BDOT: Campaign Has “Tremendous Reach”
The August launch of the Bermuda Department of Tourism’s [BDOT] new branding campaign ‘So Much More’ has “achieved tremendous reach” for the island in print, online and broadcast media across the U.S., U.K. and Canada, the BDOT said.
“We are pleased to see so much traction so quickly from the launch of the ‘Bermuda – So Much More’ Campaign,” said Minister of Business Development and Tourism Wayne Furbert.
“Working closely with Air Tran, West Jet and British Airways within BDOT’s co-op plans targeting niche market segments, using a combined approach of traditional placements with new media technology has worked in our favour to provide the new brand with broad launch exposure.”
One of the’Bermuda – So Much More’ videos:
The BDOT said the $4.8 million, multi-media campaign has been “well received” reaching an audience of more than 280 million within the first months of launch.
The website traffic for the U.S. site was up to 54,657 visits in September, with over 41% viewing the ‘So Much More’ landing page, and Facebook friends have more than doubled to 51,600 with a reach of more than 2 million.
New campaign creative is featured in print publications including Departures magazine, Town and Country Weddings, Afar Magazine, Condé Nast Traveler and The Wall Street Journal in the U.S.; the Telegraph, Evening Standard and Travel Trade Gazette in the U.K.; and The Globe and Mail and Toronto Star in Canada.
The BDOT also said that broadcast exposure is focused in the U.S. particularly in New York, Boston Atlanta, Charlotte, Washington DC, Miami and Philadelphia, with 15 second and 30 second spots running on network and cable channels including CNN, MNBC, Nat GEO, Travel, Discovery, History and Bravo.
Online exposure is focused on sites including NYTimes.com, GolfNow.com, ExecutiveGolfer.com, GolfingMagazine.com, Yahoo.com, TripAdvisor.com, QuantCast, Google, Specific Media, WSJ.com, Boston.com, Hulu.com, Pandora.com.
Digital billboards in New York and Boston that ran for two weeks beginning August 20 and garnered 2.9 million Eyes-On Impressions, the BDOT noted.
Some of the new campaign ads:
The BDOT said: “A key objective of the brand launch was to utilize QR code technology to drive visitors to the Endless Summer landing page. New York Times Magazine in one day generated nearly 500 scans from such a QR code, thus solidifying the use of new media as a successful advertising campaign tool for ‘So Much More’.
“New ‘Meet the Bermudians’ brand radio spots are scheduled to air on CBS Radio in Atlanta, Washington DC, Philadelphia and Miami beginning October 15, and in Charlotte in the spring of 2013.
“Through direct marketing and email blasts, the new brand has additionally reached nearly 230,000 consumers in specified key markets. Special promotions, including North America’s Endless Summer Campaign and U.K.’s Companion Flies Free Campaign, have successfully encouraged tourists to visit Bermuda.
“The ‘Bermuda – So Much More’ campaign highlights Bermuda’s key tourism segments as identified in the National Tourism Master Plan, including: Leisure & Entertainment, Beach, Eco & Nature, Cultural, Sports & Golf, Nautical, Cruise, Business Travel, and Meetings and Incentive groups.
“Through print, broadcast, on-line, and radio spots, the new brand campaign has quickly garnered publicity for Bermuda Tourism throughout the U.S., U.K. and Canada. The campaign will continue to work towards the ultimate objective of increasing visitation to the island,” the BDOT concluded.
“IMGUR”
Haven’t seen people like dancing and showing leg in 30 years.
They must have meant ‘Uyghurs’.
OK guys …make way for the influx…time to get rich.
It all sounds good to me. I hope it bears fruit for Bermuda.
electioneering at its finest ppl. they aren’t here yet. they are reporting every little good thing. they need to come here first!.. CALL THE DAMN ELECTION COG!!!!!!!!
What a wate of money. They were excited about Feel the Love and our tourism numbers are still dismal..this new campaign will net the same results.
Our deficit has tremendous reach!
…”so much more” than expected.
Throw precious millions to the wind and see what sticks,real amateurs!
So what’s happening about the cruise ships that have pulled out next year?
All the front street ones will not be here next summer & only a few will visit dockyard. Government killed our old town & now they will do the same to our new one. “So much more!” could have been done to Hamilton to make it attractive for cruise lines but the money that could have supported it were used on this crap campaign. Hopefully the Green Brothers can save Hamilton with their hospitality knowledge that trumps Furbert’s by far.
It takes an old UBP bie to get things going. Well done, Wayne!
GET MY ATTENTION! In order to gain ANY attention in the over-saturated commercial world, you have to be different. This above all else is what I’ve learned as a copywriter (writing ads) here in London, the creative advertising hub of the world. To see us blow more and more and more money into doing the exact same thing (but worse) we were doing in the 70′s makes me want to scream. Bermuda IS different. But no campaign has been able to say it in a different way. We are bombarded by over 3,000 commercial messages every day, what on earth would make any of these Bermuda advertisements stick out? Blue sky, bluer water, people jumping into said blue water. Its all the same! WHY CAN’T WE DO ANYTHING DIFFERENT!?
BINGO!!
It does look good Wayne. Now we just need to send them back as happy ambassadors and try not to shock them with our “love”
I’d give the overall campaign a 7/10. Seems to be banking heavily on a retro feel, which in a way is truth in advertising with our rather dated product.
Of the video posted, I would say that for a 2 minute ad with 10 different shots of kids jumping off things, the guys of “Falling off the Rock” fame should get a slice of the $4.8 million! A jump every 12 seconds… LOL. Way to have an original thought!
This is So Much More Bull!
I don’t know if bdot is doing the bs-ing or the foreign advertising company they paid out the backside for but it’s obvious someone is. I’ve recently been on summer trips to some of these places the advertisements are “supposed” to be in & have not seen any on billboards or in their news papers. The sites they claim to advertise on have non of the ads though some can’t be counted because they are non existent like http://GolfingMagazine.com or they have jurisdictional google ads that are bought by the thousands in other jurisdictions by the companies there because they are soooo CHEAP so the competition for impressions is too fierce to even have a chance. As for the 51,600 facebook friends those are likes http://www.facebook.com/bermudatourism/likes not friends which is obvious click farming when it shows the place that has done most of the clicks is Dhaka Bangladesh where 35% of the population is below the poverty level. Someone must be paying a room full of people in Dhaka a dollar a day to click like on BOTs facebook. WHAT A FRAUD!
Where is the myriad of flowers (!) and the milti-coloured homes with white roofs in this video? They mention beauty, then show rocks.
They have missed the whole appeal of Bermuda. Bermuda is Beautiful, Close, Clean, Friendly, Safe, Quiet, Different. With plenty of Sunshine, Pink Sand Beaches, Turquoise Waters & Big Smiles to go around. What more could a visitor want?
I don’t think the new ad agency did their homework. I really don’t.
(I know most don’t think it is safe here… but it’s safer than most of the Islands to our south.)