Tourism New Zealand will work directly alongside the travel trade in a new UK specific marketing campaign which sees real British holidaymakers take a starring role. The advertisements are part of a £2.8* million campaign, the largest amount the destination has ever spent in the UK and will air from 7 September.

The new ‘What do you say UK?’ tagline campaign was developed to give immediacy to British travellers dreaming about visiting New Zealand and encourage them to go and book their holiday.

 

The campaign is the result of recent consumer research, which showed that UK holidaymakers who had visited New Zealand were motivated to book their holidays by recommendations from their peers

 

Around 200 British travellers volunteered to talk about their holiday experiences in the campaign, which will run alongside the country’s award-winning 100% Pure New Zealand campaign.

 

The 100% Pure New Zealand campaign has helped New Zealand to become a dream destination, but this is a double-edged sword for the country, says Gregg Anderson, Tourism New Zealand’s Regional Manager UK and Europe.

 

“We are on people’s list - normally in the top five. We are seen as an aspirational holiday which means people will hold off travelling to New Zealand because they want to make it as great a trip as possible.

 

Our research found that ‘word of mouth’ is a more powerful influencer for New Zealand than for other destinations - it creates immediacy and paints the picture of what a New Zealand holiday is all about”.

 

Recognising the vital role of word of mouth and the destination’s high visitor satisfaction amongst British visitors, Tourism New Zealand decided to let UK travellers speak for themselves. Tourism New Zealand believes it is the first destination to use unscripted comments from holidaymakers filmed ‘in situ’ in a commercial.

 

More than 1,000 hours of footage was collected in the country’s travel hot spots earlier this year, and edited down to eight 40 second ads starring twenty two British holidaymakers. The collected footage was complemented by a staggering 10,000 holiday snaps given to producers by the campaign’s amateur talent, with some shots incorporated in to the final edit of the ads.

 

The new ‘What do you say UK?’ commercials will air on television and online from 7th September, with the 100% Pure New Zealand commercials running at the same time in cinemas and on digital underground escalator panels and cross track screens. A second period of media activity is planned for February 2009.

 

Tourism New Zealand will make relevant footage available to the travel trade for their own marketing and websites.  It is expected that some trade will invest directly into media placements aligning their advertising activity with ‘What do you say UK?’.

 

Anderson thinks slogans like ‘London to Auckland - 14 nights for £2990.95.  What do you say UK?’ could be used effectively.

 

“This campaign enables us to work side by side with the trade. If a testimonial mentions a specific travel agent or tour operator we can share this footage directly with them,” said Anderson.

 

Companies who are already involved include Air New Zealand, Travelmood, Austravel, Scenic Tours, Audley Travel, Travel2, Gold Medal Travel Group, 1st Class Holidays, Journeys of Distinction, Go Touring, STA Travel, Kuoni Travel, Kiwi Experience, Discover the World, Tailor Made Travel, Travelbag, Bridge and Wickers, All Ways Pacific, Kirra Tours and The Turquoise Holiday Company.

 

Involvement will include direct investment into media activity carrying the ‘What do you say UK’ creative.  Examples include in-flight promotion of the campaign , incentives for retail staff and direct consumer marketing, encouraging word of mouth to promote New Zealand.

 

The campaign will continue to develop over the forthcoming months, with further filming of British holidaymakers during the New Zealand summer to be used in future commercials. In addition, the destination will be looking into creative ways the footage can be used, especially in the online environment. 

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