A world-first marketing campaign to bring more tourists to the Sunshine Coast harnesses the might of a resource the region has in abundance.
Sunshine is the star of a groundbreaking solar-powered advertisement, titled Sunshine Moments, filmed throughout the coastal and hinterland areas.
The ad campaign, launched by Visit Sunshine Coast on Wednesday, October 5, encourages holidaymakers to visit the region to find their own ‘Sunshine Moment’ that will “leave them beaming from the inside out”.
Visit Sunshine Coast CEO Matt Stoeckel said the campaign showcased what set the region apart from other destinations and would go a long way towards rebuilding interstate markets that were impacted throughout the pandemic.
The campaign is considered crucial to supporting the local tourism industry during mid-week and off-peak periods.
“We have a lot of confidence that Sunshine Moments will connect with travellers and, importantly, see us get back numbers of more than one million interstate visitors that we had prior to the pandemic,” he said.
Before the pandemic, the Sunshine Coast attracted about one million interstate visitors from NSW and Victoria alone each year. To the year ending June 2022, 737,000 interstate visitors came to the region: 34 per cent down on pre-Covid levels.
In encouraging news, intrastate (Queensland) visitation has been strong for the region and to the year ending June 2022, the Sunshine Coast was visited by 3.1 million: up 6.9 per cent.
The recent National Visitor Survey for the year ending June 2022 showed record overnight visitor expenditure for the Sunshine Coast: a total of $3 billion, which is up 8.4 per cent compared with the same time in 2019, pre-Covid.
The new campaign embraces the destination’s name and shows visitors that on the Sunshine Coast, sunshine is not just a thing, but also a feeling.
“Here on the Sunshine Coast, we’re both sunny by name and sunny by nature, with the campaign inviting visitors to come here and find their ‘Sunshine Moment’,” Mr Stoeckel said.
The campaign ad was filmed using solar power in nine locations.
A portable 5kw solar generator attached to the film crew’s production vehicle powered everything from cameras to laptops, and battery chargers to hairdryers.
Visit Sunshine Coast also worked with EarthCheck to determine any additional greenhouse emissions from the shoot across road travel, accommodation and waste sent to landfill that was not able to directly use solar power. Reforest was engaged to remove those emissions.
The decision to film the ad using sunshine from the Sunshine Coast reflects the sustainability credentials of the destination and leverages the trend of sustainable travel.
A recent study by The Expedia Group, the 2022 Sustainable Travel Study, found a staggering 90 per cent of holidaymakers are looking for sustainable options when travelling.
“The Sunshine Coast is the only destination in the world where three UNESCO Biospheres sit side-by-side, and Sunshine Moments provides a platform to share the sustainability stories from some incredible eco tourism operators on the Sunshine Coast to attract like-minded travellers”, Mr Stoeckel said.
Sunreef Mooloolaba’s Jonny Fell said the theme of this ad campaign was at the heart of what Sunreef delivered every day – snorkelling with turtles and swimming with whales.
“One of the strongest emerging trends in travel is the demand for ‘meaningful’ travel, particularly nature-based travel. An intimate interaction with a whale or a turtle is an experience people never forget,” Mr Fell said.
“We are involved in the campaign by providing deals that will be shared with travellers to drive interest during the shoulder seasons and outside of holiday periods – particularly from the interstate markets of New South Wales and Victoria.”
The Sunshine Moments ad also puts local residents in the spotlight.
“Real people, real experiences, real nature and real authenticity is at the heart of what makes the Sunshine Coast so special,” Mr Stoeckel said.
Sunshine Moments will be rolled out in Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria across multi-media platforms including Facebook, Instagram, WeAre8, Broadcast Video on Demand (BVOD), YouTube pre-roll, Programmatic Display and Native Tiles.
Head to the Visit Sunshine Coast website. Locals are encouraged to share their ‘Sunshine Moment’ via #sunshinemoment
