The campaign will mirror the easing of travel restrictions.
Australia’s largest apartment hotel operator Quest Apartment Hotels has launched On the Road Again, a new campaign aimed to inspire Australians to see more of their own backyard and make the most of their domestic travel liberties.
The announcement follows the June 1 easing of restrictions, which allowed for intrastate leisure travel in Victoria, Western Australia and regional New South Wales, with Queensland following suit on June 12.
"On the Road Again aims to inspire Quest’s core audience, the corporate traveller, and leisure travellers alike to reconnect with friends, family and clients, capturing the promising sentiment that life is slowly but surely getting back on track," Quest group marketing and digital director Jeff Baars says.
The campaign will mirror the easing of travel restrictions, with Quest incrementally expanding on its intrastate focus, and moving into an interstate play as the states and territories permit.
As the largest single apartment hotel brand spanning the trans-Tasman, with 171 Quest properties in total, the serviced apartment operator is also actively preparing for a possible travel bubble with its New Zealand counterpart.
“Market data has indicated that consumers are feverishly awaiting their next adventure, so we hope On the Road Again will encourage people to take the intrastate trips available right now, and inspire plans for interstate and international junkets as they become possible," Baars says.
With creative developed in-house, On the Road Again will run across regional and subscription television, radio, print and online, with media buying by long-time partner Nunn Media.
The campaign also encompasses a series of online itineraries, travel packages and road trip giveaways, as well as a local area marketing component dubbed Local Heroes, set to kick off in July.
“On the Road Again is a national message with local relevance and individuality, which is important for our franchisees and the local communities they operate in," Quest chief operating officer David Mansfield says.
Set to track You & Me by up-and-coming Australian indie-folk duo The Dreggs, the hero video by Melbourne production house Wildebeest celebrates human connection and the great outdoors, depicting life on the road for some of Quest’s key audience segments.
"It was a delight to work closely with the team at Quest to bring this campaign to life. We really wanted to capture the positive feeling of being free and on the road again with tender human moments,” Wildebeest director Jarred Osborn says.
Quest has remained open in all its locations throughout the global pandemic, with the franchise network responding to a variety of emerging accommodation needs in the public and private sector.
“We’re proud to have kept our doors open and made ourselves available to help over the past few months. Essential workers including doctors and nurses stayed with us and mining sector employees based themselves in our home away from home apartment hotels,” Mansfield says.
“It’s been a tough period for our industry and indeed the Quest network, but we are fortunate that our service proposition for extended stay travel is perfectly suited to a number of the needs which have emerged.”
Quest’s On the Road Again campaign video, travel itineraries, road trip giveaways, bookable travel packages and more can be viewed on its website.
