(2009, p. 37)
Moreover, beyond the innovative use of social media networks to promote their campaign, Tourism Queensland also ensured the international mainstream media would be included in their media mix. For instance, Nolan empirically reports that during his visit to the island preparatory to the announcement of the finalist, international interest in the competition was at a frenzied level: "When I left Hamilton Island the following afternoon, it already was gearing itself up for next Wednesday's announcement. U.S. TV crews, the Aussie networks, the BBC et al. are flying in to cover the result of the competition that captured the imagination of the world" (Nolan 2009, p. 68).
The winner of the competition, UK's Ben Southall, appeared capable and confident during his acceptance speech, and his video entry managed to win out over more than 37,000 entries from 200 countries (Nolan 2009), including Vatican City and Dean Martin's son (Tourism Queensland.mp4), reflecting the global interest this campaign generated. In sum, Southall was the perfect individual for the highly sought after position: "Already a prolific blogger, he must also keep a video diary of life on the island which he will share with his 21-year-old Canadian girlfriend Breanna Watkins (Mouland 2009, p. 27). Clearly, the marketers at Tourism Queensland must have been jumping up and down at this point, celebrating the enormous success of their campaign, and they had good cause to do so given that they had also taken careful steps to exploit the competition even after it was completed. Promoted as "a prize that isn't a prize," but rather "the best job in the world," the caretaker position campaign was intended to achieve a maximum return on investment for Tourism Queensland by offering a prize "that would capture the imagination of people all over the world" (Tourism Queensland mp.4). For instance, although the position is highly flexible in terms of overall responsibilities, Southall was required to "explore the area to discover what is on offer and to report back weekly via blogs, photo diaries, video updates and media interviews. Other responsibilities include cleaning the pool which comes with the caretaker's free resort home, feeding the fish and collecting the mail (this will be done by joining the aerial postal service for a day or two to get a good view of the neighbouring islands)" (Turner 2009, p. 3).
Even Tourism Queensland's competitors must have grudgingly admired the positive outcome of the media campaign. In this regard, Turner reports that, "Cynics say the Hamilton Island 'job' is just part of an admittedly well-thought-out tourism promotion. Not only did the advertisement website continually crash because of the number of job applicants, but by the time Ben won the post after succeeding at a final interview stage, the campaign had also generated more than $200 million (Australian) in global publicity value for Tourism Queensland" (2009, p. 3). The truly remarkable thing about the media mix used by Tourism Queensland to achieve this highly impressive outcome, though, was its cost effectiveness compared to traditional media outlets. Beyond the low- or no-cost social media networks used to promote the competition, Tourism Queensland also used an inexpensive Web site (islandreefjob.com) that generated so much global interest that it crashed as a result. In addition, the Tourism Queensland video presentation indicates that the campaign also used print media advertisements as well as online job recruiting sites such as monster.com as part of their "stage one" implementation of the media campaign, as well as social media networks such as YouTube. Stage two involved press releases and online media updates concerning the paring down of the initial 35,000-37,000 entries to just 16 applicants, with visits to Hamilton Island being provided to the finalists with the concomitant media interest this stage generated. Stage three included mainstream media interviews with the finalists, and stage four involving the announcement of the final results of the competition for "The Best Job in the World" (Tourism Queensland mp.4).
Indeed, the global interest -- and hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of publicity -- generated by "The Best Job in the World" campaign was achieved through the innovative application of still-emerging social networking platforms that are being used by increasingly larger numbers of consumers around the world. Although researchers continue to examine the specific differences of adaptation rates of these mobile technologies for marketing purposes, it is apparent that the marketers at Tourism Queensland took advantage of what is known and what is available to develop a "perfect storm" of media interest that succeeded beyond their wildest expectations. For a relatively modest investment of just $US1.2 million, Tourism Queensland generated an estimated $US150 (Tourism Queensland mp.4) to $200 million in global publicity, an outcome that must be regarded as successful by any measure.
Reflective statement
Although it is axiomatic that hindsight is 20-20, the marketing campaign...
Strategic Analysis of Qantas Group Qantas Group Overview Key Problems and Strategic Issues Diagnosis: Analysis and Evaluation Porter 5 Analysis Power of Suppliers: Low-to-Medium Industry Rivalry: High Power of Buyer: Medium Barrier of Entry: High Availability of Substitutes: Low The study carries out the strategic analysis of Qantas Group to identify the problems that the company is facing in the contemporary business environments and provide the recommendations that will assist Qantas overcoming its problems and record high profitability. The Porter
Jetstar also now gives customers with more expensive tickets priority boarding, although it plans to retain unallocated seating for reasons of efficiency. The airline buys the points from its parent but strategically recovers costs by prompting people to buy more expensive tickets and attracting back customers (Creedy, 2005). The carrier's frequent-flyer scheme has produced a revenue gain that offset its cost, such as big business routes, an immense amount
Hotel Management Strategy Report Style: This report looks at the Australian tourism industry with specific focus on the Gold Coast region and its five-star accommodation services. The paper starts by providing a brief introduction of the current stature of the tourism industry as well as the purpose that this report aims to complete. It then moves on to describe the high and lows of the tourism industry in Gold Coast and gives
Management Three Case Studies Event management is a complex, yet very interesting and rewarding profession. According to some, event management involves the organized planning of a particular event, as well as research and successful execution. Such an event may range from a simple social event, such as a birthday or wedding, and can include complex events, such as corporate meetings or product launch parties and concerts. No matter what the event, however,
Hotel Strategy The first strategy is to promote the spa at the Watermark Hotel. The spa is a key strength and competitive advantage of the hotel. Many new hotels have spas in them, but few hotels have exceptional spas, something the Watermark has. A great spa can help attract both business travellers looking for a break after a hard day at work, and recreational travellers looking to relax (Minnini, 2007). Spas, like
High-road competition focuses on service quality (Working for America Institute 2004), which means developing property in prime locations and the regular upkeep and upgrade of property. Hotels using high-road competition charge high room rates but provide top-class amenities, satisfying customer service and on-site attractions, such as restaurants, lounges, conference sites, gift shops and concierge service to attract customers and incline them to spend. Upper segments are likelier to engage in
Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.
Get Started Now