A few years ago, we created an award-winning re-brand for Hunter Valley Tourism. Our next challenge was to bring in more business conferences.
Our research found resistance to holding conferences outside central business districts. There was even some question about whether or not corporate conferences had a positive return on investment. But we also found a lot of good reasons why a conference in the Hunter Valley would work.
We developed the theme 'A Better Return on Involvement' and summed up the benefits of a Hunter Valley conference with a few lines of text that would overcome common objections: 'The liberty of distance', 'The power of immersion', 'The reassurance of good facilities', and 'The distinction of customised experiences'.
We used different channels to get our messages out – from digital advertising in office towers to print advertising in conference publications. We made a two-minute video and a launched the campaign with a direct mail gift representative of the region. Our comprehensive campaign was a resounding success, with a notable increase in the number of conference enquiries for the region.