Changi Airport turns five-day stopover into social media stunt with Aussie TikToker

Changi Airport turned a stopover into a spectacle with its recent social-first activation, “The week-long layover”, featuring Australian creator Maddy MacRae.

From 28 July to 1 August, MacRae lived at Singapore’s Changi Airport for five days, broadcasting her experience to 1.9 million TikTok followers and 1 million Instagram fans through daily TikTok Live streams and video updates.

The campaign, inspired by the film The Terminal, was developed by Connecting Plots in partnership with Changi Airport. It aimed to position the airport as more than a transit point for Australia and New Zealand (ANZ) travellers, instead spotlighting it as a destination in its own right.

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Over the week, MacRae explored attractions including Jewel Changi Airport’s Rain Vortex, Canopy Park, the Butterfly Garden, and the Aerotel rooftop swimming pool.

In a twist, one follower was also flown in to join her for 24 hours, bringing the activation to life both on-ground and online.

The stunt coincided with Changi celebrating its 13th win as the "World’s best airport", using social-first content to showcase its experiences to a new generation of travellers.

“At Changi, we believe that the journey should be just as memorable as the destination. Through this campaign, we hope to inspire travellers, especially those from Australia and New Zealand, to rethink the layover and see Changi as a destination on its own," said Kelvin Ng, vice president of corporate and marketing communications at Changi Airport Group. 

He added, "There’s so much to explore and travellers could easily spend many hours here and still uncover something new. We’re excited to bring this idea to life with Connecting Plots, and to partner with MacRae to showcase Changi’s unique blend of world-class experiences in a way that’s fresh, fun, and unexpected.”

In tandem, Matt Geersen, creative partner at Connecting Plots said, "MacRae's irreverent tone and ability to bring wild ideas to life made her the perfect partner for this campaign. This is about reimagining what an airport experience can be, turning a layover into something people would actually want to plan a holiday around."

The campaign is an expansion on the airport's “A taste of Asia” content series, aimed at inspiring Australians to explore Southeast Asia through its food culture.

Developed with Connecting Plots, the campaign followed Australian content creators Sinead Chabowski and Joshua Shediak as they embarked on culinary adventures in Chiang Mai, Phnom Penh and Da Nang, tapping into the rise of food tourism.

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