Air NZ grips social star power

AIR NEW ZEALAND   AGENDA   SOCIAL MEDIA

Hong Kong - Air New Zealand's marketing manager of Hong Kong and regional digital marketing Prudence Lau tells Marketing how the right mix of celebrity, social media and cheekiness can help brands find their niche in the local market.

In its latest attempt of celebrity endorsement, Air New Zealand chose to partner with a local singer off the A-list for a six-week integrated campaign themed "Experience a new you".

The airline flew Hong Kong singer Chet Lam to New Zealand, recorded and shared his journey on Facebook.

The twist is the video content and the way they are released. Chet Lam had a few first-time experiences on the trip - from composing and singing a song on a plane to taking his shirt off in front of a camera - Air New Zealand amped up the anticipation by running a teaser and asking for a particular number of likes before releasing the full footage.

Since the beginning of the campaign two weeks ago, Air New Zealand has seen a 30% increase in Facebook likes. The campaign will continue to run till mid-April.

Lau said this is the first time in three years for the airline to work with a celebrity for the Hong Kong market.

"It's about finding the right celebrity who is local, who fits our brand message of welcoming as a friend, but it's also about finding a celebrity who is active on social media."

Lau said drawing fans on Facebook has become more difficult this year, as the social network continues to tweak its offering for brands.

"Pure promotion or discounts don't work anymore. Now we need to put our thoughts into a social media campaign to create engagement," she said.

The campaign is also supported by print ads, online video at on.cc, blogger and media coverage and forum seeding.

Agenda Hong Kong worked on the planning and creative of this campaign and OgilvyPR was responsible for public relations.

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