How a friendly banter on social media resulted in a big win

Would you pass on the chance to enjoy free Bak Kut Teh everyday for 365 days?People who saw New Union’s June post on Facebook may think the brand was kidding. But when they saw New Union’s post showing the picture of the first winner, they knew it was serious about its proposal.It all started when Song Fa Bak Kut Teh (meat bone tea), a popular F&B restaurant in Singapore, successfully obtained a SG$500K funding through the New Union crowdfunding platform. New Union and Song Fa Bak Kut Teh both published a piece in their respective Facebook pages to announce the collaboration.This was the post in the New Union Page.[caption id="attachment_141721" align="alignnone" width="511"] Screenshot of the 20 June post at New Union Facebook Page[/caption]This was the post in the Song Fa Bak Kut Teh Facebook Page.[caption id="attachment_141722" align="alignnone" width="515"] Screenshot of the 20 June post at New Union Facebook Page[/caption]Indeed, that is how companies normally do it. But here's the interesting twist.The duo started teasing each other on the New Union post.First it started with Song Fa Bak Kut Teh thanking New Union for the collaboration.[caption id="attachment_141723" align="alignnone" width="525"] Screenshot of the conversation thread in New Union’s 20 June post[/caption]The conversation could have ended after New Union acknowledged the thanks from Song Fa Bak Kut Teh. But it didn’t. That little “view more replies” link was hiding the most shockingly interesting part of the conversation.Slowly, as the teasing progressed, an interesting joint contest evolved.[caption id="attachment_141724" align="alignnone" width="527"] Song Fa Bak Kut Teh said it will give Bak Kut Teh everyday for 365 days.[/caption]New Union simply asked for a discount on Bak Kut Teh, which sounded reasonable. But Song Fa Bak Kut Teh had something more in mind: Free Bak Kut Teh for 365 days.That sounds pretty much out of this world. But who in Singapore wouldn’t want that?New Union too got excited, they said “ON” without much hesitation or knowing what the challenge even was. It was then asked by Song Fa Bak Kut Teh to get 300 likes on a video it posted. [caption id="attachment_141729" align="alignnone" width="526"] 300 Likes for the video in exchange for Free Bak Kut Teh Everyday for 365 Days[/caption]To confirm the contest, Song Fa Bak Kut Teh edited the copy of the post and that sealed it and the challenge was on.[caption id="attachment_141730" align="alignnone" width="522"] Song Fa Bak Kut Teh edited their announcement post to reflect the challenge.[/caption]At the point of writing, we can see this contest post being pinned at the top of the New Union Facebook page. The contest post on the New Union Facebook Page received 640 reactions and 85 shares.Meanwhile, Song Fa Bak Kut Teh reposted this contest post in their own Facebook Page too.The contest post would lead the viewer to a page in the New Union website. That page would then guide the viewers on how to join the contest. First, it asked viewers to view and like the video provided by Song Fa. Then it then invited the participants to explore the world of crowdfunding by signing a New Union form.[caption id="attachment_141728" align="alignnone" width="514"] The contest post reposted at the Song Fa Bak Kut Teh Facebook Page.[/caption]The response from the Facebook viewers in Singapore was interesting too as people started tagging their friends on the posts.[caption id="attachment_141725" align="alignnone" width="525"] Participants enthusiastically tagged their family and friends.[/caption]At the time of writing, 458 reactions and 16 comments gathered at the Song Fa Bak Kut Teh Page.According to Marcus Ho, marketing director of New Union, both brands were surprised at the number of page likes and both brands gathered at least 10 times as many Page Likes after the contest was launched. Meanwhile on New Union's side, reach and number of engaged users per day doubled.Now that's some good friendly brand banter.Istvan Loh is an independent marketing consultant and business owner in the FMCG industry with no association with the brands mentioned above.