Australia beckons visitors to a table, in ‘the most extraordinary dining room on earth’

Tourism Australia is taking its ‘There’s nothing like Australia’ campaign further, this time through the culinary experiences the island nation has to offer. Clemenger BBDO has developed the film for the campaign, while DTDigital is handling digital elements.

The integrated campaign will see the light of day through ATL, consumer promotions and more in 12 key markets, including India.

The film (above) features the customary picturesque shots of Australia, covering wildlife, diving, boat trips and hot air balloon rides. Only this time, the theme veers towards the exceptional food and wine experiences that the country offers. The film signs off with a welcome to viewers to ‘Restaurant Australia’.

Nick Baker, CMO, Tourism Australia, said the new campaign had been developed based on research conducted in 2013 in 15 key tourism markets, which showed Australia was well placed to capitalise on growing demand amongst international travellers for local culinary experiences.

“The concept of ‘Restaurant Australia’ has been built based on consumer research which identified ‘food and wine’ as a key factor in holiday decision making and the most important emotive trigger, ahead of world class beauty, for influencing people’s destination choice,” he added.

He reasoned that while the awareness of the country’s food and wine offering was low amongst those who have never visited Australia (26 pc associated it with a good food and wine offering), once they visited, people valued the variety and quality on offer (they ranked it second behind France, at 60 pc). For past visitors from China, USA, France, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, the UK, and South Korea, Australia ranked number one in the world for having great food and wine, he added.

“This perception gap presents a real opportunity to bring Australia’s culinary credentials to the fore by developing rich content through traditional and social media channels that highlights the array of exceptional produce, created and served by people with fresh thinking, in the most stunning locations in the world,” explained Baker.

The A$ 10 million campaign will feature new creatives (broadcast, cinema, online and print), besides an online hub (www.australia.com/restaurantaustralia) for Australian businesses to share their food and wine experiences with the world. Digital channels, social media and advocacy, would be used alongside consumer promotions in key markets. An ‘Invite the World to Dinner’ event at Museum of Old and New Art in Tasmania has been planned for November 2014, wherein 80 international media and food and wine influencers will be in attendance.

John O’Sullivan, MD, Tourism Australia, said, “Restaurant Australia is all about bringing together the incredible stories of our people, place and produce to demonstrate to the world that every day, unique and exceptional food and wine experiences are being served-up in remarkable locations, and then sharing these stories through the creation of rich and compelling content.”

International visitors spent more than A$4 billion enjoying Australia’s food, wine and culinary experiences in 2013, said a Tourism Australia statement.

Credits

Client: Tourism Australia
Creative agency: Clemenger BBDO
Director (films): Mark Toia
Digital: DTDigital