Scenario planning, in-depth consumer and brand research, improving structures and processes, and strategic collaboration are some of the methods that Tourism Australia’s CMO works to ensure that their team remains adaptable to the ongoing challenges of domestic and international tourism.

There aren’t many of us who wouldn’t agree that travel and tourism will be severely impacted by the global COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Susan Coghill“2020 was about crisis management and panning without panic”.

Now that international travel to Australia remains impossible for some time, Coghill has taken stock of what has worked and what has not worked over the past year and is investing in significant intelligence and data programs to cope with the realities of Australia, which is constantly changing changing environment.

Here Coghill reflects on the year under review, its successes and insights, and how they influence short-term and long-term thinking. She also reports on how she will approach market economy activities at home and abroad in 2021.

Step 1: domestic tourist re-evaluation

Even before COVID-19 hit, Tourism Australia and various government agencies were studying the consequences of the devastating Australian bushfires on national and international tourism. As the realization subsided that the coronavirus was going to get a lot bigger than any of us realized or hoped for, Tourism Australia took some deliberate steps. The first was to double the local tourist and split the team into national and international teams.

“We knew we were going to do domestic tourism, keep increasing demand and transform the public’s perception of domestic travel,” Coghill told CMO. “People travel very differently on the domestic market than they do overseas. It applies to every country – when you are overseas you tend to have the extra experience of staying an extra day or two, having a nice dinner and spending the 30 euros on the photo with the gladiator at the Colosseum. When in your own country you tend to flop and fall.

“For the past six months and into 2021, we are committed to going one step further and exploring how we can get Australian consumers to spend more, go further, do more and experience more.”

The focus on the spot was on convincing the Australians that they had to travel overseas like they did. In the second half of 2020 and through 2021, the home team was tasked with running the “Vacation Here This Year” campaign to get Australians to get out of there and spend money.

Step 2: Understand the current consumer perceptions

While it was about building domestic tourism, Tourism Australia shifted thinking from knowing people need to spend more money to better understand consumer sentiment, the way Australians travel, and their current attitudes.

“We saw people shift their concerns about travel to worry about the virus and worry about getting stuck behind a state line. This insight has shown that it’s not about how to travel, but about getting consumers to travel differently, ”says Coghill.

“We looked at the major obstacles that still exist when traveling. We understood at the end of the value that there have been a number of Australians who need a better understanding of how to have an affordable vacation in Australia. There is a perception – not entirely unfounded – that vacations are quite expensive here. So it was all about showing them inexpensive ways to go out and have a great time and see the best garden in the world. ”

In the middle of the pool are travelers who, as a result of the crisis, have renovated their homes or bought the car they always wanted. The focus here is on showing them that Australian holidays are more rewarding, worthy, and add to the country’s prosperity.

“At the top you have Australians who just go no. I would never invest $ 20,000 on a vacation in Australia. How do we show them that you can have a world class vacation here in Australia? People all over the world fly to Australia to do just that. So it was about getting rid of that snobbery, which is what you can do here, ”says Coghill.

Step 3: tell the correct story

At the same time, Tourism Australia has been working to keep Australia updated for travelers around the world who cannot visit. The name of the game is not only that the international consumer still thinks of Australia, but the global tourism trade as well.

“It was up to us to be the only voice still promoting Australia,” said Coghill.

To achieve this, the emphasis was on telling the right story, especially regarding Australia’s nature and wildlife after the bushfires. “We made sure that we had stories about our natural beauty, wildlife and how it bounce back,” says Coghill. “We also have things to do with sustainability and the conscious traveler, and we use shared cultural moments.”

A recent case was the investment in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy cricket series with India, as the sport is a shared passion of both countries. Another important storytelling mechanism was the ambitious live streaming program “Live from Aus”, which ran during the lockdown and presented 32 different “virtual holidays” over a weekend. The livestream employed 35 million people in 40 countries, generated 226 million social impressions and 1765 media reports.

“Our brand metrics are back in some ways and we are seeing strength in Australia – our nature and wildlife results are rising and being a safe place to visit is more important than ever,” noted Coghill. ” We see value for money as a ranking and a major driver that is waning a bit, we believe that people know they need a really great vacation and are willing to pay for a place that is safe, wonderful and is pleasant. ”

Step 4: capture your brand

For Coghill in 2021, it’s important that Australia doesn’t lose ground. “We have a relatively high base, but we don’t want to lose ground if the markets reopen before us,” she continues.

“We don’t want to lose traction with overseas trade either – we need them to keep supporting Australia and being great advocates for us once the borders open.”

To help with this, TA runs the Aussie Specialist online training program for agents worldwide to ensure they understand the pros and cons of Australian experiences. Typically between 30,000 and 35,000 agents train each year. Last year this number rose to over 80,000.

“Yes, it reflects the fact that agents have more time to spare than ever before, but that’s still more than double the number of agents who want to get to know Australia and sell us as a travel destination at the end of this crisis,” says Coghill .

Step 5: make it relatable

Given the uncertainties of 2020, Tourism Australia looked for relatable talent who could help tell the story and who exuded sympathy, positivity and relativity. It settled on celebrities, Hamish and Zoe, and planned to send the couple on a road trip to showcase different parts of Australia and how consumers can travel differently.

Then the state borders closed. “We had to work with our agency to quickly adapt the script so that we could tell the story of great holidays in Australia, if only we could film it at their home,” says Coghill.

“We focused on the idea of ​​them joking back and forth on their screens. It was a last-minute creative solution that solved the challenge of showing goals and experiences. But it also reflected what so many Australians were feeling at the moment.

“I think we’re going to look back at this TVC and believe that 2020 will be it.”

It is this example of creative sympathy for the current context that is a key takeaway for Coghill from last year. “We are so known for beautifully polished campaigns that we develop over a couple of years. In fact, we were able to do it pretty quickly when asked to create something that was powerful, resonated with consumers, and changed behavior, ”she says.

From working to initially building confidence in planning and booking a vacation, the focus this Christmas shifted to encouraging Australians to have gift experiences. This led to the “Christmas Presents” campaign.

“The intelligent media strategy behind this has resulted in us intercepting people when they walked into Myer on digital screens outside of the shops, for example,” says Coghill. “On Boxing Day, we switched messaging to Australia Vacation Quickly and have the vacation of a lifetime in Australia.”

Next up: Susan Coghill’s next 5 steps to marketing strategy in the face of uncertainty in 2021

page

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR