The Brief

Innovation consultancy Accenture and tech provider Amadeus formed an alliance to drive transformation in the airline industry. They needed a launch vehicle — something that would announce the partnership, build relationships with airline executives, and establish the alliance as a magnet for forward-thinking companies. A press release wasn’t going to do it.

The Approach

I created Air Pitch, a startup competition designed to discover the next generation of airline disruptors. The winner would receive a week-long design sprint at the Alliance Innovation Center in Dublin, working with Accenture and Amadeus engineers to implement their solution into an airline partner’s tech stack. The program unfolded over a full year across multiple activations: a custom microsite, a video series featuring insights from airline innovation leaders, content marketing to drive applications and build industry awareness, and a live finals event. To drive credibility and executive attention, I designed the final pitch as a main-stage moment at Skift Global Forum — three finalists presenting to 500+ industry leaders and a judging panel from American Airlines, Etihad, and Icelandair.

The Outcome

Over 50 startups applied. The program launched the Accenture-Amadeus alliance with a level of industry visibility and executive engagement that traditional marketing couldn’t have delivered, and created a repeatable format the alliance could use in subsequent years.