During the final season of Game of Thrones, when brands were paying millions for official brand partnerships. We created a multi-platform social campaign targeting the series creator, George RR Martin. Not only did it grab the world’s attention, but it also prompted him to give our country and airline a glowing endorsement on social media and his own official website, earning millions in attention without paying a cent.

As the national carrier, Air New Zealand wanted to promote winter in New Zealand as a place you can quite literally get away from life’s pressures in a country filled with inspiration.

After the disappointing final season of Game of Thrones, fans were desperate for a better ending to the series - one that was promised in author George RR Martin’s next book, Winds of Winter. But Martin had his own problems. He’d developed a five-year case of writer’s block and refused to give a release date. So, Air New Zealand offered to help him finish Winds of Winter with a trip to a nation bursting with creativity… New Zealand. Bring On Winter was a socially-driven campaign that transformed New Zealand into a country-sized muse for one person. It caught the attention of George himself, who shared the campaign (and a glowing recommendation of New Zealand) with millions of fans. And for the first time in five years, Air New Zealand did what no-one else could – secure a release date from the author for the world’s most anticipated book.

Using data gathering and social listening we identified a relevant, timely message that would allow Air New Zealand to earn the attention of Game of Thrones fans worldwide.

While other brands were spending millions to become official partners as the final season launched - our data identified a growing negative sentiment towards it. This prompted us to develop and release our campaign following the last episode of the disappointing final season, targeting fans of the show, and its creator George RR Martin.

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.

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 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%+