CATHAY PACIFIC’S FREE TICKETS TO HONG KONG

Image Credits: Time Out Website

In 2022, the Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) launched its "Hello Hong Kong” campaign with plans to give away 500,000 free plane tickets globally to encourage tourism in 2023.

Singaporeans love freebies – of course. The more generous, the better.

But what’s in it for brands to be this generous, and how can they extract maximum value from it?

As part of this, national carrier Cathay Pacific announced a giveaway titled "World of Winners" offering 12,500 free tickets to Hong Kong in return for answering some questions about the city. As a result, search volume in Singapore spiked over 50k in a single day.

The campaign proved to be an effective way to entice Singaporeans as all the tickets were allocated within 40 mins of the launch and the site saw more than 85,000 users trying to register.

1) Buzzworthiness that helps to reach not just current participants, but potential future customers as well.

2) Image-building when associated with the right partners.

3) The IKEA effect: People value something more when they have to work a little for it.

4) Freebies with benefits: In the case of HKTB, each ticket given away is likely to get winners to buy more tickets to travel in pairs or groups; and to spend at the destination.

*Source: Marketing Interactive