In 2017, Singapore low-cost carrier Scoot had doubled its network and tripled its fleet after a merger with TigerAir. It was rapidly expanding but was up against competitor airlines with much larger marketing budgets.

Beyond just value, Scoot needed a new point of view to differentiate itself and stand out from the crowd. It needed to stand for more – to become the brand that truly understands and stands with the travellers of today.

IT’S NOT WANDERLUST. IT’S WANDERMUST.

The world is obsessed with #wanderlust. But what if travel is something more? More than a desire, more than a want, more a lust. Travel is a must, an innate need hardwired into us.

Partnering Professor Richard Ebstein, a world-renowned expert in human genetics and neuroscience from the National University of Singapore, Scoot launched an experiment allowing travellers to prove this innate need in them - and show that Wandermust is very real.

Millennials and millennials-at-heart get a hard time for travelling ‘too much’. They often have to apologise and make excuses for travel, which is misunderstood as a millennial luxury. Some have even lost careers, friends and even spouses because of their love of travel. Not anymore.

Scoot stepped up to defend their need to travel and demonstrated once and for all that it’s not them, it’s all of us. It’s not their fault because travel is hardwired into them.

For the first time in the world, Scoot allowed travellers to prove that travel is literally in their blood. By testing it for the presence of DRD4-2/7R, a DNA variant scientists believe genetically hardwires its carriers with an insatiable need to travel.

We kicked off the experiment by putting three hardcore world travellers to the test. Then, we launched a social contest inviting travel addicts to tell us why they think travel is their blood to win the chance to get tested too!

Next, we flew our winners down to a lab in Singapore to get tested by Professor Ebstein and his team. Finally, using the results and stories of those we tested, we created social content and generated PR buzz that sparked conversations about Wandermust and the need to travel.

To top it off, we even named one of Scoot's new Dreamliners 'Wandermust'!

Our category-changing brand proposition and activation led to a 9.5% brand lift* for Scoot in just 2 weeks.

Travellers from over 30 countries applied for the experiment. It was featured on the front page of Singapore’s national newspaper The Straits Times, and covered by a host of global media outlets and publications. Professor Ebstein himself was invited to a prime time interview on Singapore TV.

On social, Scoot fans were eager to share stories of their Wandermust. We reached 9.1 million users with total interactions (likes, reactions, comments and shares) exceeding 107,000 – sending Scoot Facebook page’s engagement rate soaring 9% over its average.

In all, our campaign hit a total reach of 178.6 million, sparking a renewed passion for travel and a newfound affinity for Scoot in both its mature and emerging markets.

*According to the Youtube Brand Lift Study