The new Chinese language Tourism NZ/Air NZ in-flight safe-driving video fronted by Chinese film star Huang Lei, has truly cracked the media barrier, with a plethora of TV and print outlets covering the story. “One of my team attended the shoot,” Tourism NZ global brand manager Jodi Redden told M+AD this morning.
“The film was shot and edited by Huang Lei’s production team who were in attendance to film the personal TV show he was filming in NZ,” she said.
“Our TNZ team oversaw the shoot to ensure the right script/delivery and other details.”
The video is delivered in Chinese (no English subtitles) so Kiwi viewers will need to guess exactly what Huang Lei is saying. But the message is crystal clear – and long overdue.
Actor, director, singer, screenwriter and university teacher Huang Lei returned to New Zealand for the third time in June this year along with wife Sun Li and their two daughters for a family holiday to celebrate the couple’s 20 year anniversary. He travelled with a Chinese film crew, who shot the videos.
The family worked alongside Tourism New Zealand and Air New Zealand to develop a collection of images of the couple’s experience in New Zealand which have been integrated into Tourism New Zealand’s latest campaign in China focusing on romance and family travel in New Zealand.
Tourism New Zealand general manager Asia David Craig said: “Having the opportunity to work with someone as high profile as Huang Lei not once, but twice, is a real win for Tourism New Zealand.
“Huang Lei has a massive following in China with over 20 million fans on his Weibo social media account. His recent visit to New Zealand generated more than 1280 media articles and saw 710,000 followers engage with his New Zealand content. We are confident that aligning ourselves with such a well-known influencer will continue to see New Zealand grow in popularity as a visitor destination in China.”
Huang Lei and his family spent eight days touring the top of the South Island, supported by Destination Marlborough, Destination Kaikoura and Christchurch Canterbury Tourism.
The campaign features a series of images and videos showing the couple enjoying seafood and wine, holding a kiwi, cruising and walking, showcasing New Zealand as a holiday destination for families and special occasions.
“In addition three media from China were hosted on a visit to New Zealand to follow Huang Lei as a part of Tourism New Zealand’s international media programme,” Craig said. “These included the Cosmopolitan Honeymoon Special which featured Huang Lei and Sun Li’s anniversary trip in the July issue to an audience of over 965,000,” says David.
Voyage magazine has also published a six-page cover story featuring Huang Lei and Sun Li’s third visit to New Zealand in the August issue as well as another eight-page feature story titled The Unknown New Zealand introducing New Zealand lodges, winery experiences and wildlife. Voyage has a circulation of 315,000 and the two articles have a combined equivalent advertising value of $637,000.
This will be followed by an 11-episode video series on www.iqiyi.com featuring seven episodes on Huang Lei’s trip and four specifically focusing on travel in New Zealand. Iqiyi is one of China’s top three video sharing sites, attracting an average of 47million daily views. Huang Lei’s New Zealand story was also promoted on the home page and several of the channel’s secondary home pages including travel and entertainment in September.
Tourism New Zealand’s previous work with Huang Lei on season two of reality show Dad, Where Are We Going? was an “outstanding success” with the series airing to millions of Chinese.
Share this Post
