Why is this work relevant for Media?

With international travel off the cards, we had to find an entirely new way to target and sustain engagement with our standard Australian travel audience. Capitalising on the rise in gaming during lockdown and the shared values of gamers and travellers (exploration and adventure), we spoke to our travel audience through an entirely new lens – gaming. Behaving like no other Tourism brand, our media approach reflected this world-first idea and ran entirely through gaming channels.

Background

2020 has been a devastating year for the international tourism industry. The pandemic has closed international borders and tourism as we know it is on hold. With New Zealand the #1 outbound destination for Aussie travellers, we had a very real responsibility to keep travellers connected to our people and place while international borders remained closed. Pre Covid, we also faced a unique challenge. The 100% Pure New Zealand brand was facing increasing pressure from up-and-coming destinations such as Japan, and the locally trending options like South Australia and Tasmania which were quickly rising on travellers’ preference lists. We had to defend our #1 position, increase brand preference and keep New Zealand top of mind in a locked down world.

Describe the creative idea / insights (30% of vote)

Gaming was already the #1 form of digital entertainment in Australia – lockdown saw gaming and game-streaming skyrocket by 75%**. Our research also showed that gamers have a lot in common with travellers – exploration, connection, adventure. So, we decided to market the entire country like a video game, which informed every media decision we made. We launched with an hour-long livestream on Twitch, a “gamer walkthrough” showcasing the best of New Zealand, allowing live interaction with followers. The same asset also lived on YouTube, the home of walkthroughs. But no game launch would be complete without teasers and trailer films, digital banners and in-app ads, all of which were placed in gaming media channels and featured real gamers’ reviews. All media drove future travellers to the PLAY NZ immersive hub, allowing exploration of 18x VR180° quest films. ** Verizon, US 2020

Describe the strategy (20% of vote)

We set out to address gamers in their context by inviting them to play New Zealand in a new way. Our media strategy was simple; behave like a real “new game release” by showing up in gaming channels and platforms, before encouraging people to PLAY NZ online on our website, and eventually to travel in real life when countries’ borders reopen. This allowed us to target a super-engaged gaming audience and the adventure-deprived travel audience at the same time. The media strategy sought to engage audiences in an active way, rather than the passive “dream now, travel later” approach our competitors were taking. This allowed us to pull consumers into our world and show them a whole new side to New Zealand.

Describe the execution (20% of vote)

To achieve this we partnered with Twitch, and Australian gaming heavyweight Loserfruit. She teased the content on her social platforms prelaunch, then "played" the country live to her 4.7 million strong audience. The 9-minute “gamer walkthrough” was housed on YouTube and showcased unique experiences that set New Zealand apart from other destinations, sharing New Zealand’s culture, people and places. We continued to mimic a real game launch, using game teasers and trailers, digital banners and in-app ads in gaming media channels featuring real gamers’ reviews. The campaign garnered a wealth of PR interest across online gaming publications, as well as mainstream channels, such as Facebook, Instagram and TikTok – engaging a broader demographic. Not satisfied, we drove future travellers to the PLAY NZ immersive hub where they were met with 18x VR180° films aimed at inspiring future itineraries for when the borders officially reopen.

List the results (30% of vote)

Intent to visit New Zealand post lockdown increased by +387%* and we maintained our #1 position as the preferred destination for Aussie travellers**. Though the campaign is still live, we’ve already seen a shift in our brand metrics with a 53% lift in ad recall and 10% lift in favourability. Campaign engagement is high; reaching over 100 million people. Our films already have over 15 million views. PR coverage has a universally positive sentiment with 150+ unique earned articles. The live Twitch launch reached thousands of die-hard gamers and our film has since reached over 3.5 million. Finally, we’ve achieved an average website dwell time of over 9 minutes (280% above benchmark) and a 37% increase in user interaction on our website content. *Facebook brand lift study vs. Asia Pacific uplift benchmark **Tourism New Zealand AC monitor