The global coronavirus pandemic has forced brands to face more than the issue of reduced sales. As mentioned in the article “The Brand Challenges from the Pandemic” of Issue No .405 of EMBA Magazine, according to an American PR company’s research, it was discovered that “During the pandemic, if they (the general public) feel that a certain brand values ‘profits’ over ‘people’, then they will not be able to trust this brand again.”
An event that gathers the crowds is no good, and any statement that does not empathize with the people’s lives is no good. Songshan Airport knows how to adapt to such change, thus they held a very special event recently, for which it has received wide acclaim.
Travel Ban? What About a Tour at the Airport?
Airports and the tourism-related industries are the ones under the greatest and direct impact. However, it’s not appropriate to encourage travel either, so what can we do?
During the period in which the restriction on the number of people in an indoor gathering is loosened, Taipei Songshan Airport launched the black humor campaign “Songshan Airport Pretend to Go Abroad Experience”. Its slogan is “Travel Ban? Why not pretend to go abroad at Songshan Airport?”. Lucky winners of the draw are chosen from the Airport’s Facebook page, and can “experience the super tight schedule of boarding and immediately deboarding an international flight”.
According to the Facebook page, the half-day itinerary includes departure from and arrival at the customs, the first-look experience of the mysterious “new Songshan Airport facilities”, the Songshan Airport-exclusive egg cake tasting at the restaurant with outstanding scenery, coffee and flight viewings at the terminal, and a small exclusive gift prepared by the company. It’s a feast and entertainment all-in-one!
Furthermore, the organizer has also clearly listed their disease prevention measures. Participants must have their temperatures taken and fill out a health declaration form prior to the event, and will be reviewed for a final judgment by the on-site healthcare staff. This will allow the participants and the general public to feel even safer.
There were a total of 90 winners chosen, but the campaign has attracted many enthusiastic participants from its launch to the end of enrollment, accumulating more than 9,800 comments and 7,300 shares. Even non-participants were eager to share the news with friends because the event was so funny and interesting. It was also a rare opportunity for financially-challenged students and parents who wanted to educate their children through the experience. Overall, most Internet users have positive comments for this event.
With the gradually stabilizing of the pandemic, our lives are also slowly returning to normal. However, the travel bans are making travel aficionados starved for a journey. Even if a user did not comment to enter the draw and signing-up may not guarantee selection, at least the general public feels positive towards the event. It also inspires the viewers to think “I gotta travel abroad once the pandemic is over”.
Even if the pandemic is successfully ended, there is no guarantee that a similar one will happen in the future. How do we turn resistance into a helping force in this general environment of fear? Songshan Airport has demonstrated a great example and has shown us that a government institution might not be as dull and boring as people think!
Picture resources: https://zh-tw.facebook.com/TSA.tw/