Tourism Australia has launched its most “comprehensive” campaign to date, promoting Australia's aquatic experiences with a virtual reality and 360 mobile immersive display.
The campaign, part of the 'There's Nothing like Australia' platform, was launched at an event in New York on the day before Australia Day, falling on the national event in Australian time.
Featuring global ambassador Chris Hemsworth, it includes a three-minute film bringing aquatic and coastal experience to the fore to highlight the tagline of the campaign, that Australia is “a place you feel”.
There are several VR and 360 footage experiences that Tourism Australia hopes will push consumers to take the jump and make a booking.
The aquatic launch is one of the biggest executions from Tourism Australia since Lisa Ronson took up the CMO role last year.
She told AdNews the campaign, by Clemenger BBDO and Finch, was a big investment for the organisation at a cost of $40 million but it would showcase Australia's point of difference in a very competitive tourism landscape. Ronson also called it the most “comprehensive campaign we've ever done at Tourism Australia.”
“We don't want people to put off their holiday to Australia which is why we've tried to make it as immersive as we can,” she says.
“We've showcased the beauty of the country as we always do, but we've tried to take it a little more experiential because that is what consumers are seeking when they travel now – they want to be immersed in the destination. The campaign is based on that insight.”
In October, Ronson called the shoot for the project “one of the biggest” the organisation had ever done, using more than 40 cameras, eight 360 camera rigs and three drones.
The campaign will also include print, digital, user-generated content and a content piece with Australian Traveller which Ronson says will be the “engine room” of the campaign, to drive conversion.
Ronson sees the coastal platform similarly to the brand's 'food and wine' focus and to that end, expects it to continue for the long-term.
“We're really mindful of sweating our assets as much as we can,” Ronson says. “As marketers we are used to tiring of our campaigns way before the consumer ever will.
“There is just more life in them than that. That why we've built such a comprehensive set of assets.”
The New York launch event for the campaign was hosted by Australian chef Curtis Stone and featured virtual reality displays and aquatic-themed images projected onto an ice rink at the Bank of America Winter Village, with guests enjoying a menu designed by Luke Mangan.
Clemenger BBBO Sydney executive creative director Paul Nagy adds that the 360 degree footage is “just about the closest you can get to feeling this amazing country without actually being there”.
Tourism Australia also tied up with David Attenborough to create a documentary on the Great Barrier Reef, which launched last year. It is due on Australian screens in the first quarter of 2016.
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