Victorian Premier Ted Baillieu has unveiled Victoria’s first dedicated brand campaign in Shanghai, promoting Victoria as a destination with a new experience behind every door.
The campaign ‘Open up to More’ includes a fully redeveloped Chinese website, digital and print media and social media activities, and will be shown throughout China.
Mr Baillieu said the campaign was designed to build recognition of Melbourne and Victoria in China to attract more visitors and help businesses leverage the Victorian brand.
“This innovative new tourism campaign promotes the diversity and sophistication of Melbourne and Victoria to Chinese visitors,” Mr Baillieu said.
“The campaign promotes Melbourne as a stylish, romantic and contemporary city and a gateway to unique, world-class nature-based experiences.
“The theme draws on Melbourne’s distinctive logo and re-interprets its panels as doors, which open to the sensory adventure that is Melbourne and Victoria,” Mr Baillieu said.
Mr Baillieu said the Victorian Coalition Government planned to grow Chinese visitor expenditure at 11 percent per annum to 2020, to deliver more than $2 billion in Chinese visitor expenditure and 41,700 jobs in Victoria.
“China’s economic boom has led to an increasingly wealthy and internationalised economy, with more people in urban centres with a high level of disposable income and a greater aspiration for travel,” Mr Baillieu said.
“By the end of 2012 China is expected to be the world’s largest source of outbound travellers, overtaking Germany and the United States, and by 2020 it will generate more than 100 million outbound trips,” he said.
“This new campaign is a bold plan to maximise the projected growth of Chinese visitors and leverage our strong student and migrant links with new audiences.”
The newly redeveloped Chinese language website contains more than 500 pages of content, including information about more than 300 tourism products that have been individually selected as the most suitable for the Chinese market.
The website also includes eight 360 degree cameras located in areas around the state, including Sovereign Hill, Southbank and the 12 Apostles.
The campaign was developed by Shanghai-based advertising agency Ogilvy & Mather using research that found Chinese visitors to Melbourne were attracted to the city’s major events, arts and entertainment and nature-based experiences.
China is the single largest international market for Victoria.
For the year ending June 2012, Chinese expenditure grew by eight per cent year-on-year to $905 million. ■
To visit the new website and view the advertisements visit www.cn.visitmelbourne.com/chinafilm
