How Tourism Australia’s Super Bowl LII Spot Reaped Rewards for an Entire Country

Imagine you’re a marketer trying to convince your board of directors that the massive cost of a 60-second Super Bowl spot is a smart investment. Now imagine that you need to convince an entire government and the Australian taxpaying public.

In this world of programmatic efficiencies, it can be difficult for any advertiser to justify the significant investment required to participate in the Big Game. The pressure is compounded for smaller advertisers that might be redirecting a year’s worth of budget toward a single moment.

When Tourism Australia came to Droga5 with a need to drive bookings and an appetite for maximizing their reach via the Super Bowl, we knew they’d need more than a great piece of creative that would get people talking. We needed to convert that conversation into action and get Americans to visit Australia. “Dundee” was more than a compelling creative idea—it was a full campaign orchestrated to drive maximum impact for Tourism Australia.

The following strategies were key to making “Dundee” Tourism Australia’s most successful campaign ever.

Start thinking beyond the spot

With their massive reach, Super Bowl ads are most effective at driving broad awareness, but they’re not always known for moving consumers down the funnel. However, when marketers consider a Super Bowl ad the linchpin of a larger system of work, it’s possible for the full campaign to deliver true impact for a brand and even deliver against lower-funnel metrics.

The “Dundee” campaign began two weeks prior to the game. With each piece of content that was released online, we gathered a qualified audience that was retargeted after the Super Bowl with performance assets meant to drive booking. While the television spot was compelling on its own and drove interest around Australia as a destination, the full system of work ensured that the Super Bowl investment would pay off in a meaningful way for Tourism Australia.

Bring back the element of surprise

The importance of online views, including those from YouTube and Facebook, as a Super Bowl success metric have incentivized advertisers to release their spots early. Though it can raise views, this strategy is degrading the one moment a year when consumers actively seek out ads. In 2018, breakthrough spots from Tide, the NFL and others showed that an early advantage isn’t the only way to ensure a post-game victory.

Tourism Australia’s strategy of releasing unbranded teaser videos prior to the game allowed us to accumulate views against several pieces of content as well as let consumers see something new during the Super Bowl. By including no mention of Tourism Australia, we drove further intrigue around the in-game spot while also adding to our audience pool for retargeting. Viewers returned to the teasers after our reveal to see how the narrative came together, deepening their connection to the work. Effective use of teasers can preserve the element of surprise without sacrificing online views.

Rethink your social strategy

Social approaches to the Super Bowl have evolved. Creating a second screen experience has become the norm, making it difficult to win on Twitter with just a war room and a few topical tweets. A social strategy should be inherent to the larger idea. Winning on social isn’t about what the brand posts during the game; it comes from an ad that drives organic social conversation.

The rollout strategy for “Dundee” was designed to optimize that conversation over the full Super Bowl time frame. Our celebrity-driven PR approach started two weeks before the game and immediately began driving buzz and speculation. We got the whole internet working to solve the “Dundee” puzzle, and it paid off in conversations across Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Reddit. Tourism Australia became one of the most talked-about advertisers before the game, and that was without officially confirming our involvement.

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Airbnb calls for 'light touch' rules on WA hosts, saying current regulations stifle tourism growth

Accommodation provider Airbnb is advocating for minimal regulation of most of the properties on its website, arguing a heavy-handed approach would act as a handbrake on tourism growth in Western Australia.

Airbnb executives made the comments during hearings by the WA Parliament's Economics and Industry Standing Committee into regulation of short-stay accommodation in the state.

They told committee members their business model helped host families make ends meet, made travel more affordable, created local jobs and increased tourism to WA — often in areas that normally had few visitors.

It was in part a rebuttal to the Tourism Council of WA, which last week gave evidence that Airbnb, and similar businesses, were costing the state's economy hundreds of millions of dollars a year because fewer regulations meant properties on those sites were cheaper than hotels.

It called for a ban on residential homes or apartments being listed on sites like Airbnb if the owner did not live there, and for a state register of all other short-stay accommodation, with requirements to meet basic standards.

The council condemned what it called "an uneven playing field".

Airbnb today said it backed "fair and progressive" rules, with only "light touch" regulations for the majority of its hosts, who shared the home in which they lived.

The company's head of public policy, Brent Thomas, proposed uniform statewide rules and a system of "sliding regulation", depending on the nature of the property.

"The regulation you need for a two-bedroom home here in WA should be very different from the sort of regulation you need for a 200-bedroom international hotel," Mr Thomas said.

"The way you regulate a car is different from the way you regulate a semi-trailer."

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Tourism New Zealand takes cheeky swipe at MLA's New Australia-Land campaign

Tourism New Zealand has weighed in on the MLA’s recent proposal to merge Australia and New Zealand with a cheeky website promoting New Zealand.

The site, which combines the MLA’s suggested ‘New Australia-Land’ with Tourism New Zealand’s iconic tagline to create '100% Pure New Australia-Land', features “all the best parts” of the merged nation.

“We felt the people of New Zealand needed to respond to such a proposition, so we packaged all of the best bits of New Australia-Land into one place. They all just happen to be in New Zealand” said Andrew Waddel, Australian general manager of Tourism New Zealand.

The site pokes fun of Australian stereotypes to promote New Zealand travel destinations and experiences. It also celebrates New Zealand’s lamb industry, pointing out how the country's North Island resembles a lamb chop.

Tourism New Zealand has also enlisted the national airline Air New Zealand for the campaign, with the airline offering deals for Aussies to travel to New Zealand.

The campaign was created by TBWA\Sydney.

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Chinese mobile payments company Alipay and Tourism Australia will pilot a new city service in Sydney

Chinese mobile payments company Alipay and Tourism Australia will pilot a new city service in Sydney to promote leading tourist and retail destinations to Chinese tourists, throughout the Chinese New Year festive period in early February.

The Sydney City Card will introduce Chinese tourists to sights and activities in hotspots around the city, and provides special geotargeted promotions in key areas such as The Rocks, Darling Harbour, the Sydney Fish Market, Sydney Airport, Westfield Sydney, and Sydney Chinatown.

The interactive mobile map will operate through the Alipay app, which together with its regional partners has more than one billion users worldwide.

In Australia, tens of thousands of merchants accept Alipay, with more than one hundred leading retailers and tourist destinations such as BridgeClimb Sydney, the Sydney Aquarium, and Captain Cook Cruises involved in the Sydney City Card pilot.

The pilot program will run for 12 months, and launched ahead of the Chinese New Year week-long holiday in February.

“The Sydney City Card pilot is an innovative approach to engaging with our largest tourist market, and provides Australia with a critical advantage over other regional tourist hotspots during this peak annual travel period,” said Country Manager of Alipay, Australia and New Zealand, George Lawson.

“Chinese tourists will be able to access recommendations on what to see, where to shop and how to get around, all within an app they are familiar with and while being offered their preferred payment method around the city,” Lawson said.

“Providing this tailored and convenient customer experience is critical to maintaining and enhancing Australia’s reputation as a leading international tourist destination for Chinese travellers.”

Tourism Australia Managing Director, John O’Sullivan said, “Lunar New Year is an increasingly important time of the year for Australian tourism. We’re seeing more and more of China’s emerged and emerging high value travellers looking to use this key holiday break as an opportunity to travel overseas and to popular wish list destinations such as ours.”

According to O’Sullivan, the new generation of free and independent Chinese traveller has extremely high demands of an overseas destination, and a big part of meeting those expectations is around convenience and being made to feel welcome.

“We know the huge importance that Chinese travellers attach to Alipay as a preferred and trusted mobile payment system, and I have every confidence that the added value they’ll receive from the new Sydney City Card will prove hugely popular, by making the on-the- ground holiday experience easier and more engaging.”

The Sydney City Card program will run concurrently with a similar initiative in Queenstown, New Zealand, with the potential for expansion into other major tourist destinations in Australia and New Zealand in the near future.

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Tourism Ministry promotes Wonderful Indonesia in four Australian cities

The Tourism Ministry is currently participating in the Flight Centre World Travel Expo, a travel exhibition hosted by Flight Centre, one of the largest retail travel outlets in Australia.

The travel expo is being held in various cities across Australia, including Adelaide, Canberra, Newcastle, Sydney and Melbourne. According to kompas.com, the ministry is taking part in the expo in four cities, namely Sydney on Feb. 2-3, Melbourne and Perth on Feb. 9-10, and Brisbane on Feb. 16-17. These cities were chosen as the largest numbers of Australian travelers visiting Indonesia come from there.

The ministry has invited 12 travel agents and companies to join the expo. During the exhibition, the agencies are given the opportunity to offer various travel packages directly to visitors.

In addition to promoting Indonesian tourism, the ministry is also showcasing traditional arts, such as the Cendrawasih dance from Bali and Bajidor Kahot from West Java, giving visitors a chance to get a closer look at Indonesian culture.

Besides the expo, the ministry is hosting business meetings with Australian travel agencies with at least 80 entrepreneurs confirming their attendance in each city.

Indonesian Consul General in Sydney Heru Hartanto Subolo, who attended the opening day in Sydney, stated his hope that the ministry’s participation in the expo could help in learning more about Australian tourists' needs and interests, allowing the travel agents to offer travel packages suitable for their target audiences.

He also encouraged Indonesia to engage in further collaboration with Flight Centre.

“As a representative of the Indonesian government, I encourage a closer partnership between tourist industries, so the target of 1.5 million tourists from Australia can be achieved,” said Heru. (jes/wng)

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Tourism Australia to test pilot 12-month payment program for tourists

Alipay and Tourism Australia have announced today that Sydney will be the pilot city for a new service to promote leading tourist and retail destinations to Chinese tourists, ahead of the Chinese New Year festive period in early February.

The Sydney City Card will introduce Chinese tourists to sights and activities in hotspots round the city and provide special geotargeted promotions in key areas such as The Rocks, Darling Harbour, the Sydney Fish Market, Sydney Airport, Westfield Sydney and Sydney Chinatown.

The interactive mobile map will operate through the Alipay app, which together with its regional partners has more than one billion users worldwide.

In Australia, tens of thousands of merchants accept Alipay, with more than one hundred leading retailers and tourist destinations involved in the Sydney City Card pilot.

The pilot program will run for 12 months, and launches ahead of the Chinese New Year week-long holiday in February, which will see 40 million Chinese travel including seven million heading overseas – with Australia among the leading destinations.

Alipay ANZ country manager George Lawson said the pilot program will provide Australia with a critical advantage over other tourist destinations.

“The Sydney City Card pilot is an innovative approach to engaging with our largest tourist market, and provides Australia with a critical advantage over other regional tourist hotspots during this peak annual travel period

“Chinese tourists will be able to access recommendations on what to see, where to shop and how to get around, all within an app they are familiar with and while being offered their preferred payment method around the city.

“Providing this tailored and convenient customer experience is critical to maintaining and enhancing Australia's reputation as a leading international tourist destination for Chinese travellers.”

Alipay has also recently partnered with major financial institutions including Commonwealth Bank, NAB and Tyro making its platform available via their proprietary technology.

A 2018 Nielsen study found 99% of Chinese tourists had the Alipay app installed on their mobile phone.

A 2019 Nielsen survey of 1,244 overseas merchants found that nearly 60% of those that adopted Alipay saw a subsequent growth in both foot traffic and revenue.

China is Australia's largest and most valuable tourism market, accounting for 81% of the growth in tourism spending in Australia in the last 12 months and for 27% of total spend by international visitors.

More than 1.4 million Chinese tourists travelled to Australia in the year ending November 2018 (YoY growth of 6.2%), and spent mot than $11.5 billion (YoY growth of 12%).

The Sydney City Card program will run concurrently with a similar initiative in Queenstown, New Zealand with the potential for expansion into other major tourist destinations in Australia and New Zealand in the near future.

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Australian Traveller launches US magazine for Tourism Australia

Australia will include stories on the country’s capital cities and key sites, like Kakadu, as well a guides to all of the cities and a map at the back of the magazine. The first edition explores The Great Barrier Reef, The Kimberley and a feature on how to understand the Australian Outback. Currently, there are plans to make the magazine a bi-annual product.

At the same time, Tourism Australia has launched a broader content hub. Australian Traveller and Tourism Australia have engaged 18 advertisers for the magazine, including United Airlines, One and Only Wolgan Valley, Park Hyatt Sydney and Tourism Gold Coast.

Jane Whitehead, regional general manager Americas, Tourism Australia, said she was pleased to produce the “compelling” and “authentic” magazine.

“We’re proud to launch the first official Australia magazine, a showcase of incredible Australian experiences spanning unique accommodations, urban culture to wilderness adventures and more,” Whitehead said.

“In collaborating with Australian Traveller, we set out to tell quintessentially Aussie travel stories, while highlighting some of the finest hospitality product, in a way that compels travellers to book memorable vacations. We worked with Australian Traveller’s managing director Quentin Long to commission the best, most passionate team of writers to share their perspectives on a diverse array of destinations Down Under.” 

“Through targeted distribution of the magazine in airline lounges across the US, as well as promotions to encourage consumers and trade to order the magazine for complimentary mailing or digital download, we’re excited to see Australia inspire many unforgettable trips.”

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