Apr 25, 2006 6:02 AM, PROMO Xtra, By Amy Johannes

JetBlue Airways has signed on youth marketing firm Mr. Youth to handle a variety of promotional activities for the low-cost carrier to help build brand awareness among consumers.

The airline is launching three separate campaigns to reach new audiences to show consumers a "different side" of the airline via experiential marketing promotions.

"It's being able to reach out and talk to people and let them know what JetBlue is about and why we are different and doing it in a more one-on-one or more intimate manner," said Tracy Sandford, JetBlue's director of advertising and promotions.

In the first campaign, Mr. Youth is rolling out a new promotion that lets JetBlue customers share their stories and experiences about the New York City-based airline.

Through the Story Booth promotion, JetBlue is visiting eight markets where customers' can tell their stories about the airline inside a mobile studio. The best stories will be considered for Jet Blue's national ad campaign, said Matt Britton, the agency's chief of brand development.

"We found that JetBlue customers feel very connected to the brand," Stanford said. "They want to tell their stories."

The promotion follows a new JetBlue ad campaign created by JWT, New York, in which customers talk about their personal experiences on the airline. Mr. Youth had worked with JetBlue last fall for an experiential marketing campaign.

The Story Booth kicked off yesterday in Rockefeller Center in New York and will travel to Boston, Fort Lauderdale, Los Angeles and Orlando, among other key markets. The promotion concludes in Buffalo, NY, in mid-August. Print ads, e-mail blasts and street teams support. Mr. Youth manages market-by-market guerilla efforts.

Further, Mr. Youth is managing JetBlue's mobile-marketing vehicle, Blue Betty, which gives consumers a taste of JetBlue's on-board flying experience. For example, visitors can sample XM Satellite Radio, leather seats and DirecTV. A customized Airstream RV, Blue Betty rolled out last month and will travel to concerts, fairs and other major events across the country in top JetBlue markets through November.

Such promotions helps JetBlue "move the needle" and better reach consumers," Britton said.

In addition, Mr. Youth is expanding its CrewBlue student ambassador program for 2006. In September, college students in five markets (New York/New Jersey, Washington, DC/Virginia, Bay area, southern California and Boston) will help promote the brand through guerilla marketing tactics and word-of-mouth activities. Between 60 and 80 student ambassadors will be recruited as part of the program, Britton said.

Last fall, Mr. Youth launched a test version of the program at 18 colleges in the Boston area. The effort proved so successful, JetBlue asked Mr. Youth to expand the program this year, Sandford said.

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