• by Danielle Oster , June 18, 2024

As the summer travel season heats up, Virgin Atlantic is teaming up with Vox Media and the hosts of a business and technology podcast for an audio campaign promoting the airline’s premium, personalized Upper Class offering.

The campaign will feature Kara Swisher and Scott Galloway. hosts of New York magazine’s technology and business podcast “Pivot.” Focusing on promoting the airline’s premium offering to business travelers, the campaign will include branded segments focused on the future of transportation and travel June 19, July 26 and July 3, produced by Vox Media in-house content studio Vox Creative, and a dedicated series sponsored exclusively by Virgin Atlantic. 

Additionally, the campaign will feature host-read ads running across episodes of “Pivot,” as well as Galloway’s “Prof G” and Swisher’s “On With Kara Swisher,” along with other Vox Media business and innovation podcasts.

In the branded segments, Swisher and Galloway document their experiences with Virgin Atlantic’s “Upper Class” while retaining a “brash, humorous, and informative” tone in line with “Pivot” audiences’ expectations, according to a release announcing news of the campaign.

Each ad takes listeners along for the journey as Galloway travels from London to Vegas, and Swisher jets from New York City to London. They include a look inside Virgin Atlantic Clubhouses at New York’ JFK and London’s Heathrow airports, social spaces in-flight, and personalized services offered by the airline's flight crew. Sample audio provided by the brand features Swisher ribbing Galloway in feigned surprise that he was allowed into the airline’s clubhouse, while Galloway shares his go-to dining selection -- chicken tikka masala –--and outlines his pre-flight routine.

“’Pivot’ reaches a large and loyal audience of executives and established professionals that hang onto every word and piece of advice that Scott and Kara share,” Vox Media vice president of podcast partnerships Bryon LaBumbard told Marketing Daily. “This made the show a natural home to promote Virgin Atlantic’s personalized Upper Class offering, and also speaks to the unique value of podcast advertising, which reaches engaged audiences you won’t find in any other medium."

Podcast advertising is projected to grow to $4.02 billion in revenue globally in 2024, according to Statista, which projects future growth of 7.76% annually to a market volume of $5.03 billion by 2027. The medium has particular appeal to brands seeking to connect with a refined and engaged target audience, according to Statista.