Shining a light on a largely unknown part of Australia
The Gulf of Carpentaria at the top end of Queensland is hard country. Remote. Rugged. Vast. It’s truly an iconic region. While the locals would probably be happy to keep the place all to themselves, like most regions the Gulf gets a lot of benefit from the tourism trade and therefore the shire council is keen to welcome visitors and show off its wares. Via a competitive tender pitch, New Word Order was successful and appointed by the council to conceptualise, design and create a Visitor Guide Book. This project was an eye-opening joy for our team as we set about shining a light on one of Australia’s most enigmatic localities.
Challenge
Quite simply, most people don’t really think about going to the Gulf of Carpentaria. While its remoteness is really its biggest attraction, it’s also the biggest barrier to visitors. So the key part of our job was to make the destination so enticing that it lured more people to give it a go. More grey nomads. More backpackers. More adventurers. We needed to show Australians and the world that this was a place like no other and well worth the effort to spend some time here. Building awareness and creating enticement simultaneously is no easy feat but one that we accepted readily for this project.
The spark
Most tourism marketing relies on driving people to see a product. For example, visit the Sydney Opera House. See Uluru. Hit the beach at Surfers Paradise. But for this project, we decided to delve a bit deeper. Our strategy revolved around sensory experiences.
A place like no other.
More than just seeing places, it was about experiencing them. Feeling them. We wanted the unique aura of the Gulf to be able to rub off on people. Which meant we had to fill the pages of this book with the magic of the land. Through internal and external stakeholder engagement, we were able to produce research that captured real stories and insights into the adventurous spirit of the Gulf Country and this gave our creative team a strong foundation to work from.
Creative
The foremost creative objective was to be authentic to the Gulf story. There’s nothing fake about this place and the Visitor Guide need to genuinely represent what the region was all about and what people could expect to find here. We understood quickly that the Gulf sold itself in a visual way very easily. The type of visitors attracted to these type or regions enjoy the vast open spaces and natural environments native to this shire. Big skies and dramatic landscapes are in abundance. Naturally we commissioned and directed a full-scale photography shoot to provide powerful imagery for the Visitor Guide. To accompany the amazing pictures, we crafted copy that was reflective of the unique attributes of the region and experiences to be enjoyed here. As per the strategy, the words and language were designed to get under the skin of people and let them feel the beautiful energy of the Gulf in all her glory. From an overall creative perspective there was a commitment to not look or sound like slick tourism marketing but rather tell the Gulf story in a way a local would. With pride and honesty.
Outcome
The Visitor Guide has now been distributed widely in hard copy printed form as well as being made available online and digitally. Tourism marketing can often revert to “flavour of the month” activity but the client is ready to play the long game and build on the Gulf’s brand over an extended time.