The Campaign

An unbranded video online, titled “I hate Thailand” was released, using a ‘counter-intuitive’ strategy to put Thailand back into the spotlight in tourism industry. Faced with falling numbers in repeat visitors, Thailand needed to remind visitors of what made them fall in love with the country beyond the famous attractions. The studies show the one thing Thailand has always stand head and shoulders above its competitors is its hospitality and excellent service. And at the heart of this is the uniqueness of the Thai people and their way of life that makes visitors’ experience to Thailand ‘amazing’. The film was launched only on YouTube and uploaded by one anonymous user to keep it unbranded. The only paid media was ‘suggested view’ when user’s keyword search matched our pre-set keywords to avoid being perceived as a commercial. The interest it drew as an unbranded film amplified its key messages following its reveal as a piece of TAT content. The revelation created headlines internationally which accounted for uncountable media value and this drove the online interest even further. With 30,000 USD media investment, the film gained over 1 million views within 3 days. It generated more than 350,000 Facebook and 3,000 twitter organic shares worldwide. TAT gained more than 150 earned publications, such as the Telegraph, AP, AOL, and gained over 235 million impressions in USA alone. At the end of first quarter 2015, the number of international tourist arrivals gained 17.69% increase compared to the same period last year.

The Brief

The objective of this PR campaign was to promote Thai tourism with the uniqueness of Thai people and the Thai way of living (Thai-ness) and put Thailand back into the spotlight again by optimizing the limited budget, given the situation that Thailand’s marketing budget was far below that of neighboring competitors.

Results

With the media investment of only 30,000 USD, the film gained over 1 million views within 3 days and could capture media’s attention around the world. Part of the success comes from more than 350,000 Facebook and 3,000 twitter organic shares worldwide. TAT gained more than 150 earned publications worldwide, such as the Telegraph, AP, Campaign Brief Asia, International Business Times, Huffington Post, AOL, to name just a few, and gained over 235 million impressions in USA alone. The film was launched in November 2015 and created an immediate affect to call in more international tourists. In January 2015, Thailand welcomed 2.65 million foreign tourists and generated 120 billion Baht in revenue, representing a year-on-year increase of 15.9% and 12.7%, respectively. The number still continues to rise. At the end of first quarter 2015, the number of international tourist arrivals gained 17.69% increase compared to the same period last year.

Execution

This online film was launched only on YouTube and uploaded by one anonymous user in order to keep it unbranded. The only paid media is ‘suggested view’ when user’s keyword search matched our pre-set keywords to avoid being perceived as a commercial. Only 3 days after launch, the viewership went up to more than 1 million. The media support was as minimal as 30,000 USD in 1 month. The interest and attention it drew as a standalone unbranded film amplified its key messages following its reveal as a piece of TAT content. The revelation also created headlines internationally which accounted for uncountable media value and this drove the online interest even further. Thai people also realized from this film that the country’s most valuable treasure was Thainess. Being touched by its content, the film was organically and widely shared across all social media platforms.

The Situation

To compete with other up-and-coming destinations and to remain in a top competitive position, Thailand needed to find a new strategic selling point apart from beautiful attractions that has been familiar to the eyes of international tourists for many years. Compared to the competitors, current statistics show that Thailand’s ability to attract repeat visitors has reduced from 7.7 to 6.75, and the tendency to come back within 1 year decreases from 64% to 52%*. Perceived as an ‘old’ destination, tourists’ interest was drawn away from visiting the country and felt apathetic towards Thailand’s communication.

The Strategy

This is an international campaign targeting international tourists, focusing on the independent travelers who seek for authentic experiences the local can offer. They surf for information and plan the itinerary themselves. They have an ability to filter what’s commercialized and what’s genuine. They tend to believe in travelers’ reviews rather than advertising messages. Therefore, we needed to talk to them in the most genuine way. Media channel used was planned carefully to get away from a commercial pattern to make sure that the message would penetrate across the target before they could realize this was actually another piece of communication with PR purpose. The provocative title and beautifully twisted story played the key factors in its organic sharability across all social platforms and the film finally went worldwide with little media startup.