BRING ON WINTER

Short List
TitleBRING ON WINTER
BrandAIR NEW ZEALAND
Product / ServiceAIR NEW ZEALAND
CategoryA07. Travel / Leisure
EntrantHOST/HAVAS Sydney, AUSTRALIA
Idea Creation HOST/HAVAS Sydney, AUSTRALIA
PR HOST/HAVAS Sydney, AUSTRALIA
Production HOST/HAVAS Sydney, AUSTRALIA

Credits

Name Company Position
Jon Austin Host/Havas Sydney Executive Creative Director
Matt Ennis Host/Havas Sydney Creative Director
Josie Burns Host/Havas Sydney Creative Director
Stephanie Cameron Host/Havas Sydney Broadcast Producer
Olivier Boulbain Host/Havas Sydney Digital Producer
Phil Pickering Host/Havas Sydney Senior Planner
Nic Adamovich Host/Havas Sydney Head of Design
Michael Macgregor Host/Havas Sydney Designer
Adam Przybylski Host/Havas Sydney Senior Digital Designer
Yoann Bernex Host/Havas Sydney Technical Lead
Melanie Devonshire Host/Havas Sydney Senior Front End Developer
Ant Moore Host/Havas Sydney Managing Partner
Laura Mahony Host/Havas Sydney Senior Account Director
Catherine Duff Host/Havas Sydney Senior Account Manager
Jodi Williams Air New Zealand General Manager Global Brand and Content Marketing
Erica Beagley Air New Zealand Senior Manager Brand Marketing
Pip Erikson Air New Zealand Senior Manager Commercial & Strategic Projects
Grace Blewitt Air New Zealand Brand Marketing Manager
Maria Hahn Air New Zealand Social Media Manager International
Tara Ryan Air New Zealand Social Media Specialist

Why is this work relevant for PR?

After many fans were disappointed with the final season of Game of Thrones, the internet was full of articles speculating when series author, George RR Martin, would release the next books, hopefully with a better ending. Air New Zealand created its own news, by proposing a trip to New Zealand as a way to solve writer's block and save the globally followed story. This resulted in a response from George RR Martin himself, and more articles, this time with Air New Zealand playing a key role.

Background

The world’s most famous author George RR Martin was suffering from the world’s most famous case of writer’s block. After the conclusion of the popular TV show, fans were frantic to read his next installation in the Game of Thrones series. Problem was, between big city living, media obligations, red carpet interviews and constant pressure from fans, Martin was five years overdue, and refused to even give a deadline.

Describe the creative idea (20% of vote)

Between our inspirational landscapes and ‘get it done’ mentality, New Zealand is a hot house of creativity. So, as the national carrier, Air New Zealand created a campaign offering George a free work-cation to New Zealand, using our inspiring country at the bottom of the world to, quite literally, get away from life’s pressures and finish his book.

Describe the strategy (30% of vote)

Using social listening tools, we identified a relevant, timely sentiment that would allow Air New Zealand to solve a problem for the global Game of Thrones audience, who were dissatisfied with the ending of the show, and were wanting George RR Martin to finish the book.

Describe the execution (20% of vote)

We created a tourism campaign, for one person. We offered George RR Martin a free flight to New Zealand so he could finish his next book in the series. This started with a tweet to him, written Valyrian, the fictional Game of Thrones language. This was quickly decoded by fans. We then posted a video inviting him to New Zealand and asked fans to share it with him. We also made a website for George, just in case he wanted to read up on what there is to see and do in New Zealand.

List the results (30% of vote) – must include at least two of the following tiers:

Fans shared our campaign with George, and two days later, George himself shared the campaign with his millions of fans. He penned a glowing travel review of New Zealand on his blog, and even gave Air New Zealand permission to imprison him in their beautiful homeland if he didn’t have the next book finished by July 2020. The world finally got its release date, and Air New Zealand got the world’s attention. Media impressions: 16m+ Earned media: $2.3m+ Return on investment: 6500%+ 3M Total Global Reach on Social > KPI was 1.5M (58% paid/42% organic) 1.4% Engagement Rate > KPI was 1% 95% Strongly Positive + Neutral Sentiment > KPI was 90%

Links

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