Departures

Departures, the 40 year old luxury travel and lifestyle publication, was losing touch with its audience and losing traction with its print-first business model.

The publication, owned by American Express and distributed exclusively to the elite Platinum and Centurion Card Members, needed a total transformation. Over the span of 8 months, starting in 2021, we rebuilt Departures from the ground up, digitally. The transformation required a new mission, team, branding, content strategy, digital ecosystem, and operating model.

Understanding the complexities of affluence and audience, we built an entirely new and nuanced digital media ecosystem, designed just for them. We installed a new vision and redesign, hired a new team, created a gated digital experience, re-launched its newsletter, Instagram, and Twitter, and deployed a new advertising model focused on bespoke editorial and hyper-visual magazine-style ads.

Giant Spoon envisioned Departures as the trusted, tastemaking confidant for the sophisticated global traveler. Through first-person perspectives, unparalleled access, and vivid visuals, Departures stories bring our subscribers on a journey around the world each week.

A weekly newsletter, penned by our editors, is the gateway into the Departures world. The gated digital home sees hundreds of thousands of visitors each week, who come back for inspiration, tips, and exclusive recommendations in travel, cuisine, style, wellness, and arts. 

Departures reaches over 1.4MM card members spending around 9 minutes on the site per session. We’re experiencing over 400% growth in monthly unique visitors to our site and an over 40% open rate for our newsletter.

And with the creation of a new publishing arm to run this iconic magazine, we transformed Giant Spoon, too. With the success of the partnership, Giant Spoon has built a 50 person team in editorial, advertising sales, and account management, serving as the production partner on Departures.