Bronze: Best Use of Event or Experiential Marketing (Five Venues or Fewer) 2015

A green room is generally reserved for performers and talk-show guests to unwind before their appearances. JetBlue, however, made a Mint Room available to anyone who wanted to sample the star quality of its new premium front-of-the-cabin service, Mint.

At The Grove, a high-end shopping and entertainment complex in Los Angeles, the airline and agencies Allied Experiential and Mullen Advertising created the JetBlue Mint Room atrium and lounge. Visitors could test out the lie-flat seats and order gourmet nibbles from Mint’s in-flight food and beverage partners, New York restaurant Saxon + Parole and bakery Mah Ze Dahr. To wash down their snacks, guests sipped Mint-inspired drinks at a mocktail bar while recharging their phones and tablets. The weekend-long event kicked off with a VIP press and influencer party featuring a performance by contemporary bluesman Gary Clark, Jr.

To allow attendees to commemorate the luxury respite—and to encourage social sharing—JetBlue staff used iPads to take photos of visitors lounging in the seats, which they could then share online immediately. Guests who might not have wanted to post their #JBSeatSelfies no doubt reconsidered once they realized that JetBlue was giving those who did the chance to win round-trip Mint tickets from L.A. to New York. In addition, the first 50 people to share their photos each day of the event received a custom JetBlue Mint Birchbox of toiletries, just like the ones featured on each flight.

More than 30,000 people participated in the event, which generated more than 300,000 social media impressions. Those who were unable to sample the first-class treats and service were probably mint-green with envy.