Situation

QANTAS partnered with The Oprah Winfrey Show to fly the audience of her season opener to Australia for special tapings of the show. With just one week’s notice, our team had to prepare to capitalize on the exposure and maximize the campaign’s impact in the U.S. market.

Task

As the acting VP of Marketing during this campaign, I was tasked with developing and executing a strategic plan to leverage this high-profile opportunity. I needed to coordinate with multiple stakeholders and drive initiatives that aligned with QANTAS’s marketing goals, all while adhering to strict guidelines around the use of Oprah’s name and likeness.

Action

• Acted as the main U.S. contact, collaborating across regions (Australia and the U.S.), QANTAS leadership, HARPO Productions, LAX airport officials, and tourism board partners to ensure seamless execution.
• Organized a high-profile departure event for all 550 audience members at LAX, navigating logistical challenges with the event after security.
• Proposed and pitched a giveaway of 10 trips for 2 to Australia in key U.S. markets to amplify reach. Secured approval from HARPO and QANTAS leadership, providing creative assets for co-branded campaigns that HARPO produced.
• Balanced performance marketing expertise with broader branding efforts, ensuring QANTAS’s digital presence benefited from the PR exposure.

Result

• Achieved millions of PR impressions from the broadcast and departure event, generating extensive U.S. media coverage for QANTAS.
• Generated over 100,000 new email registrations, boosting the U.S. email audience for ongoing marketing efforts.
• Delivered co-branded campaign exposure in key U.S. markets, enhancing QANTAS’s visibility and engagement with a new audience.

The Qantas-Oprah collaboration was one of the airline’s most high-profile global activations, generating massive visibility across PR, digital, and media channels. While working on the U.S. marketing team, I helped develop strategies to amplify campaign messaging through digital and social touchpoints, ensuring alignment with broader brand initiatives. This experience reinforced my ability to execute high-profile integrated marketing campaigns, balancing PR-driven storytelling with digital amplification to maximize brand impact.