Delta Air Lines Winter LEAD Conference 2023

The Delta Air Lines LEAD Conference is for leaders across the organization to align on company strategy. LEAD 2023 marked a pivot point: after two years of disruption, Delta was turning its focus to the future.

Delta charged their production partners at BI WORLDWIDE with creating an event that conveyed the momentum of an innovative airline, a high-performance culture, operational prowess, and a passion to serve people. Every element needed to reflect the future-focused initiatives and technologies that would drive success in the coming year and BEYOND.

BEYOND became more than a theme. It was the modus operandi for a 2-day event engineered to set Delta on a clear trajectory to the future. It called for a setting that would get their audience revved up. Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium proved to be just the ticket.

The flawless implementation of an exceptional staging design featured a unique ‘treetop’ platform 12’ above the endzone, allowing CEO Ed Bastian and other leaders to be close to the audience as they spoke...and providing a visual backdrop that focused all eyes forward, in support of the theme.

On January 25th-26th, 2023, 6000 DELTA leaders gathered for the largest non-sporting, non-concert event in stadium history. Throughout the attendee journey, they were immersed by the future-focused initiatives that would help Delta to Keep Climbing in 2023 and BEYOND. All touchpoints integrated leading-edge technologies—from pre and post event opportunities on the BIW event app... to digital ID as entrance to the reception.

After a day of general session in the stands, attendees were transferred to an evening reception on the field. Participants could visit 4 experiential zones—Wellbeing, Community Engagement, the Customer Experience, and the Brand Story—designed by BIW to support content, maximize interactivity, and enable attendees to absorb brand content and engage with thought leaders.

The final score? The Delta and BIW teams partnered together to build an event that went BEYOND on every level. And the 6000 leaders in attendance were able to say: I was there when the pivot toward an amazing future for our airline began.