2020 has been a devastating year for the international tourism industry. The pandemic has

closed international borders and tourism as we know it is on hold. With New Zealand the #1

outbound destination for Aussie travellers, we had a very real responsibility to keep travellers connected to our people and place while international borders remained closed.

Pre Covid, we also faced a unique challenge. The 100% Pure New Zealand brand was facing increasing pressure from up-and-coming destinations such as Japan, and the locally trending options like South Australia and Tasmania which were quickly rising on

travellers’ preference lists.

We had to defend our #1 position, increase brand preference and keep New Zealand top of mind in a locked down world.

With online gaming spiking, we found a way to engage an adventure-starved housebound audience. We marketed the entire country like a game. PLAY NZ is a rich brand experience that gives people playful, interactive content to engage with.

Launched with a Twitch live stream, Australian gaming influencer Loserfruit led thousands on a journey through the best of New Zealand, featuring a “gamer walkthrough” where she “played” the country and interacted live.

Every channel targeted gaming media, mimicking an online game launch. From teasers and trailers that hinted at the coming “game” to gamer reviews.

The world-first creative idea spread the campaign from just hardcore gamers to travellers and those playful at heart through the use of PR and beloved New Zealander, Julian Dennison.

Finally, we invited future travellers to an immersive hub where they could explore VR180° films – encouraging itinerary-building behaviours.

Already the #1 form of digital entertainment in Australia, lockdown saw gaming and game-streaming skyrocket by 75%**. Our research also showed that gamers have much in common with travellers – exploration, connection, adventure.

We set out to leverage this by addressing gamers in their context while inviting them to engage with New Zealand in a new way.

Our PR strategy was simple; disrupt traditional travel storytelling and audience perceptions by talking about travel through the guise of gaming. This allowed us to target niche gaming, travel and mainstream media targets.

The campaign launched with an interactive event, where invited media and consumers joined live via streaming platform and partner Twitch. There our gaming influencer, Loserfruit, shared a live walkthrough of her experience of the “game”. Thousands watched for over an hour to experience this world-first tourism experience.

To achieve this we partnered with Twitch, and Australian gaming heavyweight Loserfruit. She teased the content on her social platforms prelaunch, then "played" the country live to her 4.7 million-strong audience.

The 9-minute “gamer walkthrough” film was housed on YouTube and showcased unique experiences that set New Zealand apart from other destinations, sharing New Zealand’s culture, people and places.

We continued to mimic a real game launch by using game teasers and trailers, digital banners and in-app ads in gaming media channels featuring real gamers’ reviews. The campaign garnered a wealth of PR interest across online gaming publications, as well as mainstream channels, such as Facebook, Instagram and TikTok – engaging a broader demographic.

Then we drove future travellers to the PLAYNZ immersive entertainment hub where they were met with 18x VR180° films aimed at inspiring future itineraries for when the borders officially reopen.

Intent to visit New Zealand post lockdown increased by +387%* and we maintained our #1 position as the preferred destination for Aussie travellers**.

Though the campaign is still live, we’ve already seen a shift in our brand metrics with a 53% lift in ad recall and 10% lift in favourability.

Campaign engagement is high; reaching over 100 million people. Our films already have over 15 million views.

PR coverage has a universally positive sentiment with 150+ unique earned articles.

The live Twitch launch reached thousands of die-hard gamers and our film has since reached over 3.5 million.

Finally, we’ve achieved an average website dwell time of over 9 minutes (280% above benchmark) and a 37% increase in user interaction on our website content.

*Facebook brand lift study vs. Asia Pacific uplift benchmark

**Tourism New Zealand AC monitor