FCB Joburg helps South African tourism launch new product and campaign

FCB Joburg helped South African Tourism launch two new initiatives to delegates at INDABA 2017 last month.

The first of these, called Good Times in a Box, is intended to stimulate domestic tourism by revolutionising the way the hospitality and tourism industry packages itself.

The second, I Do Tourism, is a nationwide campaign to remind South Africans of the advocacy role they can play for the country and for tourism.

Showcasing the widest variety of southern Africa’s best tourism products and attracting international buyers and media from across the world, INDABA is one of the top three ‘must visit’ events of its kind on the global calendar.

The key purpose of I Do Tourism is to remind South Africans of the economic and social value of tourism, which contributes 3% to the nation’s economy and has created around 500 000 jobs.

The campaign, created by FCB and due to be launched to consumers during July, will showcase members of the travel industry, and provide a space for them to share their stories.

It will draw attention to the fact that the impact of tourism is not industry-specific, and that almost every sector is positively affected when people travel, from agriculture to transport.

Finally, it will emphasise that, this being the case, tourism is integral to the growth and development of the country.

“Ultimately, I Do Tourism seeks to make South Africans want to get behind tourism by seizing the economic opportunities within the tourism industry or by simply playing their part by making visitors feel welcome and providing assistance where necessary, whether that’s by giving directions or recommending a local attraction. If tourism wins, we all win,” said FCB Joburg’s Joint Chief Creative Officer, Jonathan Deeb.

Deeb worked with fellow Joint Chief Creative Officer Ahmed Tilly, Neo Segola and Collette Wasielewski and a team of five creatives to create the campaign, as well as the collateral for INDABA 2017 and other SA Tourism initiatives launched during the week.

He stressed that South Africans, too, had a role to play as tourists in their home country. In most countries, domestic tourism is the bedrock of the industry, and a thriving domestic travel scene makes for a more successful tourism sector as a whole.

However, locally, relatively few people explore their own country and the domestic leisure market is largely untapped. South African Tourism’s goal, said Deeb, is to encourage 5.5 million South Africans from our targeted segments, booking domestic holidays and spending R2 000 per trip in 2017.

“Good Times in a Box, brainchild of South African Tourism and launched to the trade at INDABA 2017, is a revolutionary, world-first product that will soon be available online, using a system developed by FCB Joburg and Hellocomputer,” he said.

“By curating a range of experiences, from family getaways, to girls’ weekends and romantic escapes, it will make travel more accessible to those South Africans who have not yet considered leisure travel, either because they feel they cannot afford to do so, they do not have a culture of travel, or although they already travel for business, they do not consider doing so for holidays and entertainment.

“In essence, FCB Joburg is helping South African Tourism commoditise travel; making it something that is no more complicated to buy than any other item on your shopping list. What’s more, South Africa is the first country to have adopted this approach,” Deeb said.

In addition to conceptualising and managing the I Do Tourism and Good times in a Box initiatives, which roll-out later this year, FCB Joburg was responsible for the complete rebranding of INDABA to Africa’s Travel Indaba for the 2018 edition.

It also provided a full end-to-end solution for South African Tourism’s presence at INDABA, including all branding and collateral, photography and videography, all communication including social media, and all activations in the lead up to, during and after the event.

FCB Joburg co-ordinated and hosted the media briefing, a series of activations at the country’s three major airports, and over 15 functions including BONDay, an educational session that took place the day before INDABA.

The agency also managed five stands on behalf of the organisation the South African Tourism stand, the Hidden Gems Pavilion, the TGCSA 5 Star Luxury Pavilion, the Digital Activations Stand, Welcome Stand and Sustainability Village, where Durban based SMMEs were given a platform to showcase and sell their goods to an international audience.

All this necessitated some 56 FCB Joburg staff members in Durban for the duration of INDABA.

Held at Durban’s Inkosi Albert Luthuli Convention Centre, INDABA 2017 attracted roughly 7 000 delegates, including 1 449 local and international buyers, as well as more than 1 000 exhibiting businesses from 18 African countries.

More than 20 000 confirmed meetings took place over the three show days, an increase of over 20% compared to 2016’s figure, while 692 registered media representatives were in attendance, 8% more than last year.