The Gold Coast is celebrating digital and social storytelling announcing the launch of the first Destination Gold Coast Content Awards (DGCCA).

The new initiative unashamedly embraces the media of the 21st century and the new generations of storytellers, journalists, freelancers, photographers and creative.

Destination Gold Coast CEO Martin Winter said the inaugural awards are unique and Australia’s premier holiday destination is the perfect subject.

“We want to see the Gold Coast through the eyes of this eclectic tribe, acknowledging and rewarding the energy and effort that goes into portraying our wonderful city, its people, lifestyle and experiences,” said Mr Winter.

“Modern storytellers are creating authentic content – in words, pictures, video, graphics or animation – and they are essentially creating a new narrative for the city.”

Destination Gold Coast is partnering with leading digital practitioners The Travel Bootcamp – co-founded by Lauren Bath, Georgia Rickard and Liz Carlson – and the travel industry’s global leading media network, TravMedia for the awards.

Georgia Rickard, preeminent journalist on Australian travel and former editor of Australian Traveller magazine, said the partnership was a natural fit born from a mutual love of digital storytelling and desire to celebrate the Gold Coast’s many assets.

“The Gold Coast is a destination of extraordinary diversity – there aren’t many Australian destinations that cater so convincingly to such a demographic cross-section,” Rickard said.

She said she believed the region’s continued success was due to the ethos of its residents.

“Gold Coast locals have a can-do attitude and entrepreneurial spirit that has seen the area punch well above its weight in the tourism space, for decades,” she said. “This initiative – which is the first of its kind, nation-wide – is yet another example of that.”

The Awards feature six categories including Image of the Year, Story of the Year, Industry Storyteller of the Year, Commonwealth Games 2018 content, Best Overall Content, and Newbie Award for newcomers. A final category, Content Star Award will be unanimously awarded by the judges and deemed best of the best.

Bootcamp co-founder (and Australia's first professional Instagrammer), Lauren Bath, said the awards reflected the progressive nature of modern storytelling when travelling or exploring closer to home.

“I couldn't be prouder that Destination Gold Coast are investing so much in their digital community, especially since I’m a born and raised local,” she said. “These awards are a game changer for digital content creators and I can’t wait to see the entries coming in.

“I know that we have an amazing community here on the Gold Coast and my expectations are high.”

The third Bootcamp co-founder Liz Carlson – creator of one of the top travel blogs in the world, Young Adventuress (which has a reach of almost 10 million) – added that the parameters of creating good content are continually changing.

“Nowadays it can be hard to stand above the crowd online in terms of being an outstanding content creator,” she said. “Your work needs to have multiple levels of creativity and style, from incorporating a good story to being able to touch someone in a profound way.”

Her advice to would-be winners of the awards? “Take risks and be different.”

Founder of TravMedia, the online newswire and social network for travel media, Nick Wayland said digital storytellers are playing an important role in shaping destination marketing. 

“The dedicated digital and social media personalities we work with across TravMedia’s global network are producing a very high standard of content to showcase destinations to significant and diverse audiences," said Mr Wayland.

"We are thrilled to partner with Destination Gold Coast to celebrate their hard work.”   

Entry for the awards is free and content creators won't be signing over their copyright or ownership. Entries for the awards close September 30, 2018.

To learn more visit goldcoastcontentawards.com.au. Hashtags: #DGCCA and #WeAreGoldCoast

ENDS

CONTACT:     Dean Gould, Executive Director, Corporate Affairs and Strategy
07 5584 6265 / 0411 657 381 / dean.gould@destinationgoldcoast.com

CONTENT:      Licensed images and video are available for non-commercial use by media, tour operators, travel agents, meeting professionals, and convention promoters. These assets are available for download online by registering at http://www.barberstock.com/destinationgoldcoast