Tourists get chance to rave about NZ

Posted on 12. Dec, 2008 by in Industry News, Inside New Zealand

Tourism New Zealand is going on the road with a world-leading tourism marketing initiative using visitors to spread the word to friends and family through social networking. NZ Prime Minister and Minister of Tourism, John Key has launched the new marketing concept that uses a mobile recording studio to capture visitors’ stories about their time in New Zealand.

International tourists will be invited to record their own short video diary which Tourism New Zealand will edit and post on social networking sites. The mobile studio will travel the length and breadth of New Zealand this summer.

Mobile studio – world first

Launching the new mobile studio in Auckland today (12.12.08), Mr Key said the concept was thought to be a world first for a national tourism organisation. “This initiative is harnessing new technology, and marketing through social networking in a way which will allow people to talk directly and immediately to those at home about their time in New Zealand,” he said. “This kind of fresh approach is needed in the tourism industry to keep it among our highest foreign exchange earners during this difficult economic period worldwide.”

Have your say

The 100% Pure New Zealand ‘Have Your Say’ studio will visit 40 major tourist sites and towns during summer, from as far north as Cape Reinga and south to The Catlins. Tourism New Zealand chief executive George Hickton said the organisation was always looking for new ways to reach potential travellers to talk about New Zealand.

“A few years ago, things like YouTube and Facebook were new and probably used mostly by younger travellers. These days, people of all ages are using these networks to communicate and we want to be part of their holiday story,” he said.

3000 video diary clips

It is anticipated that around 3000 video diary clips will be captured during the 19-week road trip. “If every clip is viewed by 10 friends and family back home, and if 3000 clips are filmed that’s thirty thousand messages about New Zealand sent to our key markets – a very cost-effective form of marketing,” Mr Hickton said.

“It’s also very effective as we already know that a word-of-mouth recommendation is among the most important marketing tools we have, particularly in the UK.” The 100 % Pure New Zealand ‘Have your Say’ studio is the second phase of the ‘What Do You Say UK?’ campaign that Tourism New Zealand launched in London in September 2008.

The campaign uses comments from British tourists in New Zealand as the basis for its television commercial.

John Key on YouTube

The New Zealand Prime Minister has already recorded his own video message: YouTube – Pure NZ Have Your Say

Background

  • A recent UK poll found that Tourism New Zealand’s ‘What Do You Say UK?’ campaign ranked 9th for unprompted recall among British viewers – alongside Kellogg’s and Tesco supermarket advertisements.
  • Tourism New Zealand believes the mobile collection point is the first time something like this has been done by a national tourism organisation.
  • The mobile studio has been created in a converted shipping container.
  • It will be transported around New Zealand on a 10-tonne flat-bed truck.
  • The studio will tour NZ from 12 December 2008 – 30 April 2009. Visitors’ video diary messages will be hosted on a Tourism NZ YouTube channel, where friends and family can view them.
  • Visitors with Facebook profiles can opt to have the video diary hosted on that site as well.
  • Creating each video diary – filming to posting – will take 15 – 20 minutes.
  • Stand-out video diaries will be used by Tourism NZ for future TV commercials.
  • Tourism NZ has been using YouTube to host video content since August 2007, when the organisation took over YouTube’s home page for a 24-hour worldwide launch of its new ’100% Pure New Zealand’ campaign.

Source: Tourism New Zealand

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