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Loyalty programs faced a credibility crisis. Australians remained deeply skeptical about converting their points to airline points, particularly to Velocity, amid cynicism about corporate behavior. We needed to overcome entrenched skepticism and demonstrate trustworthiness in a way traditional marketing couldn't.
In an era of corporate cover-ups, we orchestrated a seemingly catastrophic error - an intern offering a "billion" rather than "million" points - and then honoured it, creating a living demonstration of trustworthiness no conventional advertising could match. This transformed consumer perceptions from just another loyalty program to a brand that keeps its promises even when costly.
On May 1st, we sent an email to 7.5 million people with a subject line containing a deliberate typo—offering a "billion" point giveaway while the content mentioned only a "million." The apparent discrepancy sparked immediate media debate and social conversation. After 24 hours of mounting speculation, Velocity publicly declared they would honour the "mistake," allowing Australia to take advantage of the seemingly unintended offer. We then documented the "consequences" through a 40-part mini-series that transformed a single marketing moment into an ongoing narrative.
