• by Larissa Faw , August 14, 2017

JetBlue Vacations and the Bermuda Tourism Board are raising awareness for the Caribbean destination through an activation developed with MullenLowe Mediahub, Rapport Worldwide, and Pearl Media.

The “Bermuda Calling” program introduced three old-school phones outside of a pop-up storefront near New York City's Times Square. The store was wrapped with brightly colored signs that said, "When a vacation to Bermuda calls, answer."

Passersby that picked up the ringing phone spoke to a Bermudan brand ambassador live, who shared commentary about the island and proposed summer destinations. The ambassador also added unique details about the user’s surroundings through hidden cameras near the phones.

Several participants won flight vouchers, including two grand-prize winners who received an all-expense paid trip for two to Bermuda.

Footage of those who answered the phones and won prizes are the basis of a video appearing across social media.

“The key to any successful activation is finding the right balance of location, engagement and incentive,” stated Daniel Odham, SVP production, Pearl Media. “This program disrupted consumers in one of the most high traffic areas in the country. It took them through a journey of emotions when they found out who they were really talking to — from surprise to humorous confusion to pure delight.”

Earlier this year, it teamed with agency Rokken on a similar project on behalf of the Jamaica Tourist Board. They surprised unsuspecting NYC Queens subway riders with free tickets to the island of Jamaica.