Spotlight on Humor

Steven Greenway, President of Swoop Airlines

Swoop Airlines, an ultra-low-cost carrier owned by WestJet, and based in Calgary, Alberta, placed in the top 10 of the Stand-Up Strategist rankings for both 2018 (#10) and 2019 (#6) with its April Fools’ campaigns for “Duty Not Free” and “Recline-for-a-Dime” respectively.  Swoop President Steven Greenway commented that:

“Observable and relatable humour is a big part of our brand and a powerful way to connect with travelers. In a safety and service driven industry it’s important to find that sweet spot; we’ve had content that has both hit and missed the mark, but both edges prove to cut through the noise and capture attention while provoking conversation. These are all things we are accomplishing with our content led marketing strategy.

Standing behind Recline-for-a-Dime was an easy call to make. For one, I found the idea brilliant and my joining in the fun isn’t a stretch from the way we show up to the office and in-flight on the daily. We don’t take our business targets lightly, but we certainly try to execute them in ways that lift us. Humour is an excellent way to build brand awareness and affinity, which is key for a young organization like ours.”

Each year, Stand-Up Strategist selects, ranks, and celebrates the best corporate April Fools campaigns worldwide – based on their potential to impact corporate strategy and culture.

Stand-Up Strategist can help your business harness humor and creativity as the engine for strong growth, internal alignment and expanded relevance.

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Ranking Criteria

Entertainment Value – How universally funny, original and clever is the underlying concept? To what extent does it make you laugh, ponder, and make you want to share it with others?

Quality of Execution – How well is the underlying concept presented, what is the level of execution, attention to detail and overall campaign quality?

Opportunistic Absurdity – To what extent does the underlying concept actually capture the seed of a new business idea or potential market offering?

Brand Relevance – To what extent is the underlying concept consistent with, and can help propel the brand essence and market positioning of the company?

Cultural Impact – To what extent can the underlying concept serve to unify and align staff around optimal strategy and culture?