teams per board)

2. Branded Hot Wheels Cars

• Color-coded race cars were issued to each team

• Travel agents were encouraged to nickname their cars and build team identity

3. Progress Guidebook

• Explained the rules, prize tiers, and qualifying booking criteria

• Helped team captains log and submit their daily progress

4. Supporting Collateral

• Email templates and desk-drop cards promoting the contest

• Printouts for tracking weekly wins and mini-challenges

• Prizes included: airline miles, travel bags, Hertz discounts, and a grand prize European getaway

🏆 Results

• 📈 Sales of European Hertz rentals rose by over 30% during the campaign window

• 🧠 Agents reported higher recall of European destination pairings and bundled offers

• 🤝 Office camaraderie soared, with agents reporting “the most fun we’ve had with a promo in years”

• 📸 Dozens of participating offices submitted photos of their boards, some even customizing their “cars” and creating pit stop themes

“Every time someone made a booking, the whole office got loud. We’d move the car, cheer, and talk trash to the other teams. It was competitive, but in the best way.”
— Travel Agent Team Leader, Midwest Region

💡 Why It Worked

• Visibility + Accountability: Sales progress was public, daily, and easy to understand

• Gamification: Turning routine tasks into challenges drove engagement

• Tactile Interaction: Physically moving cars created a deeper sense of progress

• Team Spirit: Friendly competition built agency morale and shared motivation

🏁 Final Word

“Grand Prix: Race Thru Europe” wasn’t just a sales contest—it was a movement across maps, minds, and morale.

When travel agents feel like they’re playing, selling becomes second nature.
And when their efforts are celebrated with every lap, momentum is inevitable.

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