New Caledonia Tourism was in the process of re-launching their brand and destination with the aim of developing a new integrated communication campaign designed to boost Australian and New Zealand visitation to New Caledonia. We devised an integrated campaign after extensive research to boost Australian visitation to the country by focusing on one of the key selling points in the Pacific Islands – ‘the gourmet’.

With the support of the campaign, Australian visitor arrivals to New Caledonia increased by 11% in 2008, with arrivals now over 18,000 a year. In an annual survey of visitors in 2007 the main reason people chose to visit New Caledonia was for relaxation (46% of respondents) followed by water activity (16%), culture (14%) and gourmet (12%). Just 12 months later, following the launch of the campaign, gourmet became the number one reason for travel to New Caledonia (26%). The figures also come with the news that New Caledonia has been listed as one of the top 10 travel destinations for Australians, as announced by Travel.com.au.

As a result of this achievement, our campaign was awarded an International Public Relations Association (IPRA) Golden World Award for Excellence in Public Relations, for ‘Positioning New Caledonia as one of the best gourmet experiences outside of France’ in the Travel and Tourism category.

International Brand Strategy and Project Summary
As part of a new focus on the specialities of New Caledonia, we also launched a major campaign to promote the destination as the ultimate haven for New Expiences. To resonate with our target group, celebrity chef Gabriel Gate was appointed as the Gourmet Ambassador for New Caledonia and produced a definitive gourmet guide so Australians and New Zealanders can savour the French Melanesian fare like a local, creating a memorable experience that was more than a Fly and Flop Holiday. We also teamed with Lonely Planet and produced a special edition “Fast French” tailored to the destination’s need.

Bon Appétit is a 20 page tabloid style guide that shares some of New Caledonia’s best kept gourmet secrets. The guide will help fill the information gap by pointing out to Australians exactly what there is to experience. The guide, which has been developed with New Caledonia’s Gourmet Ambassador, Gabriel Gaté, includes a restaurant guide, interviews and recipes with some of the destination’s leading chefs, notes on both French and local produce and handy DIY hints.

Supporting marketing collateral, TV Commercials and a print campaign was also produced to help solidify our campaigns aim. I worked very closely with the client to establish their needs and developed all the concepts for our integrated campaign acorss multiple media platforms for our audiences in New Zealand and Australia.