Melbourne, Australia is enticing tourists to visit their city with an innovative approach to destination marketing. In October, they launched a Remote Control Tourism campaign conducted across an integrated, multi-channel platform that included a website, video, and social media to promote, execute, and now leverage the content for ongoing promotion.
During the campaign, which was conducted October 9-13, four tourists explored Melbourne, completely directed in real-time by suggestions made for their adventures via Facebook and Twitter. The suggestions were then fed to the tourists from a central command center and the most interesting ideas became part of the travel experience.
With each tourist sporting a helmet-mounted video camera with microphone and GPS, virtual tourists could enjoy Melbourne live on the website. Now that the campaign is over, the video footage and social channels continue to provide a return on investment by taking a front-and-center spot on the Tourism Victoria Website, as well as VisitMelbourne.com. Not only that, but the campaign sparked news coverage around the world.
Check out the YouTube channel for inspiration on how your travel, tourism or destination marketing project might want to give it a try.
