New Caledonia pitches itself as Australia’s friendly next door neighbour in marketing push
New Caledonia Tourism is pitching itself as Australia’s closest neighbour in a campaign that aims to convert awareness of the destination into bookings.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKcA_y3dIGM
The first phase of the ‘Hello Neighbour’ marketing push will include outdoor advertising, videos and a new-look website, with a second round of marketing to be rolled out in November.
The campaign has been developed by New Caledonia’s Australian representative and marketing agency GTI Tourism and creative agency Play.
The neighbour concept was drawn up following research by neighbourhood and community network site Nado which found only 50 per cent of people would recognise their neighbours on the street while just 18 per cent are Facebook friends with the people next door.
Head of strategy at Play, Tom Sanders, described New Caledonia as “the neighbour we need to get to know”, adding it is “closer to Australia and New Zealand than they are to each other”.
“New Caledonia is the neighbour we know nothing about, which is a real tragedy because it’s an amazing holiday destination thanks to its combination of unique Melanesian history, exotic South Pacific charm and cosmopolitan French chic,” he said.
Australian-French personality Justine Schofield will be retained as the destination ambassador, taking viewers on a series of journeys through New Caledonia.
New Caledonia Tourism sales and marketing director, Caroline Brunel, said: “After hearing about this long-term trend it made us think, if we don’t know the people living right next door to us, how well do we know the people on the next island?”
The campaign follows New Caledonia’s ‘Have It All’ campaign which it claims saw a 15 per cent increase in arrivals.
It will primarily target 25 to 35 and 55+ year old independent and active couples looking to discover cultural experiences and soft adventure when on holiday.
