Curious Kiwis will 'Play Melbourne'
A new campaign aimed to entice Kiwis to Melbourne was launched by Tourism Victoria and the Victorian Government late January. Targeting the affluent 45 – 50 and 50+ bracket and the 25 – 39 age group the campaign has a three month competition running alongside and will appear across a wide range of consumer media, including cinema, web, social media and through an iPhone app
Marg Spiro, Tourism Victoria, said visitors to the Play Melbourne site will find the answers to questions within the site and then enter the competition. ‘New questions will appear every week and no entries will be carried over. The prize is a weekend for two to Melbourne with flights, accommodation and sightseeing included, and each weekend will be a different experience. In keeping with the campaign’s theme of exploring on a whim, the draw is on the Tuesday for travel on the Friday, three days later (excluding Easter),’ says Spiro.
The Play Melbourne campaign was unveiled to industry and media at Tyler Street Garage in Auckland on January 26 by Spiro and the Major Events Minister the Hon Louise Asher. ‘It will be edgy, vibrant and portray Melbourne as a great events city,' says Asher. 'We want visitors to explore Melbourne and surrounds. Within an hour’s drive of the CBD is Phillip Island, the Great Ocean Road, Ballarat, Sovereign Hill and wineries.
‘Even with the strong Australian dollar, New Zealand is the largest source of international visitors to Victoria, with 259,000 overnight visitors to the state for the year ending September 2011 (a 7.8% increase on the previous year),’ she says.
The third major marketing campaign Tourism Victoria has run in NZ, the aim is to awaken Kiwi curiosity, spontaneity and to explore Melbourne on a whim.
Concluding the launch, Asher added that the government is committed to grow tourism. ‘We have partnered with Air New Zealand and with Virgin within Australia. These partnerships are an important element to our commitment to this market.’
Play Melbourne campaign runs for five months starting on February 5. Visit playmelbourne.co.nz
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Ready to play, the team from House of Travel, Gabrielle Brown, Carmen White, Paula Sundin and Julia Paley at the launch |
Adele Atkins, Air New Zealand and Wayne Deed, GO Holidays, were curious to find out about the Play Melbourne campaign |
Marg Spiro, Tourism Victoria with The Hon Louise Asher MP |
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Amy Robens, This is Mango; Maria Apii, Tourism Victoria New Zealand and Janet Thompson, Tourism Victoria Melbourne at the Play Melbourne campaign |
Jenny Aitken, GM New Zealand Tourism Australia and Lindy Christian catch up |
Bruce Moffat, Virgin Australia and Roann Roberts, Infinity Holidays |
