SITUATION

There wasn’t much to smile about for the tourism industry this year, but as the states opened up their borders, Tourism Tasmania doubled down on the launch of its new brand platform ‘Come Down For Air.’

BRIEF

Tasmania — the island off the big island that sits at the edge of world. Weird and wild, Tassie is home to the southern hemisphere’s most avant garde art collection, quaint communities and pristine wilderness. Gloriously offbeat.

But our challenge was to scale up its fringe appeal without losing its soul.

THE GOAL?

Increase awareness and consideration of Tasmania as a destination, resulting in an uplift in intent to visit.

Tasmania is more than a holiday destination. It fulfils a far deeper cultural need, an existential crisis – the need to find meaning and to service the soul.

Come Down For Air is a call to arms to throw off the shackles, escape the stresses of modern life and feel everything more deeply. It is, literally and figuratively, a breath of fresh air. It invites you to spoil yourself with the transcendent beauty of untouched nature, indulge in the amazing food and wine, or experience the unique art and adventure sports. A place where you can reset your state-of-mind – and feel the freedom.

Breaking the category code.

As fantastic as Tasmania’s assets are, we weren’t going to win long-term on MONA, cheese and rock formations. Competitor destinations such as New Zealand, Oregon Alaska and Argentina have similar physical, climatic and cultural assets to Tasmania. We needed to stand out in this crowd.

The gap between the holiday bit and the everyday bit.

Travel destinations are idealised versions of the country. In contrast, Tasmanians are living this life. There’s no gap between how you holiday and how Tasmanians live. Tasmania is a remedy for constricting modern-day life.

Tasmanian reawakening.

Tasmania is undergoing a cultural transformation. We wanted to invite people to be part of it. Tasmania is raw, beautiful and honest – allowing people to connect outwardly to the environment and community or inwardly through self-reflection.

The ad campaign came to life in Australia and other international markets via TV executions and was supported by radio, print, outdoor and online to position Tasmania as a unique destination for travellers.

Most tourism brands paint a perfect picture. Sunny beaches. Stock-shot models doing stock-shot things. Not us.

Come Down For Air continued to break from tourism ad cliches. We offered unexpectedly authentic depictions of Tasmania. Epic and imperfect. Eccentric, unique and bold. Not overly choreographed. Human stories from real moments, contradicting glossy tourism advertising people are used to seeing.

Designed to drive long term consideration and visitation of Tasmania, according to the Brand Awareness and Consideration Campaign Review, the campaign has delivered:

• 10% Uplift in intent to travel to Tasmania

• 30% Uplift in Awareness of Tasmania as a travel destination

• 32% Uplift in Consideration of Tasmania as a travel destination

Come Down For Air has also differentiated the brand by setting trends in the category. Tracking for brand love has smashed norms for TV (82% above norm) and outdoor (141% above norm).

The campaign has also been widely recognised at AWARD Awards with 3 Golds, 3 Silvers, 9 Bronzes and 4 finalists, and the Grand Award for APG Creative Strategy.

Lastly, the platform has taken hold in industry and popular culture, with commentators singing its praises:

“That’s awesome. Lock that in. In 2050 it should still be the same line" – Russel Howcroft.