Author Archive
Domestic Market Heats Up
While the summer period generally signals boom time for most Kiwi destinations, the balmy season’s arrival is conversely eyed with caution in the capital. December and January generally see the corporate market all but shut down, meaning Wellington’s hotels and restaurants have beds and seats to fill. As well as promote Wellington’s destination brand year-round, our job is to underpin this with tactical activity and events promotion that pushes the quieter seasons such as early summer and the depths of winter.
Summer in the City
With a Kids Stay Free campaign running, Game Masters on at Te Papa and plenty of other events on the summer schedule, the weather wasn’t the only thing hitting record temperature in Wellington this summer. December and January were both record months in terms of commercial guest nights, with an 8.7% growth in the domestic market across the two-month period. Wellington quadrupled the average national growth in December and our partner Hotel Monitor indicated a 7.76% increase in total rooms sold over the Kids Stay Free campaign stay period (15 Dec – 31 Jan). Strong out-of-town crowds for Nitro Circus Live and Hertz Sevens also then saw February hold strong, where usually we’d see a decent dip in year not featuring the biennial New Zealand Festival.
The weather wasn’t the only thing hot in Wellington this summer, with record commercial guest nights kicking off the balmy season.
The Winter Forecast
Winter in Wellington isn’t known for its fine weather, but the forecast for tourism is looking very fine thanks to heavy showers of cultural events. From May right through to August there is an incredible performance programme, with NZ Opera’s Madame Butterfly, Wellington Jazz Festival on Cuba, Phantom of the Opera, The TelstraClear Season of Swan Lake, a series of NZSO concerts and Warhol: Immortal at Te Papa. Plus there’s a Bledisloe Cup match and Visa Wellington On a Plate in the mix, before spring brings with it the World of WearableArt Awards Show season.
We are currently planning an online cultural events promotion for winter, along with a TV and online campaign for Warhol: Immortal with Te Papa. The programme for Visa Wellington On a Plate will launch on June 10 and promises to be tastier than ever.
The hottest little jazz festival will be one of many events heating up the coolest little capital this winter.
Where to from there?
We are also now getting set to develop the next generation of domestic brand campaign (currently Spoil Yourself in Wellington), with a Request for Proposal (RFP) for creative development and execution currently out in the market. As well as development of the next brand campaign, this process is focused on at the same time integrating solutions to our tactical challenges of Weekends, Winter, Summer and Easter - with a view to a three-year plan. Concurrent to this, we are undertaking updated research into the Domestic tourism market, with a national online survey and focus groups in Auckland and Christchurch. The climate in two of our major domestic target markets has changed significantly since Spoil Yourself in Wellington was developed in 2008. Our research is exploring how these changes in climate have – or, as the case may be, have not - affected the challenges and opportunities for Wellington as the country’s leading domestic short break destination. We are also examining triggers to action and campaign recall of both Wellington and competitor activity. So watch this space!
Campaign Corner: Fill Your Head with Space & Happiness in the Air
While we use our blog to try help you plan your activity courtesy of things like dates for your diary, and share results of campaigns such as Wellington Wishing Well and Spoiling Auckland, we also like to spread word about what other people are doing. Here’s a couple of things we’ve come across recently that we think are pretty great:
Carter Observatory wants to fill your head with space
Take a bunch of people, put them in a state-of-the-art planetarium, wire their heads up to WellingtonHospital’s high-tech EEG brain scanning machine, and turn on the stars. Carter Observatory’s latest campaign – the handiwork of Clemenger BBDO – is literally a bit of a brainwave.
If you’d like to fill your head with space, Carter Observatory is open daily from 10am with late nights on Tuesdays and Saturdays.
Wellington stars on prime time US tele
As you might have read on Stuff.co.nz recently, two Wellington creative types won an advertising competition that saw this incredible advertisement for the coolest little capital in the world (well, moreso Coke) shown on US television during American Idol – the country’s second highest-rated show. ‘Happiness in the Air’ is the work of Hugh Mitton and Lee Kupferman, and sees cans of Coke floated from Mount Victoria with red balloons and caught by gleeful lovers around the city. Have a watch:
Coca-Cola “Happiness in the Air” from MOFILM on Vimeo.
Seen anything that’s a bit clever or that’s inspired you recently? Share them with us in the comments if you fancy.
Summer Read Recommendations
If you have a chance to put your feet up this season but still fancy putting the time to good use, here’s a few reading recommendations from our team that both entertain and inform:
The Idea Writers by Teressa Iezzi
Recommended by: Angela Moriarty, Communications Manager
I’m only a couple of chapters in, but already I’m really enjoying this and can’t wait to put my feet up and get into it. While The Idea Writers has been penned with copywriters in mind, it holds a lot of insights that are relevant to anyone interested in marketing, advertising, the new media age, and how the customer experience affects your brand. You’ll have heard a lot of it before I’m sure, but it’s an easy and interesting read that inspires with great examples and will definitely get you thinking about what you can do next.
Map Addict: A Tale of Obsession, Fudge & the Ordnance Survey by Mike Parker
Recommended by: David Perks, CEO
I picked this book up a few months ago without even scanning the pages I knew this was a book for me. I am a Map Addict; I can’t stand the thought of going anywhere without a map. Indeed, for most places I go I will take numerous maps. When I read this book I realised that I really am an addict. For me, maps are a window on what travel is like as a child. I would compulsively draw maps of anywhere, everywhere and places that only existed in my imagination. If you should happen to read this book there’s a story in the first chapter about map acquisition as a child that I really identified with… go read the book and then tell me off!
Working in the travel sector, I like travel books, I like inspirational pictures and blogs and tweets, BUT most of all I like maps. If you like maps it’s well worth looking out for this book. If you like maps and grew up in England in the 70s and 80s, then it’s a must read!
Tell to Win by Peter Guber
Recommended by: Alana McGillivray, Digital Projects Manager
My book recommendation is for a book that I really, really want to read, but haven’t yet had the chance. In fact, I’ve even gone so far as to getting it out of the library, but alas, those pages remained unturned. Tell to Win interests me as there’s a definite shift happening in how destinations, and indeed products, are promoted, moving away from ‘marketing’ to ‘storytelling’. This is the focus of Peter Guber’s book, and below is the snippet about it I came across on the Co.Create Blog that makes me want to read it:
“Guber argues that humans simply aren’t moved to action by ‘data dumps’, dense PowerPoint slides, or spreadsheets packed with figures. But we are beasts of emotion more than logic. We are creatures of story, and the process of changing one mind or the whole world must begin with ‘Once upon a time.’ “
You can find out more about the book on the Forbes Book Review. And if you do get time to read it, I’d love to know what you thought.
A Stadium of 4 million by Martin Snedden
Recommended by: Jessica Stephens, Australia Marketing Manager
I haven’t actually read this yet, but it’s on my list! I’m interested in how a single event brought a country together and, having worked on it during my time with Air New Zealand, I’m keen to read Martin’s overall observations in A Stadium of 4 Million.
My Life in France by Julia Child
Recommended by Sarah Meikle, General Manager, Marketing
My Life in France is an inspiring read penned by Julia Child about her time living in France and studying at Le Cordon Bleu. It’s got me thinking…maybe I should sign up for a course or two and Wellington’s own latest opening of this global institution!
What do you think people should be reading this summer? Post a comment and share your recommendations.
Media report: October 2012
October saw a total of 42 destination stories, reaching a global audience of over 3.8 million* people. The advertising value of the month’s coverage was over $360,061**.
Some of October’s headlines.
Domestic Destination Coverage
• 20 clips
• Cumulative audience of 963,487
• Advertising value of $91,649
Highlights include Sunday Star Times editor Angela Walker’s story ‘Eat, play, love’. Angela was hosted for a famil at the end of September and drafted a story focusing on visiting Wellington with her family. Her story helped promote PWT’s Kids Stay Free initiative. The Listener published a story – Full of capital ideas – which focussed on Wellington’s artisan products and dining experiences.
Australian Destination Coverage
• 12 clips
• Cumulative audience of 2,302,7198*
• Advertising value of $211,557**
Deborah Jones, The Australian deputy editor of cultural coverage, was hosted in August. Her story ‘Far Horizons’ was published in October to a national audience of 285,644, while MiNDFOOD Magazine published ‘Capital Weekend Away’ in the Australian edition of the glossy magazine.
International Destination Coverage
• 10 clips
• Cumulative audience of 581,249
• Advertising value of $56,855
One of the more influential results for the international team in October was a TV documentary that aired on a German TV channel whilst the Frankfurt book-fair was on. This was due to a PWT-hosted famil in August this year.
Domestic Corporate Coverage
• 18 clips
• Cumulative audience of 726,214
• Advertising value of $80,120
A number of media items were published in relation to the announcement of Wellington as the Middle of Middle-earth. The stories discussed the expected boost in visitor numbers and profile the premiere will give the capital. The Dominion Post also ran a story on PWT’s digital campaign, The Wellington Wishing Well.
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Numerous Hobbit-related stories were printed in, or broadcasted from, domestic media outlets. International coverage also began, with a piece from Toby Manhire in The Guardian’s The Observer, the New York Times ran a four page story on New Zealand’s Hobbit Trail. Adrian Bridge from The Daily Telegraph was in Wellington earlier this year for a film-themed famil; his story was published both in print and online.
*Excludes unknown audience figures for two of the article.
** Includes two Advertising Value Equivalent values.
Media Report: September 2012
September saw a total of 43 destination stories, reaching a global audience of over 11 million* people. The advertising value of the month’s coverage was over $150,000*.
Just a few of September’s headlines.
Domestic Destination Coverage
• 31 clips
• Cumulative audience of 1,153,795
• Advertising value of $100,002
Australian Destination Coverage
• 6 clips
• Cumulative audience of 499,399*
• Advertising value of $24,156*
Highlights include freelance journalist Diana Plater’s story ‘Raise a glass or two to a top trail’ which appeared in the Weekend Gold Coast Bulletin, The Sun Herald’s piece on what to do in Wellington in Spring, and eGlobal Travel Media’s story on Wellington getting dressed up for WOW.
International Destination Coverage
• 6 clips
• Cumulative audience of 9,435,162
• Advertising value of $29,569
Although much harder to track, September saw some good international results. Highlights include Metro UK’s story on the best beer gardens in the world, of which The Southern Cross in Wellington is named.
Domestic Corporate Coverage
• 15 clips
• Cumulative audience of 945,823
• Advertising value of $46,682
Stories of particular interest include the record number of cruise ships expected to dock in Wellington this season, and the call for volunteers to help with the influx of passengers. Also, PWT’s Spoiling Auckland initiative received mention on TV One’s Breakfast show. Reporter Brooke Dobson broadcast live from Mojo in Auckland while residents of the big little city were being surprised with free flights to the capital of cool.
*Figures exclude circulation and ASR of two Australian media items as details weren’t available at the time this report was produced.
