The Campaign

The challenge set by AirAsia was ambitious; to show India as a desirable destination, get cut through and increase brand consideration. Our thinking being that on top of this, the content had to defy category conventions. With most travel content being predictable and generic, we needed to break the mould. The antidote to boring, done to death travel content? Hot Heads; a travel series devoted to the culture of super hot food and the people who love it. In season one, the VICE crew boarded an AirAsia plane and travelled to India. With the content living in the ‘dreaming/inspiration’ phase of the purchase process, outcomes of value came in the form of high engagement with the desired audience and positive sentiment towards the AirAsia brand to encourage people to consider them as their preferred airline for future travel plans to and within India.

The Brief

AUD 200,000.00 Custom Production 60k Media and Activation 140k

Creative Execution

People come to VICE for the best storytelling on the internet and for knowledge they can use. Once India was firmly on the bucket list, the next step was to make sure that when it came to getting on a flight, the plane would be AirAsia. We did this through subtle but effective and authentic brand integration. Vocalist/Songwriter legend Karina Utomo stepped up to the challenge of hosting. We documented her epic journey from Chennai to Jaipur, resulting in four episodes of hot content, distributed across VICE and AirAsia’s digital platforms and social channels. Full length episodes were optimised for use on Facebook and Instagram, along with a range of Snapchat and Instagram cut downs. The content was used in a supporting media campaign, as well as repurposed for in flight entertainment on AirAsia flights.

Describe the success of the promotion with both client and consumer including some quantifiable results

Hot Heads delivered on this promise, with 83% of people who viewed the content finding it authentic and 75% of people saying it was informative. The series ignited wanderlust, making over 50% of viewers to want to travel to India. Creative brand integration throughout each episode resulted in 60% off viewers recognising that AirAsia was the series brand partner. Furthermore, nearly half (46%) of those that caught the travel bug said that as a result of watching Hot Heads they would consider flying AirAsia. For AirAsia, a key outcome was reaching a young audience with content that resonates. Hot Heads had cut through with 18-24 age bracket (57.7% on Instagram, 53.8% Facebook). It received over 1.3 million views on VICE’s Facebook and Instagram. Beyond just watching, the audience engagement exceeded brand expectations and a quick look at the comments section saw travel plans brewing amongst groups of friends.

Explain why the method of promotion was most relevant to the product or service

Hot Heads is collaborative content at its best. Food and travel is some of VICE’s most watched content, combining the two along with a relevant brand partner was a winning combination.

The antidote to boring, done to death travel content? Hot Heads; a travel series devoted to the culture of super hot food and the people who love it. In season one, the VICE crew boarded an AirAsia plane and travelled to India. A recent survey uncovered that culinary experiences were the #1 reason our audience travels. A deep dive into current trends revealed that food challenges were among the top experiences young audiences engage with. Knowing that Asian food is a selling point, we agreed food was the best passion point for AirAsia to align with to tap into the shareability that comes with pushing food eating to the extreme.