Tourism Australia lifts online marketing plan

By Arun Sudhaman, Media Asia, 22 October 2004, 04:02AM

Tourism Australia has unveiled a major enhancement of its online marketing presence, led by new email, interactive and search offerings.

According to Rodney Dickson, direct marketing and planning manager Asia for the tourism body, the upgrade was necessary to better connect with consumers in a highly fragmented market. "In markets where you don't have freedom for major above-the-line investment, online and PR are the key solutions," said Dickson. "The australia.com website is our primary consumer call to action -- we find that online is more effective than other campaigns in Asia." Accordingly, Tourism Australia has launched a new email newsletter and an interactive travel planner. The organisation tasked Pacific Connections for the email brief, and Agenda for the planner. Pacific Connections was selected following a five-way pitch. While Dickson would not reveal the other agencies involved, he said: "It was the strongest pitch and based on our previous experience with them that tipped the edge." The email newsletter -- Aussie Express -- will reach consumer databases in Tourism Australia's five "priority" markets: China, Korea, Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia. It is quarterly and will be published in the relevant local language. "The objective is we want to target our consumers -- people who have registered an interest in Australia," said Dickson. "It will cover deals and offers in the local market and will not just feature a thematic approach, but also segmented and seasonal offers. "We also want to make it effective in bringing these people together with suppliers and partners that we feel can give the best-quality product." The newsletter will target Tourism Australia's core Asian market, described as: "young, single and 'dinks' (dual income, no kids)". The interactive planner, meanwhile, is the online 'Aussie Planner'. "This is a programme that allows us to increase the interactivity on the australia.com site," said Dickson. "We're trying to capitalise on the trend for the less structured travel style." The site features a range of travel ideas and plans based on different destinations in Australia, and utilises a drag/add tool to let users build up a visual itinerary. The body is also reassessing its search engine-marketing programme, which it has been running since the first half of 2004. A new brand campaign, handled by retainer agency TBWA, is slated for launch in Singapore in early 2005.

This article was first published on Media Asia