How native content helped Destination Gold Coast shed ‘schoolies’ image

How native content helped Destination Gold Coast shed ‘schoolies’ image
Edited by Travel Weekly


    Native content marketing expert Avid Collective invited speakers from We Are Explorers, ARE Media’s Gourmet Traveller, and Destination Gold Coast for a travel marketing masterclass held in Sydney yesterday.

    Native marketing allows brands to collaborate with publishers – such as Gourmet Traveller – to create content pieces that fit the natural feel of the website.

    Destination Gold Coast successfully harnessed native content to change long-held perceptions of the Queensland tourism hot spot. Widely known as a mecca for school holiday family tourists and ‘schoolies’, Destination Gold Coast teamed up with a range of publishers to shift perceptions of the Gold Coast, helping to drive bookings outside peak season, and with a broader audience set.

    The Destination Gold Coast team worked with Avid Collective to create 370 content pieces across 39 publishers in just 12 months, reaching the publishers’ desired audience demographic to promote the Gold Coast’s broad experiences across adventure, friends, culinary, romance and relaxation.

    Luke Spano, managing director at Avid Collective, said the Destination Gold Coast case study was just one example of the potential return-on-investment of a tourism-led native content campaign.

    “The format of native content allows brands to create a more informative, educative, and emotive message than traditional mediums. Marketers can truly shape their brand story and speak directly to their target audience, which is critical when you’re trying to shift perceptions or reach new markets, rather than just hammer sales,” Spano said.

    “Through this content masterclass, we’re hoping to share our industry-leading knowledge around native content and why it’s so critical for tourism and travel brands. Post-pandemic, travel is firmly back on the agenda for most Australians and they’re actively looking for both domestic and overseas locations to visit.

    “For travel brands, the challenge is how to cut-through and reach travellers while they’re planning their trips, and native content is the perfect way to stand out from the crowd,” Spano concluded.

    Email the Travel Weekly team at traveldesk@travelweekly.com.au

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