A new million dollar tourism campaign encouraging visitors to migrate to the Sunshine Coast for a holiday this summer has launched to industry and media on the Sunshine Coast.

Sunshine Coast Destination Limited (SCDL) and Tourism and Events Queensland (TEQ) worked in partnership to produce the innovative marketing campaign, filmed using state-of-the-art drones. 

SCDL CEO Simon Ambrose says the theme of the campaign leverages the Sunshine Coast's “Naturally refreshing” brand and provides a birds-eye-view of the destination's natural attractions including Noosa National Park, Pumicestone Passage, Glass House Mountains and Carlo Sandblow.

“The campaign tells a story of uncovering the distinctive beauty of the Sunshine Coast through the eyes of The Wandering Tattler migratory bird. Our research tells us people are not aware of the scale of natural icons and experiences they can enjoy on the Sunshine Coast. We want this campaign to educate and inspire visitors to go beyond our superb beaches and explore the region's stunning natural attractions.”

Minister for Tourism, Major Events, Small Business and the Commonwealth Games, Jann Stuckey, said the marketing push is one of the largest for the destination to date.

“This is an exciting marketing concept for the Sunshine Coast and will build on the momentum of recent visitor growth to the region in the lead up to summer,” Ms Stuckey said.

“During the past financial year, the region welcomed 2.8 million domestic visitors, a five per cent increase on the previous year.” 

TEQ CEO Leanne Coddington said, “The campaign perfectly positions the Sunshine Coast's tourism assets under the 'Naturally refreshing' brand.

“The campaign will commence screening online and across social media from this Sunday 12 October and will also run on TV, print, cinema and outdoor.”

The campaign will include:

• Targeting residents in key interstate markets – Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane.
• A competition to win a six day holiday for four people to enjoy all the Sunshine Coast experiences as shown in the television advertisement.
• The campaign will also partner with Jetstar to advertise via print, digital and a 15 second television advertisement in Sydney and Melbourne with tactical messaging to fly direct to the Sunshine Coast.
• The campaign will be extended to the New Zealand market in early 2015.

To view the television advertisement or learn more about the campaign: www.visitsunshinecoast.com.au/vacationmigration

For media enquiries:

Liz Tuckett, Media and Communications Manager liz.tuckett@scdl.com.au (07) 5458 8815 | 0417 345 050 | Follow on Twitter: @SCDLcorporate

MIGRATION CAMPAIGN FACTS

Who
The campaign was produced in partnership between Sunshine Coast Destination Ltd and Tourism and Events Queensland. Directed by Justin McMillan, the campaign worked with other Queensland based companies including creative agency – Mojo, film production – Taxi, editing - Cutting Edge and Universal McCann was the media agency.

Story line
Animals have a brilliant way of refreshing themselves: it's called migration. Birds including The Wandering Tattler fly somewhere warm, relaxing and full of good food and shelter. This is exactly the same reason why Australians travel to the Sunshine Coast. It's a place to unwind, relax, enjoy the sunshine, produce and experience natural attractions.

Filming
Digital cameras tethered to the latest remote-controlled drones otherwise known as unmanned aircraft vehicles (UAV) were used to capture unique footage of the Sunshine Coast natural attractions. This technology was perfect for providing a bird's eye view of landscapes such as the Glass House Mountains, Pumicestone Passage, the Hinterland villages and the Noosa National Park. Drones are considerably cheaper than a helicopter and work well as an intimate aerial tool; great for getting up close to the environment and engaging the audience. Drones are still in their infancy in Australia and require a CASA certified pilot with a UAV license to operate the technology.

Production
The latest use of computer generated imagery (CGI) was applied to create the visual scenes of the birds in the advertisement. Commonly used for creating scenes or special effects in films and television, the CGI application allowed the advertisement to still retain high quality production values and re-create an interactive environment and real impact for the viewer.

Sound
The music score was developed specifically for the campaign by Brisbane based composer, Ryan Walsh. Interestingly it was recorded by an Eastern European orchestra who regularly work on compositions for Hollywood movies. The voice over was recorded by Steven Rooke, a local resident from Noosa.

Media
Media will include a major focus through online and social media platforms but will also include television advertisements, print, cinema and outdoor media. The campaign will target key markets Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane. It will also be rolled out in New Zealand in early 2015.

When
The campaign will go live on Sunday 12 October, 2014.

Fact sheets

Additional support materials are also available with further information about:

• The Glass House Mountains
• Noosa Biosphere and Noosa National Park
• The Pumicestone Passage
• The Great Sandy National Park and Great Sandy Biosphere
• Sunshine Coast seafood industry
• The Wandering Tattler