Be a friend to your brands: Scoot + SGAG

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laura.picard

Just over one year ago, we blogged about the brand-to-brand banter that turned a near-miss PR crisis into a gold mine of meaningful engagement.

To recap: budget airline Scoot presented an airfare promotion on flights to Seoul, during a moment of political tension with its neighbour to the North. When SGAG called them out on this less-than-opportune timing, Scoot responded in the best possible manner on all fronts.

Instead of dismissing or ignoring the issue, they addressed SGAG in an approachable and light-hearted tone. With equal parts self-deprecating humour and subtle recognition of the events at hand, Scoot gently steered the conversation in a manner that disarmed a potential time bomb and cleverly charmed both Scoot’s and SGAG’s large audiences on social media.

In a recent crossing of paths, Scoot has posted a commemorative post that, again, demonstrates the invaluable nature of being a friend to your brands. SGAG’s trolling antics were far from over after the untimely promotion last year. While Scoot could have taken one of many courses of action, the brand decided to acknowledge their continuing banter, and celebrate a ‘good two years’ of troll-and-response. In doing so, Scoot highlights its own quick wit, and perhaps more importantly, its ability to carry on playful conversations–and maintain strong relationships–on a long-term basis.

This is Scoot, ‘walking the walk’ at a time when funny conversations between brands are so often dismissed as staged PR stunts rather than recognized as forms of genuine discourse. While not without motive, Scoot’s continued brand friendship with SGAG is a testament to the unparalleled successes that bloom from organic engagement — the kind of success that, ultimately, no amount of paid media can really buy.