the upgrade lounge by marshalls
Last year, 7.7 million people flew over Memorial Day Weekend. A lovely time to take a vacation. A terrible time to enter an airport.
So Marshalls did the unthinkable: we made the airport... nice.
We launched The Upgrade Lounge at JFK Terminal 4. A luxe, actually comfortable, totally free space open to everyone. Not the frequent flyer elite. Not the people with three credit cards and a loyalty spreadsheet. Everyone.
All to bring Marshalls’ Access to Better mission into a place that usually feels anything but.
And for those not traveling through JFK? We teamed up with Amanda Batula to curate her favorite summer finds at The Upgrade Shop on Marshalls.com.
Because summer style? Always essential.
We also collaborated with brand partner Vivian Tu to create social content around the travel compromises we all make, like wearing 3 jackets and your heaviest Doc Martens to avoid checking a bag. And we engaged 8 social influencers and social editorial creators to capture content at our lounge, showcasing the activation live to their followers.
Marshalls upgraded the most chaotic weekend of the year. Even TSA was impressed. (I know because I had a long chat with Agent Tatiana while getting a pat-down in security.)
brought to life by a first-class crew:
agency: Edelman
ecd: Michelle Tucker
gcd (and last-minute DP): Dan Licht
cds: Brandon Kramer, Alex Ohanessian
sr cw/acd: (and last-minute DP): Laura Walsh
design: Graham Robson, Emma Dowling
production: Scott Siegel, Liz Bradley, Autumn Brawer, Lisa Parisi
production partners: Cowboy Bear Ninja, Deyan Design
quotes from travelers:
The lounge showed what travel should be:
Comfortable seating
Charging stations
The latest summer fashion
A Glow & Go beauty bar
Free, premium amenity kits (these could give Emirates a run for their money)
And yes, must-have travel snacks. Obviously.
media impact (so far!)
Leading up to Memorial Day 2025, we received earned coverage in Travel + Leisure, Parade, Teen Vogue, Stylecaster, People en Español, OK! Magazine, and more,
totaling 100M+ earned media impressions.