Southwest Airlines

PUBLIC AFFAIRS
FIRST THINGS FIRST.

Southwest Airlines chose Houston as the market to spread its wings with its first international terminal and chose us to shout the news from the rooftops. Because Southwest invested more than $150 million to build the new terminal, we knew a construction project of this scale was going to kick up more than a little dust. Instead of hiding the work behind bland temporary walls, we used the construction barricades to communicate the benefits of the new terminal to travelers.

Our Houston public relations team then garnered thousands of local and regional media hits before the excitement throttled up to a three-pronged, never-before-seen event: a beachball release in City Hall’s reflection pond; Southwest employees and Scuba Steves (aka event promoters) spreading the news of Southwest’s international flights throughout the city; and a grand finale that featured lighting City Hall in Southwest colors to commemorate the airline’s historic announcement.

To date Southwest has bid ¡Buen viaje! to hundreds of flights from its international terminal each year, and it’s helped Hobby Airport become one of the fastest growing airports in the U.S.

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