Tourism Australia launches new ‘Aussie News Today’ campaign via Clemenger BBDO, Sydney
The latest chapter in Tourism Australia’s evolving There’s Nothing Like Australia campaign via Clemenger BBDO Sydney, will focus upon youth, in a $5 million push to put Australia back on the map as one of the world’s most desirable and memorable destinations for youth travellers and working holiday makers.
Tourism Australia’s new global youth campaign is centred on the launch of a dedicated, tongue-in-cheek news channel, Aussie News Today, which delivered its first bulletin this morning (Friday 6 October) from the top of the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
Curated by youth for youth, Aussie News Today will share quirky, positive and funny stories from across Australia, broadcasting content directly into the news feeds of millions of young people and potential travellers across the world.
Aussie News Today will be a socially-led campaign, launched by three young and charismatic Aussies – Wallabies rugby union star Nick Cummins (aka ‘The Honey Badger’), TV presenter Teigan Nash and former Home and Away actor Lincoln Lewis. All three will be given travel assignments, reporting back from locations around the country.
Additional youth content will be created as part of a world-first partnership with BuzzFeed, which will see eight young travellers from the UK and Europe undertake a three month campervan road trip of Australia to report on their experiences of the country’s local culture, festivals, events, food and wine.
Tourism Australia chief marketing officer Lisa Ronson said the Aussie News Today would be a news network with a difference.
Says Ronson: “We know that social media is the primary source of news and travel inspiration for young people and that has been a key consideration in planning Aussie News Today and executing this exciting new campaign.
“We will be working with influencers and the tourism industry to uncover and curate fun, quirky and hilarious moments that could only happen in Australia, and broadcast these uniquely Australian stories directly into the social media news feeds of millions of young travellers around the world.”
Through a combination of digital film, social media, influencers, in-market activity and PR, the new campaign will initially target youth travellers and working holiday makers in the UK, France, Germany and Italy, extending to other markets next year.
Content will be shared globally using Tourism Australia’s digital and social media channels, including dedicated Aussie News Today Facebook and Instagram profiles, and a news hub on Australia.com.
Australian Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment, the Hon. Steven Ciobo MP said that young travellers under 30 were a critically important part of Australia’s visitor mix.
Says Ciobo: “Many people underestimate just how important the youth market is for Australian tourism. Young travellers and working holiday makers stay longer, disperse more widely throughout our country and ultimately spend more than most other travel segments.
“This campaign is a great way to share a bit of our land down under with young travellers around the world seeking fun, adventure and life-changing travel experiences.”
The campaign has been developed in partnership with creative agency Clemenger BBDO Sydney, media agency UM and PR agency One Green Bean.
Says Ben Coulson, chief creative officer, Clemenger BBDO Sydney: “The most successful ideas are the ones that ride a moment in global psyche. We know how overwhelmed people are with a constant stream of bad news and we’re in a unique position, as Australians, to be able to deliver some genuinely good news. We’re bringing real experiences and humour into hundreds of pieces of ongoing content and we’ll be hacking traditional news media in surprising ways over the months to come. All to get young people talking about how good life could be if they jumped on a plane and came to live and work in Australia.”
Says Chris Colter, strategy director, UM Sydney: “We all know how socially rich the wild and wonderful stories of life in Australia are. Through dynamic media we’re not only able to harness these stories to create more talkability around Australia, but can use them as hyper-relevant and timely nudges to motivate young people to book a trip today.”
Says Carl Ratcliff, CEO, One Green Bean: “To help spread good news amongst a savvy youth audience, OGB will work alongside Tourism Australia to harness the best authentic moments from Aussie News Today in earned media. From the global launch down to local campervan tours, a robust media strategy will underpin the campaign across digital and traditional media outlets.”
Tourism Australia
Chief Marketing Officer: Lisa Ronson
General Manager, Global Media & PR: Geoff Ikin
General Manager, Creative, Content & Campaigns: Susan Coghill
General Manager, Digital: John MacKenney
Global Manager, Brand & Creative Services: Jenna Wakely
Global Manager, Campaigns: Courtney Barry
Global Manager, Campaigns: Cassie Zuill
Global Manager, Digital, Mobile & UX: Iris Wagner
Digital Developer: Bruce Low
Global Manager, Social Media: Nick Henderson
Senior Consultant Social Media: Jesse Desjardins
Global Manager, PR, Broadcast & Advocacy: Emma Sturgiss
Global PR & Advocacy Manager: Nicole Foster
International Media Manager: Minta Burn
Marketing Media Manager: Rochelle Vinson
Global Content Editor: Allie Metz
Digital Content Producer: Jessica Wilkinson
Agency: Clemenger BBDO Sydney
Chief Creative Officer: Ben Coulson
Managing Director: Emily Perrett
Creative Director: Darren Wright
Lead Creative Team: Josh Aitken & Simon Koay
Creatives: Nick Alcock, Taylor Green, Adam Smith, Celia Mortlock, Mick Pollard
Head of Production: Denise McKeon
Group Account Director: Bel Hissey
Senior Account Director: Melanie Spence
Account Manager: Cicely Milsom
Account Executive: Brooklyn Andrews
Senior Planning Director: Rob Dougan
Planning Director: Lucas Black-Dendle
Head of Craft: Daniel Mortensen
Production: Flare
Director: Robin Sung, Josh Aitken
DOP: Jordan Maddocks, Daniel Ardilley ACS
Production Manager: Jo Messina
Editor: Alex Guterres, Tom Rafferty
Grade: Andy Clarkson
Senior Online Editor: Jess Morgan
Sound: Ant Tiernan
Music: Groove Q
Editorial Director: Elle Glass
Production Editor: Sarah Scaife
UM
Client Director: Ashleigh Krstanoski
Digital Director: Sarina Ballauff
Sydney Strategy Director: Chris Colter
Group Director: Sophie Bingham
Digital Manager: Anthony Thomas
PR – One Green Bean
25 Comments
Good strategy, great casting. Ought to work well in the meme-sphere.
Will be interesting to see if the follow-up content is on-par.
and kids…thats what film production looks like when the agency do it themselves….
Naff as shit. Trying way too hard.
And why would anyone in the target market sign up to have this in their feed?
Random! I like it.
The world sucks right now, the news gets worse every day. Australia is looking pretty good by comparison to Europe America etc.
I like that we can export our ‘Aussieness’ as good news to try and offset some of constant bad news. Clever stuff.
Too much shit news around at the moment, the world has gone to pot!
Glad someone is taking it the other way.
Come to Oz guys, its better down here!
Can’t wait to get back home, and this work makes me want it all the more. Good stuff.
If I were in USA now, I’d be on the next plane here. They have lost the plot. Good idea BTY.
Enough of the media flogging bad news, I can’t hack it anymore.
Bogan, bogan, bogan. Oi, Oi. Oi. Even young people want to see beautifully shot destinations, not cheap video production like this. This is n;t the target audience who will be spending big. They’ll be staying in hostels and drinking cask wine. I hope the media spend is worth it.
The bumpers could of work harder, but otherwise a good idea that will work.
why does it take so many people to create something this bad? sad really. I suppose they’re trying to diffuse the blame.
Clocked 75,000 views on instagram in it’s first hour. Someone is noticing it.
Sorry… they’re just trying too hard.
All I can think of is Steve Buscemi going, “How do you do, fellow kids?”
Make that 240,000 on insta in 3 hours, seems to have rung the right sized bell on the internet.
Anything with the honey badger in it works for me!
You get what you pay for dickhead.
Put a half decent media budget behind Instagram and watch the ‘views’ roll in.
That’s assuming you trust what actually constitutes a ‘view’ on Instagram of course.
Anyway, keep telling yourself this is awesome and going gangbusters. Whatever helps you sleep at night.
Dear me. Surely the Honey Badger has reached 14.59 minutes of fame by now?
Can we please just list the client and agencies involved, rather than a list that is almost as long as the bloody article. The poor receptionists just missed out.
It’s about time someone got The Honey Badger to be the face of Australia.
What happened Susan…from Qantas Feels like home to this garbage?
Good to see someone selling optimism right now. God knows we need a smile or a laugh right now.
Ok, not all the content is awesome but it’s a great idea. Plays right into everything the world loves about Australia and unlocks some of the more unique components of the country, without relying on standard tourism footage. It’s smart millenial work. Potentially valuable too. A backpacker will spend more in 3-6 months in Australia than the average American tourist who only gets 1 week vacation a year.
They’re ads not a “news channel”
Anyone who doesnt get this campaign is too old! So much oportunity to extend original idea! Well done!