SYDNEY, Thursday: A top Kiwi-born, Aussie-based chef is fronting Wellington’s new tourism campaign in Australia, which aims to lure travellers across the ditch for a weekend of food and wine.
The campaign, developed in partnership with Bauer Media Australia, aims to drive Australian weekend travel to Wellington, primarily from Sydney, during the Autumn shoulder season (February to April).
At its heart is a series of four videos narrated by award-winning chef Ben Shewry whose Melbourne restaurant Attica is ranked as one of the world’s best restaurants*.
Shewry extolls the freshness and variety of produce found in the Wellington region via four YouTube webisodes which share different parts of Wellington’s food story – from fishing on the Kāpiti Coast with local fisherman Scott McNeil from Awatoru Wild Food, wining and dining in the Wairarapa, foraging for Māori ingredients with Hiakai chef Monique Fiso, to the diversity of the city’s cheaper eats.
The videos will be backed with travel stories online, in print and via social media.
The videos were all shot in Wellington by Bauer Media Australia’s content division, Story54. Bauer Media Australia produce quality magazines Gourmet Traveller, Elle, Harper’s Bazaar and Country Style.
The campaign will see one of the four videos pushed out every two weeks, with the final video going out in early March.
Print content will be running in the following Aussie magazine titles until April: Gourmet Traveller, The Australian Women’s Weekly, Elle, House & Garden, and Country Style.
“The videos were all shot in Wellington by Bauer Media Australia’s content division, Story54.”
Digital content will be on the Bauer networks until May.
WellingtonNZ marketing manager Anna Calver says Bauer Australia provides a fantastic gateway into Australia.
“Partnering with Bauer Australia means we’re able to substantially extend the reach we’d be able to achieve via a traditional marketing campaign. Total video views for the campaign are expected to exceed 1.2 million through media buy and online traffic.
“And having the videos fronted by Ben Shewry is also a coup. He’s one of Australia’s leading chefs with substantial profile within our target market of travellers aged between 29 and 65 years old.
“We wanted to work with Ben because he has ties to Wellington, having been mentored here by Mark Limacher, chef and owner of Ortega restaurant.”
Calver says to further strengthen the campaign’s impact, it’s being targeted specifically at Sydney, focusing on the Wellington region culinary story.
“Research shows local food experiences are one of the main things people look for when planning a short break and the Wellington region is packed with them.”
Air NZ in the loop
WellingtonNZ is also working with Air New Zealand’s Australian office to drive conversion off the campaign.
The campaign launched in Australia this week.
*Ranked 20th best restaurant in 2018 (World’s Best 50 Restaurant Awards) and 84th in 2019.
- View video below
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