A digital marketing campaign that harnessed media personalities
to promote New Zealand in China has earned Tourism New Zealand a
prestigious Effie Award for effective marketing.
Founded by the American Marketing Association in 1968, the Effie Awards are a
globally-known awards program that recognises the most effective
advertising efforts globally each year.
Tourism New Zealand's 'Experience New Zealand, Right Now'
campaign picked up a Bronze Award in the Product/Service Launch
category of the China Effie Awards, announced at a ceremony in
Nanchang, China in October.
The campaign featured travelogues about New Zealand from Chinese
film-maker Lu Chuan and media personality and celebrity blogger
Hung Huang.
The pair toured the country in April and posted their
travelogues online on travel and blog sites, as well as the Chinese
equivalent of Facebook, www.kaixin001.com, and Chinese
video site www.tudou.com.
By the beginning of August, Lu Chuan and Hung Huang's
travelogues had been viewed more than 900,000 times.
Tourism New Zealand General Manager of Marketing Communications
Justin Watson said the campaign aimed to sell the Kiwi experience
to Chinese visitors by telling them a detailed story about what a
New Zealand holiday could offer.
"We've had a big marketing push in China this year and it's
great to be recognised with an Effie Award for our efforts. Lu
Chuan and Hong Huang are well respected personalities in China and
the entertaining travelogues they created while in New Zealand were
viewed by an online travel-savvy audience of hundreds of
thousands.
"Visitor numbers from China have grown dramatically this year
and part of that growth can be attributed to an increased awareness
of the great experiences New Zealand has to offer as a holiday
destination. "
Visitor numbers from China have increased by 10.9 per cent in
the year to October, to 116,410. Chinese travellers spend an
average of $3,600 during their visit to New Zealand, far higher
than the average visitor spend of $2,513.