Where is the most important place for your luggage to be functional, sleek, and stylish? You probably said “the airport”. Invisible North collaborated with the team at Away Travel, founded in 2016 by former Warby Parker employees Stephanie Korey and Jen Rubio. Terminal A, an experiential pop-up shop in Soho, where the customer’s entire experience is modeled after an airport terminal.
Upon arrival, visitors are “checked in” and given personalized boarding passes, complete with a 25% off discount code toward your next trip to the airport using Lyft. If you decide you want to commit to the purchase of an Away bag, you simply check off the items you wish to purchase and present it to be monogrammed free of charge. Your next stop is “Security” where you are given the chance to snap photos of Away’s incredibly Instagram-worthy selection. The only prohibited items on a flight leaving terminal A? Bad vibes and dying batteries, the latter being a clever nod to Away’s carry-on pieces which feature phone-charging capabilities. Pretty genius.
Last but not least, make sure to stop by “Houston News” to pick up souvenirs from your trip to Terminal A, snacks, or a copy of Away’s travel publication, “Here”, the latest edition featuring Queer Eye star Jonathan Van Ness on the cover.
Terminal A is an incredible experience and is a great example of experiential PR done well. We wanted all the details of the setup and creative process, so we caught up with Invisible North, the team behind Terminal A.
Describe to us the creative process behind creating Terminal A
We had the luxury of a solid lead time so nothing was rushed for the sake of meeting self-imposed restrictions and we were really able to let this idea breathe and grow as it needed. Investment in the idea, not just the application.
Tell us about the team and the collaboration effort with Away
We both brought our own perspectives to the development of Terminal A – Away came to the table with a robust brand ethos and smart understanding of the travel/lifestyle landscape, we showed up with a deep knowledge of experiential spaces and production know-how.
While this describes the ideal client-agency relationship, our collaboration was such a success because both teams trusted the other in their area of expertise and allowed them to run with it.
These perspectives fluidly coalesced into the development of an activation that we all believe is smart, accessible, considered, and ultimately, organically brings Away and its product portfolio to life.
How was it working with the Away team?
Highly collaborative and rewarding – they are extremely thoughtful about everything that they do and this really came through in how we worked together. The level of attention and respect for detail infused into this activation came alive largely by the intentionality they put into their approach to decision making and problem solving. There are always hurdles to overcome when working in production, and a huge credit goes to their team for always remaining strategic and goal oriented. Very considered, not just in the decisions they made, but in every interaction.
What was the greatest challenge that you and your team faced during the development process?
This is the nature of production, but it’s always a full-time job to keep wishlist aligned with the realities of building a physical activation. Both our team and theirs were extremely dedicated to pushing creative ideas to their fullest potential, and always tying that back to considerations like venue, timeline and materials.
What did you enjoy most about seeing this event through? Tell us what you learned from the experience.
We always love seeing the final space in the flesh. Standing in an environment that you’ve worked on for months evokes a unique combination of familiarity and accomplishment. The “renders to reality” success is something we really pride ourselves on across strategy, design and production!
One lesson that was driven home in working with Away is the importance of clarity of idea. Clearing away all of the clutter that can oftentimes come with creative ideation is the singular most defining characteristic of a successful activation. Knowing how and when to let an idea go in order to focus on the essence of the experience is crucial.