Dubbed as one of the
best social media campaigns, Tourism Queensland successfully promoted the Great
Barrier Reef as a global tourism destination. But not through the very
conventional way.
Marketed as “The Best
Job in the World”, Tourism Queensland launched a campaign in 2009 that recruited
people from all over the world for a ‘job’ on the tropical Hamilton Island. The job paid AUD 150,000 and includes free airfares from the
successful candidate's home country to tropical Hamilton Island on the famed
Great Barrier Reef. The application process
required for a 60-second video to be submitted via the official website, and available
publicly for consideration for the position.
And what’s the
catch ? That’s probably your next question.
In return, the winner will be expected to have as much fun as he
or she can -- soaking up the sun, swimming, snorkelling, sailing -- and report
to a global audience via weekly blogs, photo diaries and video updates. The
island caretaker role wasn’t a campaign gimmick, it was a completely
genuine employment opportunity with Tourism Queensland, living on
the islands of the Great Barrier Reef and reporting back to the world via
online social media.
The successful candidate - who will stay rent-free in a
multi-million-dollar three-bedroom beach home -- must be over 18, a
"fantastic and charismatic" communicator, and able to speak and write
English.
Part of the job responsibilities include feeding the fishes
The main objective behind this campaign is to drive and promote
the northeastern Australian state's 18 billion dollar a year tourism industry
during the tough global economic climate, officials say. And they are at pains to stress that it is "a real job".
"The fact that they will be paid to explore the islands of
the Great Barrier Reef, swim, snorkel and generally live the Queensland
lifestyle makes this undoubtedly the best job in the world", said acting
state Premier Paul Lucas. Given the enormous response, the economic downturn has also
played a part in translating the advertisement into a dream for hundreds of
thousands of people who were adversely affected by the global financial crisis.
Within a short span of
one month, the impact of the campaign was as follows:
- - $200 million in
global publicity value for Tourism Queensland although the money spent was only
a meager $1 million.
- - 35,000
applications received from over 200 countries
- - The submission
web site crashed 2 days following the launch of the campaign (due to the huge
influx of visits and video submissions!)
The tangible results of this campaign are:
- STA Travel says
it experienced 17% growth year-on-year in bookings to Queensland in the period
February to April 2009 (when the campaign was at its most intense).
- Austravel claims
similar positive growth in Queensland-led holidays. Both companies attribute
the increase to the Best Job campaign.
This campaign also received coverage from
CNN stories to BBC documentaries, a segment in Oprah Winfrey’s talk show, Time
magazine as well as everything in between. In Google search for “the best job
in the world island”, it achieved approximately 148 million listings and
generates 231,355 blog entries. A “best in the world” search on Flickr for
pictures generate around 4,486 pictures to choose from.
Extensive media coverage of the "Best Job in The World" campaign
While the social media impact could be
measured fully, this is undoubtedly one of the best social media campaigns that
was brilliantly executed, and its phenomenal success demonstrates how effective
cross-channel social media and
traditional mass media can intertwine to bring outstanding results.
The official video can be found below:
