Capital One Canada has partnered with Delta Air Lines to introduce two credit cards, the Delta SkyMiles World MasterCard and the Delta SkyMiles Gold MasterCard.

The move has the potential to give Capital One a direct flight into the wallets of frequent flyers, a strategy that’s reflected in the company’s media plan to promote the new cards.

A large chunk of the campaign’s media spend is dedicated to indoor billboards at airports in Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Saskatoon, Regina, Winnipeg, Ottawa and Halifax, and kiosks in Toronto and Calgary in October, and Winnipeg in November.

The company is also placing print ads in Sky magazine, Delta’s in-flight publication.

Outside of planes and terminals, Toronto-based Capital One Canada is focusing the rest of its media spend on OOH and print in cities with high concentrations of Delta flyers, including Winnipeg, London, Windsor and Sarnia.

The media strategy, handled by MediaVest in Toronto, is primarily directed at existing Delta SkyMiles members, to capitalize on the relationship the carrier has already built through its loyalty program. The new credit cards will give members a chance to earn miles with Delta and its partners on every purchase they make with the card. Cardholders will get double miles on Delta purchases.

While the partnership allows Capital One Canada to reach a new, targeted audience, it helps Delta increase the loyalty of its regular customers, Jeff Robertson, VP, Delta SkyMiles, tells MiC.

‘Capital One is a strong, new partner for Delta in Canada,’ he says. ‘This addition provides many more options for Canadian SkyMiles members to earn miles with every purchase.’

The campaign starts in September and will run through to the end of 2010.