Tourism Australia doubles marketing spend in India

Launches its new 360 degree campaign “There's Nothing Like Australia” using to reach out to the discerning Indian traveller

BestMediaInfo Bureau | Delhi | August 8, 2012

Tourism Australia, India has launched a new global promotional campaign, There's Nothing like Australia aimed at promoting Australia as a must-see destination with some of the world's best tourism experiences.

Australia has a wealth of assets, natural and man-made, that differentiate it from other destinations around the world. There's Nothing like Australia campaign shows these assets in a contemporary, sophisticated, energetic and inspiring way. Focusing on high quality products, rather than broad based experiences, the campaign will show travellers what makes an Australian holiday distinct and unique.

In India, There's nothing like Australia supercedes the advocacy driven campaign that presented personal experiences of Indian nationals living in Australia and those who have visited the country. Featuring noted theater personalities - Aditya Hitkari & Divya Palat and Vikrant Kapoor, Chef and Partner, Zaaffran, Sydney, the previous campaign captured individual journeys of these personalities who spoke of their personal Australia story. Tourism Australia believes in word-of-mouth publicity as a powerful medium for motivating people to travel and advocacy will continue to remain a big part of bringing to life There's Nothing like Australia campaign.

Globally, the launch phase of There's nothing like Australia involved local Australians engaging with the campaign by uploading around 60,000 stories and photos to www.nothinglikeaustralia.com, to give travellers around the world ideas and inspiration for an Australian holiday. The latest phase of this campaign is being launched in India and highlights some of Australia's best tourism attractions, experiences and products that showcase why there is nothing quite like Australia. The campaign features many unique and iconic Australian destinations & experiences such as Sydney Harbour, Sydney Opera House & Blue Mountains in New South Wales, the Great Ocean Road & Melbourne in Victoria, the Great Barrier Reef & Gold Coast in Queensland, Kangaroo Island in South Australia, The Kimberley in Western Australia, Freycinet in Tasmania and the Ayers Rock (Uluru) in Northern Territory.

Tourism Australia has also recently unveiled a new strategy aimed at tapping into the future tourism potential of India. The India 2020 strategic plan identifies the main opportunities and sets out the approach required to build Australia's appeal and to win future market share. This plan predicts arrivals upto 300,000 visitors and upto AUD 2.3 bn in Spends by the year 2020. In alignment of this long term strategy, There's Nothing like Australia campaign has been designed to be long-lasting and flexible, one that could evolve to stay relevant for target consumers in a highly competitive and fast-changing global tourism environment. During 2012/13, the first year of the India 2020 strategic plan, Tourism Australia will double its marketing spend in India.

Commenting on the campaign, Maggie White, Regional General Manager, S/SE Asia & Gulf, Tourism Australia, said "Long haul holiday travel taken by Indians out of their country is developing fast as global travel is becoming an integral part of the Indian lifestyle. The Indian visitor to Australia is attracted by the unique, accessible pristine nature which can be taken through journeys between cities and regions. We are keen to now deepen their level of understanding of Australian experiences – something which we believe can be well leveraged through our use of There's Nothing like Australia. A focused strategic direction provided by the India 2020 plan combined with the launch of the new campaign will definitely be a boost to Australia's competitive advantage in market.”

Nishant Kashikar, Country Manager – India, Tourism Australia added, “The positive endorsement received through authentic Indian voices in our previous campaign provided good exposure to exciting experiences that await Indian travellers in Australia. We are confident that this transition to the new campaign will resonate well with Tourism Australia's urban elite target audience in India who have a desire to travel and a taste for superlative life experiences. While the creative will be led by Australia's Best, using our Public Relations program and other mediums of communication, we will continue to build on the strong advocacy-based messaging and showcase a broader range of experiences amongst our target segment”

In addition to a new broadcast ad and print executions the campaign will also feature a strong digital and out of home focus. Other elements include a new, interactive tablet app and hub on www.australia.com, to take customers further into the stories played out in the advertisement and provide more information on the locations. The campaign execution will be focussed in the major cities of Delhi and Mumbai and the affluent middle class travellers within these cities, will be Tourism Australia's primary consumer marketing targets to sustainably grow Indian visitation to Australia.

The integrated campaign will utilize a mix of media platforms to reach out to the discerning Indian traveller. The campaign will be seen on television across news, business, lifestyle, entertainment and infotainment channels; in print across leading publications including business and travel magazines; on Out of Home mediums in the primary markets of Delhi and Mumbai and on the digital platform. The campaign has been planned to run in two phases, from August – October 2012 and January – March 2013 in the lead up to the festival and holiday seasons respectively.

The new creative was developed by DDB Group Sydney.  The soundtrack for the ad, 'It's like Love', is co-written and performed by Australian singer-songwriter, Dewayne Everettsmith, and American viola player, Jasmine Beams. It was the result of a unique musical collaboration last year between the two musicians, who wrote the composition as part of Tourism Australia's multi-award winning Making Tracks campaign.

India is currently Australia's 10th most valuable inbound tourism market, with 148,000 visitors spending A$ 867 million in 2011. There were 15,400 visitors from India during May 2012, bringing the total for the five months to May to 68,300, an increase of 5.2 per cent relative to the same period previous year.

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