A feeling that is uniquely Victorian.
Visit Victoria has unveiled a new destination brand for the state – including a new brand platform, global tourism campaign, and visual identity – to continue to drive record growth of the Victorian visitor economy.
Recent data revealed tourism spending in Victoria hit a record high of $36.9 billion in the year ending September 2023 – a $27.1 billion increase since the year ending March 2021 (Tourism Research Australia).
Created with agency AJF Partnership, the brand platform 'Every bit different' showcases the breadth of experiences across Victoria and highlights the feelings that these experiences evoke; a feeling that is uniquely Victorian.
The campaign aims to drive preference for Melbourne and regional Victoria by showcasing the state’s diverse and unique experiences.
From the bustling laneways and arts precincts of Melbourne, to the grandeur of the Grampians and the Mornington Peninsula, the campaign captures the feeling that only Victoria offers.
Supported by a brand and campaign strategy which has been led by the Visit Victoria marketing team, the platform brings together some of the most creative and strategic minds in Victoria.
Central to developing the brand framework, built in conjunction with branding agency Principals, was engagement with the Victorian tourism industry.
Visit Victoria’s CMO Shae Keenan says the company wanted to make sure it captured the input from its industry partners across Victoria.
"They deliver our brand day in day out, and their insights helped us to inform our strategic approach – from rational to emotional," she says.
Off the back of the development of the brand framework, Visit Victoria worked with creative agency AJF to develop a new consumer-facing brand platform for long-term activation – Every bit different.
The campaign also aims to create an even stronger platform that brings trade, partners, providers, operators, and regional destinations together under one brand of communications to intrastate, interstate and international audiences.
The new brand will ensure marketing communications from Visit Victoria will be delivered under one enduring brand. The first iteration of the platform is being launched through a multi-channel campaign during the 2024 Australian Open – reaching local, national and international audiences.
Visit Victoria CEO Brendan McClements says it’s no coincidence that Victoria has Australia’s best major events calendar.
"And what better way to launch the campaign than through the global platform of the Australian Open. With around 800,000 spectators at Melbourne Park and millions more watching on from around the world, the AO provides an incredible platform to showcase our experiences, regions and events," he says.
Keenan says Visit Victoria's relationships with its partners have been collaborative and creative from the start.
"We knew that establishing Every bit different as a brand platform means that we need to genuinely live our brand and think creatively about everything we do – internally and externally – and that’s exactly what we have done," she says.
Scott Walker from AJF Partnership says for a Melbourne-based agency there could be no greater challenge, or honour, than to be given the chance to sell our home to the world.
"Visit Victoria was keen to do something that broke tourism category conventions and with Every bit different we feel we have created something that does just that," he says.
"We avoided simply showing every different bit and instead, told compelling short stories that proudly show the true soul of Victoria."
The campaign is accompanied by an intricate media plan that delivers multiple videos to unique audiences to demonstrate what’s special about Victoria.
The campaign films leverage Melbourne and Victoria’s creativity in all its forms, including the Cable Ties performing at ‘The Gaso’ in a film edit; a showcase of Andrew McConnell’s culinary artistry through campaign location Gimlet; the contribution of campaign director Tom Campbell of Good Oil plus contributions from Directors Jordan Watton and Tony Briggs; and the campaign music, composed by Joe Walker from King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard.
Credits:
Client: Visit Victoria
Creative Agency: AJF Partnership
Film Production: Tom Campbell / Good Oil
Film Production 2nd Unit: Jordan Watton / Good Oil
Narrm Film Production: Tony Briggs / Typecast
Photography: Shannyn Higgins and Justin Kane
Composer: Joe Walker
Sound: Rumble
Post Production: The Editors
Media Agency: OMD
Visual Identity Agency: Us+Us
