Zavy + StopPress Social Scoreboard: Air New Zealand’s George RR Martin stunt pays off

Air New Zealand continues to sit above the rest of the brands on the social scoreboard – dominating all social media platforms except YouTube.

Known for its frequent posting and engagement with fellow users, Air New Zealand has also become known as a brand that reaches out to topical people and invites them to visit New Zealand’s shores. 

With the long-awaited finale of Game of Thrones screening in New Zealand in May, Air New Zealand jumped into the action by sending a message to GOT author George RR Martin. 

The video, posted on Facebook and Twitter, invited Martin to take the pressure off writing the final book in the series by visiting New Zealand – on Air New Zealand.

The witty video was one of Air New Zealand’s most successful posts in terms of positive sentiment for May, and combines popular culture, humour and New Zealand’s iconic natural landscape.

On the YouTube front, Mitre 10 sits in the top spot with their ‘How To’ video series, despite slumping to the midpack at the start of the month. 

However, they have risen to second place overall due to a consecutive run of three high-performing giveaways: Mother’s Day, a Columbus Coffee partnership, and a firewood giveaway.

At the start of May, The Warehouse was coming second, closely followed by KFC and McDonald’s. But by mid-month The Warehouse had dropped in performance and now sits in fifth place. However, they remain in second place on Instagram due to very consistent posting. 

After sitting in sixth place for the majority of the month, McDonald’s has shot up to third, thanks to a ’20 chicken nuggets for $10′ promotion – which attracted 2.4 reactions and 8.8 comments. Due to this post, McDonald’s sits in second place on Facebook – neck-and-neck with Mitre 10.