As the Probably first ever (1995)A? Web Site in Sri Lanka Arugam.info begs to differ.
With the Nation’s Tourism Czar Mr. George Michael’s statement below.
Successful advertising campaigns do not have to cost a fortune.
Your Queensland counterparts, we feel, have invested just 1Mill Rs./ VERY well.
Ideas is what counts – and a change of direction.
See sample of a good advert below.
Facebook, Twitter, UTube and whatever: These are further great, very good, new and and even totally free marketing tools.
What can we do to match this coup from down under?
(So are we…….since 2004A? 😉
What is your strategy?
How can we assist?
What happens if a global tourism marketing campaign dresses up as a job recruitment drive? A global reality TV show gets under way.
Tourism Queensland launched its Best Job in the World competition in January hoping to generate fresh interest in Australia’s sunshine state – a dream location, according to the locals, that is beautiful one day, and perfect the next.
The internet, and its social networking sites, then delivered. Within the first 48 hours, they had received more than 7,500 online applications.
 |
 It really captured the imagination of the world  Danielle Kootman
Tourism Queensland |
Better still, more than 200,000 people logged on to the site in the first weekend alone, placing unexpected strains on server capacity.
No wonder. In these “feel-bad” times, Tourism Queensland had opened up the ultimate feel-good job: the post of ‘caretaker’ at the blissful Hamilton Island on the Great Barrier Reef, with a six-month contract worth a handy Aus $150,000 (US $110,000).
Wild card
Then there’s the three-bedroom beach home you get to luxuriate in, which comes with a swimming pool and golf cart.
The successful candidate must also be willing, in the words of the online advertisement, “to explore the islands of the Great Barrier Reef, swim, snorkel, make friends with the locals and generally enjoy the tropical Queensland climate and lifestyle”.
Nice work, if you can get it, and 34,000 applicants from over 200 countries thought they stood a chance.
Applicants must “swim, snorkel, make friends with the locals”
|
Now the field has been whittled down to 16 finalists, including a wild card entry chosen, in true reality television style, through an online poll.
They include a receptionist, some students, a teacher, a charity event manager, and an actress. And on 3rd May, they’re all due to converge on Hamilton Island for the final.
The biggest winner, though, is Tourism Queensland, which reckons that for US$1m, it generated US$70m of global publicity.
Osama hoax Purchase alligator
“We did it on the smell of an oily rag,” says Danielle Kootman of Tourism Queensland. “We pitched it after Christmas in the northern hemisphere when there is not much news around, and so amidst all the cold and gloom here came the dream job.
“It really captured the imagination of the world.”
It also helped that the organisers received a hoax application from a man purporting to be Osama Bin Laden, while Tourism Queensland generated even more headlines by concocting a story that one applicant felt so passionately about the job that she tattooed an advert for the Great Barrier Reef on her arm.
The campaign sparked lots of people’s attention
|
Imitation is the highest form of flattery, so it’s no surprise that other have sought to replicate the success of this viral campaign. The ‘NEXT Best Job in the world’, a short-lived Canadian venture, has now been postponed.
Russell Howcroft, an advertising executive who is a regular panellist on the hit Australian show, The Gruen Transfer, says Queensland’s online campaign has been so successful because “it isn’t an overclaim”.
“All the best advertising makes a legitimate claim, and for many people this really is the best job in the world. The proposition is supported.”
The challenge now for tourism chiefs is to convert interest into visitation, a tough task for such a long-haul destination and at a time when there are fears within the Australian tourism industry that visitor numbers could drop by 250,000.
But Tourism Queensland says it has received heightened interested from airlines, which might look to establish new routes serving the sunshine state, and from global travel companies.
Once again, the campaign has demonstrated the power of the internet, and of viral marketing.
President Barack Obama harnessed the power of the web to win the most powerful job in the world. Now Tourism Queensland has used similar techniques in what it claims has now become the most sought-after job in the world.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8027369.stm
Arugam Forum
Arugam Photo Galleries on Picasa
Old Website
Press Coverage
Surf Forecast for Arugam Bay
British man wins Australian island dream job
By KRISTEN GELINEAU – 3 hours ago
SYDNEY (AP) — A bungee jumping, ostrich-riding British charity worker was named the winner Wednesday of what’s been dubbed the “Best Job in the World” — a six-month contract to serve as caretaker of a tropical Australian island.
Ben Southall, 34, of Petersfield, beat out nearly 35,000 applicants from around the world for the dream assignment to swim, explore and relax on Hamilton Island in the Great Barrier Reef for while writing a blog to promote the area.
He was selected for the 150,000 Australian dollar ($111,000) gig by officials from the tourism department of Queensland state.
Southall and 15 other finalists spent the past four days on the island for an extended interview process, which required applicants to snorkel through crystalline waters, gorge themselves at a beachside barbecue and relax at a spa. The finalists also had to demonstrate their blogging abilities, take swimming tests and sit through in-person interviews.
The job is part of a AU$1.7 million tourism campaign to publicize the charms of northeastern Queensland, and officials say it has already generated more than AU$110 million worth of publicity for the region. It quickly became a viral marketing hit, spreading quickly across the world via YouTube and social networking sites such as Facebook.
“I hope I can sell the reef as much as everybody is expecting,” Southall said after he was crowned the winner at a ceremony on Hamilton Island. “My swimming hopefully is up to standard.”
Southall once worked as a tour guide in Africa, but most recently has worked as a charity fundraiser. In his application video, he expressed a love for adventure, and featured photographs of himself riding an ostrich, running a marathon, scuba diving and kissing a giraffe.
“From the time he was announced in the Top 50, and then the Top 16, Ben has excelled in showing a true passion for Queensland,” Queensland Tourism Minister Peter Lawlor said in a statement. “His ideas for how he will make the role his own … plus his initiative and ability to rise to a challenge impressed the selection panel and secured his place in the top job.”
Although unquestionably a publicity smash success, the contest also attracted a fair bit of scandal since it was unveiled in January.
First, the job’s Web site crashed due to a deluge of visitors, angering many hopefuls who couldn’t access the site to lodge their video applications. Later, the tourism department was forced to admit it had created a popular video “application” showing a woman apparently getting a tattoo expressing her love of the Great Barrier Reef.
Then one finalist was ousted after it was revealed she had connections to the adult entertainment industry. And a prankster identifying himself as terror mastermind Osama bin Laden posted a video of himself on YouTube reciting reasons why he was the best pick for the job.
Southall will live for free in an airy, three-bedroom oceanfront villa with a private pool and sweeping views of the surrounding islands. He plans to bring his Canadian girlfriend with him to the island for the duration of the job.
Southall starts “work” on July 1.
On the Net:
* Best Job in the World: http://www.islandreefjob.com/