Book & Fly: The Campaign That Took Off and Kept Climbing

The Challenge

Virgin Australia faced a recurring challenge: how to quickly fill seats on underperforming routes and travel periods. Traditional marketing was too slow and too broad to address the problem with the precision and speed the airline needed.

The Strategy

impact.com and Silverbean partnered with Virgin Australia to develop a first-of-its-kind performance strategy for aviation. Through the Book and Fly initiative, the airline moved beyond one-size-fits-all promotions to a dynamic, data-led model. Using cashback, reward, and coupon affiliates, the team deployed hyper-targeted incentives to reach the right travellers, at the right time, with the right offer.

The Work

SKU-level promotions and real-time optimisation turned low-demand routes into high-performing ones. Technical deployment of real-time availability data activated route-specific incentives tied to targeted destinations and travel windows. Dynamic landing pages, unified platform tracking, and tight feedback loops ensured commissions were only paid on qualifying bookings, making every element of the programme accountable. What began as a tactical experiment quickly became a catalyst for long-term change, transforming Virgin Australia's approach to performance marketing entirely.

Results

The campaign significantly boosted bookings on optimised routes and exceeded performance targets. Coupon partnerships drove notable revenue and ROAS gains, with standout results from Cashrewards, ShopBack, and Reward Gateway. The model is now a core part of Virgin Australia's commercial strategy.

The Judges' Verdict

"The data-led approach successfully built momentum and generated a positive halo effect for the brand's equity."