Oprah headlines new tourism campaign

Tourism operators are being encouraged to capitalise on Tourism Australia’s latest international marketing campaign, which will feature Oprah Winfrey.

The American talk show host caused a media frenzy when she visited Australia in December 2010, accompanied by 300 of her American audience guests.

On the back of her visit, Tourism Australia is launching a $5 million marketing push in the United States as part of its campaign ‘There’s nothing like Australia’.

Tourism Australia and its partners will launch promotions including value-added holiday packages and a so-called “walkabout” campaign with Qantas, targeting time-poor Americans.

There will also be a promotion targeting US youth by highlighting the Australian working holiday available to people aged under 30.

Tourism authorities will spend $1.51 million on an “ultimate Aussie holiday sale”, to be advertised during each of four special Oprah shows as well as in other media.

Marketing activities will also take place in other countries where The Oprah Winfrey Show is broadcast, including Britain, Canada and New Zealand.

Tourism Australia managing director Andrew McEvoy says his organisation and its partners are putting out “outstanding deals” to convert excitement over Oprah’s visit into holiday bookings.

“The Oprah screenings provide an unprecedented opportunity to showcase the best of our country to people in Australia and many of the other 145 countries where the show will be broadcast, especially the US where the show is watched by 40 million viewers alone,” McEvoy says.

Tourism Australian chairman Geoff Dixon says Oprah’s association with Australia provides huge opportunities for local tourism operators.

“We can showcase why there’s nothing like Australia to audiences around the world and encourage them to come and explore our country for themselves,” he says.

The news should come as some relief to the tourism industry, which continues to suffer as a result of the strong Australian dollar.

According to Tourism Australia, the campaign offers the “largest ever” range of free tools for the industry to use. The tools include:

• The campaign logo and tagline, available to download and feature on marketing materials such as brochures, websites and newsletters.

• A selection of artwork for posters and flyers.

• A selection of print ad templates, which can be customised with your offers.

• An interactive screensaver.

• A selection of 12 digital postcards. There are two versions and each has sections where you can insert your own content and customise with your message, logo or offers.

• A selection of 12 digital wallpapers for both standard and widescreen, based on the 12 campaign print advertisements.

• An interactive content widget, to be displayed on your website, packed with inspirational content, appealing images and footage of Australia, all separated by category so you can ensure your audience sees the topics that interest them.

• Tourism Australia’s online image gallery, which contains iconic still and moving images. Images are free as long as they are used to promote tourism to Australia.

• A selection of 12 eNewsletters, which can be customised with your own content, linked to a personalised postcard and sent to clients or other stakeholders.

• Partnership manuals for each region, outlining co-op activity, such as print, digital and free tools, to coincide with the launch of the campaign for each specific market.