Treat

Objective:

During the first 6 months of the pandemic, XpresSpa Group pivoted their national airport real estate to a Covid-19 testing business called XpresCheck. Quickly becoming the nation’s largest airport testing company, $100M of investment capital was raised, leading the executive team to ask: What’s next? Kelsey was on the small executive team that developed the new multi-channel concept combining travel, health & wellness combining technology and airport real estate. The project was then taken on by Kelsey to build out the concept and name and brand the company; followed by building the team to develop and support all things creative, content, marketing, digital/physical retail & communications.

Results:

In a matter of months, Kelsey led the development of the Treat brand, including trademarking process, visual expression and brand guidelines, social strategy, editorial calendar and the beginning of an in-house content creation team. The Treat brand was developed as a premium lifestyle brand, targeting an audience that skewed female, HHI, educated, wellness focused, and looking to return to travel safely. The target was aligned with other brands like Parsley Health, Goop, The Well, Ritual, Poosh, etc. The Treat.com site was launched by June of 2021, followed in August by the Treat mobile app, and in December by the first Treat location in New York’s JFK airport. Kelsey oversaw all external partners, from media buying, advertising, public relations to retail design, external UX/UI design and brand partnerships. The Treat brand was launched with much interest, earned and paid media attention from outlets like The Washington Post and Coveteur, influencers like The Bucket List family and multiple airline industry groups. The Treat concept was impactful at the time it launched because it aligned with the first group of travelers returning to trips after Covid-19 and addressed their desire to travel safely and responsibly. To be able to plan travel online, have new wellness products & services available in airports, and access on-demand telehealth while traveling addressed all of their needs. Engagement with The Treatment bi-weekly newsletter and our paid media campaigns was above average on most metrics, and an award-winning Editorial Director had joined the team. Treat has won multiple retail design awards, including 2021 Retail Design of the Year by the Retail Design Institute, and had been sought after by more airports looking to expand their wellness offerings.