A partnership between Virgin Australia and Tourism Tasmania encouraging Aussies to embrace their wild winter wanderlust has seen visitation to the Apple Isle soar in what is normally a quiet travel period during their Off Season.
‘The Tassie Tux’ partner activation was borne with a creative idea that encourages Aussies to embrace the wild revelry of Tasmania as their preferred winter holiday destination alongside Virgin Australia, the airline of choice for an uninhibited and refreshing escape.
The campaign saw a partnership forged between Virgin Australia and P.E. Nation to create a limited-edition ‘Tassie Tux’; a black puffer jacket/vest and unofficial uniform of the island state which encourages travellers to embrace the best of Tassie’s Off Season and wake up this winter. ‘The Tassie Tux – what to wear when you come down for air’.
The campaign launched on 1 June – Virgin Australia’s first winter flight to Tassie, aligning perfectly with Tasmania’s Off Season – with a ‘Black Tie’ event in the sky. Prior to departure guests were gifted a limited-edition Tassie Tux and invited to enjoy the wilderness takeover of the lounge which included unique Tasmanian musical entertainment and a Tassie twist on a sparkling water bar sourced from the purest of Tassie springs. Once on board the flight to Hobart, guests were greeted with more entertainment and curated in-flight local Tassie delicacies.
To ensure Tasmanian destination content was captured and amplified, hand-picked travel, lifestyle and fashion influencers, content creators and media engaged in immersive famil overnight visits.
The campaign saw Virgin Australia’s bookings for inbound passengers to Tasmania soar 229% above target, flight searches increase 118% over the prior three-month period and multi-touch return on ad spend (ROAS) grow 28% over the prior quarter.
Media relations generated 46 pieces of editorial coverage spanning national news, digital and radio, reaching a potential audience of more than 47m, with influencer content generating $359k in earned value, and more than 250 social posts reaching 6.5m. A Virgin Australia social competition clocked up 40k visits and 23k unique entries, with organic content reaching 102k on VA’s Instagram.
