Australia fights back
Tourism Western Australia launches a £250,000 UK Campaign...
New cinema advert promoting Australia's Kimberley region is set to be released on Boxing Day.
Tourism
Western Australia has launched a major tourism campaign inspired by Baz
Luhrmann's upcoming feature film Australia to position Western Australia (WA)
as the real star of the film and promote it as a ‘must visit' destination.
Much of the highly anticipated epic with Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman was
shot in WA's Kimberley
region and tells a story of romance, adventure and spiritual experiences which
are at the very heart of a visit to WA.
The key Kimberley film locations include the Cockburn Range, El Questro
Wilderness Park, Purnululu National Park, Digger's Rest Station, Home Valley
Station, the King George River and Falls and Carlton Hill Station - the
location chosen as the home for Lady Sarah Ashley's (Nicole Kidman's character)
mythical Faraway Downs Homestead.
The £250,000 campaign includes a new 30 second cinema advert, ‘Western Australia - The real star of Australia', which will be shown before every
screening of the film, when it hits screens across the UK on Boxing
Day.
This is being supported by online and PR activity including
a dedicated microsite for both trade and consumers. The microsite provides an
interactive map of all the filming locations, suggested itineraries and holiday
offers as well as marketing and destination information for both the Kimberley region and the
rest of WA.
In addition, Tourism Western Australia
has partnered with Tourism NT (Australia's Northern
Territory) to create and promote a new movie-inspired route across
the north-western corner of Australia,
from Broome to Darwin,
dubbed ‘The Australia Way'.
The marketing campaign is part of Tourism Western Australia's aim to increase awareness of the unique experiences on offer in WA and encourage visitors to explore all corners of the state. Currently only 20 per cent of visitors spend time outside of the capital, Perth, despite improving accessibility and the number of diverse, beautiful and unspoilt getaways on offer.
The campaign is also aimed at increasing WA's share of
visitors to Australia, which
currently accounts for 25 per cent of all UK
arrivals in Australia.
Tourism Western Australia UK Marketing Manager Christie Lord commented, "When
the film is released later this month, there is no doubt the eyes of the world
will be on WA and the Kimberley,
where the film was largely shot.
"This is a unique opportunity and we want to make sure that film-goers who are
inspired to visit Australia
know that it's actually WA's stunning landscapes and outback adventure they are
moved by.
"That's why the campaign positions the Kimberley
area of WA as the ‘real star' of Australia.
"In current conditions the need to be targeted is even more important, we
believe by engaging film-goers and maximising the enormous exposure the film
offers, the campaign will create significant tourism benefits for Western Australia."
WA continues to be a growing tourist destination, and in the last year 165,000
people from the UK
travelled to the state, spending a total £129 million), an increase of 19 per
cent on 2005.
WA also has the longest average stay of any Australian state, with
international visitors holidaying for an average 28 nights in WA and spending
on average £1,128 per visitor - also the highest figure of any state.
The advertising campaign will continue until Spring 2009. The ‘Real Star'
advert was created by Marketforce
in Australia.
MediaCom is Tourism Western Australia's
media planning agency in the UK.