Campaign - Where the Bloody Hell Are You - Case Study Example

Major Report By Student’s name: Learning Institution: Executive Summary Tourism sector has played a key role in developing the economy of Australia. Many policies have been put in place to ensure that the natural resources are well managed. This has been made possible by the development of various stakeholders as well as having a common vision in the region. Most organizations and individuals have developed an interest in having an ecologically sustainable management of the land. Massive growths in the tourism sector have been experiencing after having strong investments in the country. There has been a great relationship between the tourism investment and the overseas arrival of tourists (Song & Turner, 2006). This report focuses on the concept of destination marketing and how it has helped in promoting Australia’s tourism industry. Further, the paper compares two major marketing campaigns used by the Destination Marketing Organization, Tourism Australia to promote Australia as a unique tourism destination namely: ‘Where the bloody hell are you?’ and ‘There is nothing like Australia’. In particular, the paper compares the two major campaigns on the basis of three critical success factors identified by Cox & Wray (2011) including: marketing research as an integral activity, targeting the right type of tourists and lastly, promotion of unique tourism features, clear images and a solid brand. The report points out how a combination of the three critical success factors could lead to either success or failure of a tourism promotion campaign. For instance, failure to conduct detailed market research on the initial marketing campaign led to stiff resistance from various target markets. In addition, other target markets are reported to have banned ‘Where the bloody hell are you’ marketing campaign which eventually led to the complete withdrawal after failure to deliver desired results. On the other hand, ‘There is nothing like Australia’ campaign, which properly addressed the three critical success factors properly is said to be one of the most successful tourism promotional campaigns in the modern times. Recommendations made were; the government should thus ensure that robust measures and institutions are created in order to enhance the sustainability of natural resources. The conclusions made were; destinations are multidimensional and are comprised of myriad stakeholders who constitute the product. Branding a destination, therefore, requires all inclusive participation in market research, targeting of the right customers and intense and proper promotion of tourist features. In addition, proper control and coordination of destination marketing mix together with the cooperation from different stakeholders is also critical. As noted, lack of proper control in destination marketing has severe consequences on the management of destination brand as different stakeholders might end up disseminating unified information that could conflicts the brand. TABLE OF CONTENTS Executive Summary 2 Introduction 5 The ‘Push’ Factors in Australia 7 The ‘Pull ‘Factors in Australia 7 Likely motivational factors in Australia 8 ‘Where the bloody hell are you?’ campaign 9 Marketing research as an integral activity 9 Targeting the right type of tourist 11 Promoting unique tourism features, clear images, and a solid brand 11 ‘There is nothing like Australia’ marketing campaign 12 Marketing research as an integral activity 12 Targeting the right type of tourist 14 Promoting unique tourism features, clear images, and a solid brand 15 Table 1- Comparison of total visitor arrivals from various target markets between the two campaigns 16 Conclusion and Recommendations 18 References 19 Introduction Australia remains one of the most explored countries in the modern world. The country has unique heritage, as well as diverse environmental sites. Among the fascinating outlooks in Australia include; hanging rocks, Hassan’s Wall, Echo Point, and Bungle range among others. Although numerous researches have been conducted on Destination Marketing Organizations (DMO’s), quite a number of central issues still need to be studied further (Vu & Turner, 2008). In this respect, destinations have emerged as critical units of analysis in tourism while also forming a pillar for modeling of tourism systems. Undeniably, tourists are spoilt for destination choices due to the presence of the clustered market with numerous substitute products offered by rival destinations. By definition, a tourism destination is a geographical space which holds a wide range of tourist resources including attractions, equipments, infrastructures, service providers, other support sectors and administrative organisms whose coordinated and integrated activities provide travelers with experiences they desire. On the other hand, an organization is defined as a formal entity in which interaction of people, money and other materials helps in distribution of goods, services and more importantly wealth creation. Therefore, destination marketing organization is an organization responsible for marketing identifiable destinations. DMO’s provides a foundation for the industry through the development of strategic partnerships and action plans for achievement of the set goals. Tourism Australia (TA) as a Destination Marketing Organization (DMO) is charged with the role of promoting Australian tourist destinations. TA’s primary objective is to elicit demand for Australian tourism sites. Australia is among the highly desired tourism destinations in the world. According to Turner & Witt (2008), the rationale for the establishment of DMO’s is to enhance destination competitiveness. In this respect, Tourism Australia makes the Australian tourism industry more competitive by complementing the marketing efforts of other tourism marketing organizations. TA, in its efforts to market Australian tourism industry sponsored two major campaigns including, ‘So Where the Bloody Hell are You?’ and ‘There is nothing like Australia.’ According to Singh, Slotkin & Vamosi (2007), Tourism Australia launched a unique destination brand titled, ‘Where the bloody hell are you?’ that sought to invite all potential travelers to come and experience Australian tourist features first hand. This campaign was more than just a mere advertisement. It was termed as a failure by the then Australian prime minister, Kevin Rudd who referred to it as a “rolled gold disaster’. Many people questioned how ‘the bloody’ slogan endeared Australia to potential tourists as a preferred destination. Such harsh criticism and failure of this campaign led to its complete withdrawal in 2008. After the failure and withdrawal of the initial marketing campaign, TA rolled ‘There is nothing like Australia’ campaign in the year 2010 that was closely researched, unlike the prior campaign. This campaign featured distinctive Australian tourist attractions that were meant to inspire the foreign visitors. The new campaign was more creatively designed by clearly demonstrating Australia’s high quality tourism products as among the world finest. Most importantly, this new campaign was designed to be flexible and long lasting as it could evolve to remain relevant in fast changing and highly competitive tourism environment. While much has been achieved in this field of destination marketing, little has been done in examining the effectiveness of destination marketing organization. This report seeks to examine the effectiveness of Tourism Australia’s two major tourism marketing campaigns on the basis of three critical success factors including marketing research being an integral activity, the need to target the right types of tourists and lastly, promotion of the right tourism features, clear images and a solid brand. The ‘Push’ Factors in Australia Push factors consist of features that promote tourism in a certain place. With this regard, push factors push visitors from various corners of the world. The push factors in Australia include the various accommodation options like the Kangaroo Island Seaside Inn and Kangaroo Island Seaview Motel which are well managed. Also, there is a good road network throughput the country, and this makes Australia be popular with visitors who usually chooses to travel areas with excellent infrastructural facilities. The ‘Pull ‘Factors in Australia Pull factors consist of features that make a place look appealing. In Australia, the pull factors include; calmness of the Australians, thriving art scene, massive advertising campaigns, excellent client’ services among others. The citizens also produce traditional delicious dishes like the abalone which in turn attracts tourists to visit the country. Australia is a peaceful country and these also ensure that tourists carry out their activities without being harassed. The various geological features such as gorges and cliffs offer tourists with breathtaking scenery. Also, some of the native plants and fruits in Australia are fit for human consumption, and this makes Australia be popular among visitors. Likely motivational factors in Australia There are many recreational and sport facilities in Australia. For instance, the Kingscote and Parndana Golf clubs attract special attention to visitors who loves playing golf. There are many rivers in Australia such as the American River, and these acts as fishing and whaling ground for the locals, as well as visitors. Visitors who have never had an opportunity to do fishing normally find the Island to be a thrilling place. Visitors also find it really exciting to walk in parks such as the Hanson Bay. The scenic terrain provides visitors with an enormous challenge. Weaver (2007) argued that the Mediterranean climate in Australia also, motivates many tourists to visit the country. For instance, the summer days are warm whereas the winters are cold. During the summer, the Island is characterized by wild flowers. During this period, wildlife normally moves back to the jungle in order to endure from the harsh climatic condition. Kangaroos are normally visible during the morning and evening hours. Also, the native trees offer habitat to tens of thousands of bird species which offers visitors with amazing bird-viewing experience. During summer, visitors also longs to experience the breeding season of the Australian Sea-lions, the birth of Fur seals, the little penguins moulting all their feathers among many incredible experiences. During autumn, the grass begins to grow and rivers begin to overflow. During this period, visitors long to experience the nestling of the black cockatoos and the courtship behavior of the black swarns. During winter, the Island boasts plentiful wildlife such as Kangaroo, Warders, Ospreys, Southern right whales among others. During spring, the Island is usually rich in wildflowers and numerous species of birds such as cape barren geese. ‘Where the bloody hell are you?’ campaign Marketing research as an integral activity Marketing research refers to the process of gathering, analyzing and interpreting information concerning a product or service that a given market offers to its potential and present customers. Further, it involves analysis of customers’ spending patterns, needs of target markets and the potential competition faced. In this respect, marketing research as an activity cuts across both demand side and supply side aspects of the tourism industry. In 2006, the Australian tourism industry was faced with a big challenge that was caused by promotional campaigns that were not properly researched, and therefore, never translated into realistic tourist inflow. This problem led to the formation of Tourism Australia, a statutory authority that was mandated to promote the country as a favorite tourism destination (Kotler, Bowen & Makens, 2006). In the same year TA engaged Saatchi & Saatchi of New Zealand to research and promotes Australia as a favorite destination brand. The company was required to research Australia as a wild and rough market and promote it as a friendly place for tourists. This research and promotion campaign dubbed ‘So Where the Bloody Hell are you?’ comprised of eleven scenes and a total of thirteen images that showed the different range of experiences offered by Australia. The campaign was launched through multimedia channels with the main aim being to invite as many people as possible to visit Australia and enjoy different tourism products on offer. The campaign acknowledged the views of both influential customers and various opinion leaders, but failed to consider the impact on other cultures. Its main objective was to capitalize on awareness created through advertising campaigns carried out earlier in order to convert huge interests shown by favorable responses into marketing communication that could translate into actual travel bookings. Through marketing research, it was decided that experienced seekers should be targeted as they were found to play a significant role of influencing the purchasing behaviors of others. Further, the research indicated that successful communication to this group would cause others potential travelers to emulate their behaviors thus creating strong and effective word of mouth referrals. According to Cooper & Hall (2008), further research indicated that magazine and television mediums of advertising were extensively used due to their wide coverage that saw a very favorable response. As noted from the beginning, the campaign was controversial as it attracted the wrath of foreign regulators who complained about the use of swear words like ‘bloody’ and ‘hell’. These words were considered slang in the Australian market. However, they were viewed as offensive in some other markets. Nevertheless, TA vigorously defended the use of such words as their sole intention was to portray Australia as a hospitable and warm tourism market. Foreign markets including the United Kingdom, United States, and Singapore among others continued to exert more pressure forcing Australia to withdraw the campaign in 2008. This was also attributed to complaints from other foreign markets who argued that this campaign seemed to demand people to visit Australia. Regrettably, the campaign that had cost the government approximately $ 180 million had only generated publicity, but failed to increase the tourist numbers visiting Australia. According to industry statistics, the tourists’ numbers from some markets declined (Kotler, Bowen & Makens, 2006). For instance in the first year of its launch the number of tourists from the United Kingdom fell by 2.3%, Japan by 5.7% and those from Germany by 4.7% (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2002). Targeting the right type of tourist The right type of tourist refers to those tourists who suit better readily available tourism products. Different tourism destinations have distinct tourism packages and such tourism packages are designed for a given class of travelers. For this purpose, it is always important for the tourist destination to target the right type of travelers in order to realize maximum benefits. As stated earlier, Australia was facing a challenge where massive interest shown by people to visit her destinations never translated into actual tourist inflows. This campaign drive was initiated to serve this particular problem in order to translate the huge interest shown to actual tourist inflow. With the theme of this campaign being to invite as many people come and experience distinct Australian experiences, extensive market research conducted to recommend experience seekers’ who were seen to play a significant role in influencing the purchasing behavior of other potential travelers. Promoting unique tourism features, clear images, and a solid brand With the presence of different tourism destinations, each of them has distinct tourism features, and therefore, should carry out promotional campaigns for its unique tourism features using clear pictures in order to build an unbeatable product brand. Destination branding refers to marketing the national economy in a bid to develop and maintain a robust brand positioning strategy. TA in its controversial ‘Where the Bloody Hell Are You?’ campaign resorted to wildlife, beaches, the outback, the reefs, vibrant cities, natural theme parks and the Australian people to market the country as a potential tourism destination. Also in the campaign were the images of coral reefs, deserts, golf clubs, crashing roofs, camels, kangaroos, bikini babes and skinned Anglo children. Beyond the fleeting image of indigenous dancers, the aspect of culture was totally absent. This problem made it quite impossible for the campaign to attract many travelers. According to Weaver (2007), DMO’s should use more specific slogans with clearer images that meet the requirements of different target markets. As brand elements, images and slogans play an indispensable role in brand positioning. This role is very critical for destination already known, and the extent to which such images and slogans contribute to the success of destination branding depends not only on uniqueness, but also the substance of the slogans. Even though TA’s marketing director claimed the slogan of this campaign to be a ‘marketer’s dream’ due to its publicity, the catchy slogan and creative advertising lacked substance leading to failure to capture the tourists' attention. The slogan generated a great deal of controversy which might have resonated badly on Australia’s image. In this vein, the question that remained in people’s mind was the feeling Australians had about it. During its launch, Australians had already opposed it, and New Zealand opponents referred to it as ‘a profane turn off’. Many people were questioning how ‘the bloody’ slogan endeared Australia to potential tourists as a preferred destination. Such harsh criticism and failure of this campaign led to its complete withdrawal in 2008. ‘There is nothing like Australia’ marketing campaign Marketing research as an integral activity As mentioned earlier, marketing research concerns gathering, analyzing and interpreting information of given product or service offered to both potential and present customers. In addition, it involves analysis needs of target markets, customers’ spending patterns and potential competition. In this respect, all aspects of tourism promotion should be thoroughly researched. TA carries its research work in collaboration with other industry players on carrying out various market research programs (Cox & Wray, 2011). Imperative TA continues to be competitive in promoting Australian Tourism as a point of travelers’ choice and not any other travel category. Undeniably, the Australian tourism industry continues to face stiff competition from other growing tourist destinations. Therefore, to entice potential tourists to select Australia as their next travel destination, intimate knowledge of potential tourist is fundamental. In this regard, TA continues to team up with other marketers to research who its customers are, what they desire, where they live for the purpose of placing marketing campaigns in other global markets to drive its tourism development and marketing activities. Since the launch of the marketing campaign dubbed, ‘There is nothing like Australia’ TA, together with other tourism marketers continue to undertake thorough market research to gain a deeper understanding of potential customers (Atkinson, Crittall & Mylne, 2012). This included comparison of researches conducted by different players to identify the key competitors in order to help further define and strengthen their competitive focus and communication with customers. Sharing of information across the industry helps to align specific campaign activities leading to a consistent approach of what Australia has to offer. In the 2012/2013 budget, the Australian government allocated TA marketing research fund to a tune of $ 48.5 million. This fund will enable TA to conduct market research in international markets, which has its target clients. This fund also gives TA an opportunity to carry out market researches in upcoming Asian markets. Further, the organization focuses on working with other bodies such as Tourism Research Australia (TRA) that carries out research on tourism behavior and traveler's preferences. For instance, in conjunction with TRA, TA was able to carry out market research across thirteen Chinese fastest growing and largest cities. Such research involved a comprehensive analysis of Chinese consumer preferences. The finding derived from this research helped TA to identify marketing activities to prioritize in Chinese market. Relying on findings from its global creative agency, DDB, TA was informed of production and post production campaigns to execute. The findings also provided insights that were helpful in aligning Australian international marketing with Australian strategies to exert more impact in the international markets (Cox & Wray, 2011). Moreover, the marketing research established that there was nothing like Australia on TA’s most successful marketing drives. Targeting the right type of tourist The right type of tourist concerns tourists who suit readily available tourism products. As stated earlier, different tourism destinations have distinct tourism packages and such tourism packages are designed for a given class of travelers. To realize maximum benefits, it is therefore, critical for any tourist destination to target the right type of travelers. According to Cox & Wray (2011), the organization work towards targeting financially well off tourists who wishes to visit Australia to spend time and experience its distinct sceneries. In addition, this promotion campaign targets leisure travelers who are increasingly predisposed to visiting Australia. Even though, TA’s target audiences in different markets vary, consumers who holidayed in Australia are sophisticated and well travelled. In this regard, the new promotional campaign aims at key consumers’ audience by highlighting the best products such as accommodation facilities that Australia has to offer. In addition, the excitement and glamour of contemporary cities, Australia’s globally re-known wines and food and magnificent natural resources are just a few of the many things to reckon. Therefore, with much focus on the best that Australia has on offer, TA goes ahead to encourage visitors to adventure further and spend more in the course of their holiday. More so, TA believes that this campaign will resonate well not only with potential clients from different target markets but also its affluent middle class. Promoting unique tourism features, clear images, and a solid brand Different tourism destinations have distinct tourism features, and therefore, every one of them should carry out promotional campaigns for its unique tourism features using clear pictures that build an unbeatable product brand. According to Atkinson, Crittall & Mylne (2012), the campaign is anchored on a strong strategy. In addition, it has stunning television commercials that bear iconic Australian imagery, cosmopolitan cities, which are extremely critical in carrying out marketing drive in overseas markets. This new marketing campaign is anchored on the already established and successful platform. It highlights the most fascinating products that Australia has to offer. It goes further to portray the new things about Australia, therefore, challenging stereotypical views held about Australia. Basically, the new campaign sets to convey the compelling aspects of Australia including the lifestyle, personality and various places to visit. TA is of the opinion that marketing Australia by focusing on the Australia best products will lead to a positive effect on the entire tourism industry. Unlike the former marketing campaign, focusing on high quality products rather than a wide range of experiences will enlighten travelers why the Australian holiday is unique and distinct. TA will promote a wide range of Australian assets both natural and man-made that makes it unique from other destinations. As a brand, Australia is well established and commands respect from many consumers. The brand insight shows Australia as a unique environment characterized by diverse natural experiences. This aspect helps the brand to convey and capture invitations to visit and spend heavily. ‘There is nothing like Australia’ campaign portrays all these assets as sophisticated and in a contemporary, energetic and inspiring way (Weaver & Lawton, 2010). To achieve this, the campaign intensively utilized digital, social media and other advocacy channels that are more effective in planning, research and holiday bookings. As pointed out by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (2012), the campaign was designed to make the world to discover Australia. This is because of its focus on what is iconic and unique about Australia including the landscape and its people. To reach many people, the campaign is carried out through print media, online and videos with the capacity to connect various consumers to various distinct landscapes and people. This campaign started by inviting Australians to share their favorite holiday experiences, but eventually rose to be one of the most successful promotional campaigns in recent times. It provided a new website that allowed visitors to view an interactive map and search preferred travel experiences of their choice including: culture, wildlife, different facilities and other activities. In addition, the success of this campaign can also be attributed to vigorous consumer research as TA took into consideration the views of Australians to build on a campaign that reflected views of Australian people and international visitors. Table 1- Comparison of total visitor arrivals from various target markets between the two campaigns 2006 2007 2008 2010 2011 2012 ’000 ‘000 ’000 ’000 '000 '000 New Zealand 790.2 805.3 839.1 1 032.7 1 098.9 1 075.8 United Kingdom 642.7 650.2 673.0 676.2 708.8 734.2 Japan 715.4 709.5 627.8 710.4 685.3 651.0 United States of America 434.4 444.2 422.2 433.3 446.3 456.1 China (excl. SARs and Taiwan Prov.) 190.1 186.2 176.1 251.3 285.0 308.5 Korea 189.7 190.1 207.2 211.9 250.6 260.8 Singapore 286.9 236.9 253.4 251.2 266.1 253.4 Hong Kong (SAR of China) 151.0 135.2 129.1 137.2 159.5 154.8 Malaysia 159.0 157.1 155.6 166.8 166.0 150.3 Germany 134.7 132.6 137.8 140.6 146.5 148.2 3,694.00 3,647.30 3,621.30 4,011.60 4,213.00 4,193.10 Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, (2012). Notably, the tourist arrivals are reportedly declining between the year 2006-2008. This could be attributed to ‘Where the Bloody Campaign are You’ campaign that irrespective of how popular it was massively criticized not only by potential tourism targets, but also locally. Even though the words used in this slogan were slang, the slogan seemed to alienate foreign cultures, which perceived it otherwise. Many governments of foreign markets discourage their people from visiting Australia. On the other hand, ‘ There is nothing like Australia’ campaign was credited as a total success. This is also reflected from table 1 above that indicates an increase in foreign tourism inflow from Year 2010 when it was initiated. The campaign dwelled on what was unique about Australia which was also marketed and positioned excellently hence the popularity not only within Australia, but also across the boarders. Conclusion and Recommendations Australia undoubtedly provides visitors with panoramic experience that relieves the hustle and bustle of the harsh life. The country has a rich heritage and attracts many visitors from all corners of the world. Tourist activities in Australia play a crucial role of enhancing the living conditions of the host community. Despite this, the country faces serious challenges such as massive destruction of natural resources by developers. The federal government should thus create sound conservation plans to ensure Australia emerge the ideal visitor destination throughout the world. The government should thus ensure that robust measures and institutions are created in order to enhance the sustainability of natural resources. Based on the arguments in this report, destinations are multidimensional and are comprised of myriad stakeholders who constitute the product. Branding a destination, therefore, requires all inclusive participation in market research, targeting of the right customers and intense and proper promotion of tourist features. In addition, proper control and coordination of destination marketing mix together with the cooperation from different stakeholders is also critical. As noted, lack of proper control in destination marketing has severe consequences on the management of destination brand as different stakeholders might end up disseminating unified information that could conflicts the brand. All destinations have distinct images and marketing efforts only strives to promote with personal experience and communication helping to align the brand with already existing images. Therefore, branding in tourism destination context is a complex task, and therefore, requires further study in an effort to come up with different approaches to destination branding. References Atkinson, L, Crittall, R and Mylne, L. 2012. Frommer’s Australia. Frommer’s. Hoboken:Wiley. Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), (2012). Domestic Tourism, Catalogue Number: 1301.0-2002, ABS. Cooper, C. & Hall, C.M. (2008). Contemporary tourism: an international perspective. Oxford: Elsevier Butterworth-Heinemann Cox, C., & Wray, M. (2011). Best practice marketing for regional tourism destinations. Journal of travel & tourism marketing, 28(5), 524-540. Kotler, P., Bowen, J., & Makens, J. (2006). Marketing for hospitality and tourism (4th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson. Singh, T., Slotkin, M., & Vamosi, A. (2007). Attitude towards ecotourism and environmental advocacy: Profiling the dimensions of sustainability. Journal of Vacation Marketing, 13(2), 119-134. Song, H & Turner L.W. (2006). Tourism Demand Forecasting, In : Dwyer, L. and Forsyth, P. (eds.) International Handbook on the Economics of Tourism. USA, Edgar. Turner, L.W. & Witt, S.F. (2008). Asia Pacific Tourism Forecasts 2008-2010. Bangkok, Pacific Asia Travel Association. Vu C.J. & Turner, L.W. (2008). Economic Significance of High-Value Tourists, International Review of Business Research, 4(1), 5-17. Weaver, D. (2007). Toward sustainable mass tourism: Paradigm shift or paradigm nudge? Tourism Recreation Review, 32(3), 65-69 Weaver, D., & Lawton, L. (2010). Tourism management. 4th ed. Brisbane, Wiley Australia. Read More