Power of Online 57 | SunMatrix Ramble

Air China “Facebook Check Ins”

You visit a popular Asian restaurant in Sweden, check in with Air China on Facebook, and instantly become part of a live leaderboard. The more you check in, the higher you climb. Each week, the top check-in users earn two complimentary tickets to Asia.

Air China flies not only to China but also throughout Asia. The challenge is how Air China raises Swedish consumers’ awareness about this fact. In response, their ad agency Rodolfo creates a Facebook check-ins campaign.

How the campaign works in the real world

A select number of popular Asian restaurants in Sweden are transformed into ambassadors for Air China. At the restaurants, guests are encouraged to check in with Air China on Facebook.

What makes it competitive and shareable

The check-ins are aggregated on the Air China Facebook page, and a complete leader board of the highest number of check-ins and the most popular restaurants is displayed. Each week, the users with the highest number of check-ins are awarded two complimentary tickets to Asia.

Why this format fits airline awareness

The activation connects everyday behaviour to a clear brand message. It makes “Asia access” feel immediate, social, and measurable, without needing a hard sell in the moment.

A few fast answers before you act

What is the core idea of this campaign?

Turn physical venues into social triggers. Restaurants prompt people to check in with Air China, and the accumulated check-ins become the campaign scoreboard.

Why use restaurants as campaign ambassadors?

They are culturally relevant touchpoints for “Asia” in Sweden, with built-in footfall and a natural reason for people to share where they are.

What role does the leaderboard play?

It creates a simple competition loop. People see progress, compare against others, and repeat the behaviour to climb. That repetition drives reach and recall.

What is the incentive design lesson here?

Make the reward perfectly aligned with the promise. Tickets to Asia are a direct reinforcement of Air China’s broader Asian network, not a generic prize.

Amnesty International: Sound of Amnesty

This year, charity and human rights organization Amnesty International France turns its signatures petition drive at www.marathondessignatures.com into a musical “hymn to freedom” with Paris-based agency La Chose.

The campaign behaves like a normal petition drive, with one twist: every digital signature releases the next note of an exclusively written song, “The Sound of Amnesty”. To push the idea further, Shazam is used as a distribution channel. When Shazam fails to recognise a song, the app displays a call-to-action message alongside a case story, including: “Valentina Rosendo Cantu could not make herself heard either. Assaulted by soldiers, she asked for justice but the authorities refused to investigate”.

In digital petition drives, tying each signature to a shared artifact that literally progresses can turn passive support into collective anticipation.

Why the “next note” mechanic works

Most petitions are emotionally important but mechanically flat: sign, share, done. Here, the signature becomes a trigger with immediate feedback. The song becomes a living progress indicator, and every participant can feel they are adding something tangible, not just adding their name to a counter.

Why Shazam is the clever amplifier

Shazam normally appears when you are already paying attention to music. By placing the petition inside the “recognition failed” moment, the campaign catches people at a point of curiosity and mild frustration. The message reframes that friction as a metaphor for unheard voices, then gives users something concrete to do.

Results and escalation

Reportedly, the campaign collected 150,000 signatures, described as a 500% increase from the previous year. The track was also produced on CD and sent to Amnesty’s targeted authorities, turning digital participation into a physical advocacy artifact.

What to steal from this pattern

Give every action an immediate consequence. “You unlocked the next note” beats “thanks for signing”.
Use an existing habit. Hijacking a familiar moment inside a popular app can outperform building a new destination experience.
Make progress audible or visible. A petition counter is abstract. A song evolving over time is memorable.
Connect the mechanic to the meaning. The “not recognised” moment mirrors the core human-rights theme: not being heard.

A few fast answers before you act

What is “The Sound of Amnesty” in one line?

A petition drive where each signature unlocks the next note of an original song, turning advocacy into a progressively revealed “hymn to freedom”.

How is Shazam used in the campaign?

When Shazam cannot recognise a song, it displays an Amnesty message and invitation to sign, using the failure moment as a metaphor for silenced voices.

Why does the “unlock the next note” mechanic increase participation?

It adds instant feedback and a shared sense of progress, making signatures feel like contributions to a collective outcome.

What is the most transferable lesson?

If you want more signatures, do not only ask for support. Turn the act of signing into a small experience people can feel and share.

MINI: Fan the Flame

MINI, together with TBWA\Agency.com, creates a social spectacle to grow the fan base for its newly launched Facebook page in Belgium and Luxembourg.

The setup is as physical as it gets. A MINI Countryman is attached to a thick rope in the parking lot of the Brussels Motor Show, with a burner placed beneath the rope. Facebook fans are encouraged to remotely trigger the burner and shoot flames at the rope. A webcam broadcasts the scene 24×7, and the fan whose flame ultimately breaks the rope wins the MINI Countryman.

Why this is a “like” campaign people actually talk about

Most fan-growth ideas are transactional: click like, get content. This one makes the click feel consequential. Each interaction is a tiny act of sabotage against a real-world object, with a visible scoreboard outcome. The page is not just where the brand posts. It is the control panel for the event.

The mechanism: remote control plus live proof

Mechanically, the campaign combines three ingredients: a simple trigger (fan action), a physical system (rope and flame), and continuous proof (the live webcam). The webcam is crucial because it converts a remote interaction into trust. People can see that something is actually happening, continuously, with no editing.

In European automotive social campaigns, linking digital participation to a live physical outcome is one of the fastest ways to create “earned” attention beyond the fan base itself.

What the prize is really doing

The MINI Countryman is not only incentive. It is also the symbol. The closer the rope gets to breaking, the more the prize feels “reachable”, which keeps people checking back and telling friends to join. The prize turns time into tension.

What to steal from this activation

Make the interaction visible. Live video proof makes remote participation feel real.
Use a simple mechanic with cumulative progress. People return when they believe their action contributes to a final outcome.
Put the brand in the role of facilitator. The page becomes the place where something is happening, not just the place where posts appear.
Design for suspense. A slow-burn system creates anticipation and repeat visits.

A few fast answers before you act

What is “MINI Fan the Flame” in one line?

A live contest where Facebook fans remotely trigger flames to burn through a rope holding a MINI Countryman, with the fan who breaks it winning the car.

Why does the webcam matter?

It provides continuous proof that the event is real and progressing, which sustains trust and repeat engagement.

What behavior is this campaign optimizing for?

Fan acquisition plus repeat visits. The tension mechanic encourages people to return and recruit others.

What is the transferable lesson for other brands?

If you want scale, connect digital actions to a visible physical outcome and design the system so progress builds suspense over time.