South Australian Tourism Commission starts the new year off with a bang via Sugar&Partners NZ

After being reappointed as the South Australian Tourism Commission’s strategic and creative partner back in April, Sugar&Partners the K-Rd Indy has been riding the online video wave delivering a new rich-video digital platform targeting New Zealand travelers thinking of hopping across the ditch.

Says Jeremy Johnston, managing partner, S&P: “We’ve been working with SATC in varied capacities for 16 years now, 2015 has been a big change strategically moving away from a decade of direct-response TV and innovating in the digital space.”

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The 2-year campaign is centered around an ever evolving digital platform of ‘holiday playlists’.  Taking the monotonous task of reading and creating a travel itinerary into an easy video drag-drop & book experience.  You can book a curated ‘playlist’ direct off the site or create your own, share it with friends and then book it.

The campaign has already driven a 16% increase in room nights booked to South Australia through one travel partner, and a 20% increase in passengers compared to the same period last year.

Says Dave Nash, joint creative director, S&P: “The audience was spread from young adventurers who almost solely rely on mobile as their research device through to baby boomers who revert to desktop or tablet when actively planning their holidays – so we had to ensure the responsive video experience catered for all.”

• Currently 47% of users are viewing the site on their desktop, 32% on their mobile and 19% on their tablet.

To launch the new digital platform SATC and S&P took another bold step by running totally unbranded TV ads challenging viewers to use their curiosity and search for the new site.

Shot over 10-days in South Australia by Kontent’s Simon Mark-Brown backed by the haunting track ‘Under the Milky Way Tonight’ by Australian band The Church.

Says Damon O’Leary, joint creative director, S&P: “South Australia’s brand essence is to appeal to the curious at heart, so what peaks curiosity more than some telly ads with no branding, no voice over and the challenge of ‘think you know it?’ tell us and you could win a holiday there.”

Says Stacey Cant, regional manager NZ: “2015 has been a great year for us strategically with a strong global brand strategy and an innovative local campaign – we’re looking forward to using 2016 to take it customer engagement to the next level and drive further bookings.”

Results – in just a matter of weeks:

• Over 3,000 playlists have been ‘shared’ with friends on social media or via email.
• 500 (and growing) playlists have been ‘created’ on the site using the drag and drop functionality.
• Retail travel partners have reported strong land sales to Adelaide following the initial campaign, with one partner seeing a 16% increase in room nights booked to South Australia compared to the same period last year.

SATC:

Agency: S&P

DOP/Editor:  Bertrand Remaut