“Bloody” campaign looking good
A report in the Herald Sun this morning says that Tourism Australia’s controversial “So Where the Bloody Hell Are You” campaign appears to be defying critics, with today marking the 12-month anniversary of the day Lara Bingle’s now famous catchphrase was first heard around the world.
The report says that while international response has been slow, statistics show it’s looking like a good year for tourism, with consumer brand-tracking has revealing almost one in two people who saw the advertisement have taken action such as visiting the website or a travel agent.
Visitors from the UK and US responded most strongly to the ad, and the Japanese – who were at first wary of the connotations associated with using the word “bloody” in an advertisement, are also showing renewed interest in Australian holidays.
Tourism Minister Fran Bailey as reported in TravelMole has acknowledged the campaign got off to a slow start, but said these recent figures proved it was working, adding, “We’ve been listening to criticisms that the ad has not been working in Japan and I’ve been saying all along that it’s too soon to tell.”
She added, “We’ve now got some really good results from our brand-tracking, but we had to obviously give the ad a bit of time to be seen in our major markets for that to happen.”
Ms Bailey said anecdotal evidence from airline and accommodation sectors also indicated strong bookings for Australian holidays, and the Tourism Forecasting Committee also predicted strong international arrival growth in 2007, adding, “So all of that indicates this year is going to be a very strong year for tourism”.
Tourism and Transport Forum Australia (TTF) MD Christopher Brown told the Herald Sun said he predicted the results would continue to improve with time, but warned the industry should not become complacent as visitor numbers improve, adding, “We need to remember than on average it takes someone three years to travel to Australia from long-haul destinations after they make a choice to come, so it is going to take longer to see the full success of the campaign”.
“First-stage results for the campaign demonstrate the need for ongoing funding to ensure Australia’s place on the world stage is maintained and that we can sustain increased visitation to Australia.”
Ms Bailey said the campaign would continue to evolve, with new characters introduced to deliver the tagline and Bangarra dancer Frances Rings to be one of the new faces to lure European visitors.
NSW and Queensland State Government have been particularly critical of the campaign and impatient about the results, but they may now have to eat their “bloody” hats!
Report by The Mole
John Alwyn-Jones
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