Goldfields. Leave a Little Richer Brand Campaign – a great family destination
Following brand marketing activity delivered in May-July 2009 and activity during December 2009, Goldfields Tourism is again promoting the region to key interstate markets.
The previous campaigns have been successful for the region with consumers reacting to them, viewing our website and booking operator packages.

We are now in the midst of an autumn campaign, promoting the region to families.  A radio campaign is rolling out in Adelaide, Canberra and southern New South Wales and being supported by an online AdWords campaign to ensure we pick up potential visitors that heard the radio adverts but anyone looking for great family holiday ideas.  Families will be encouraged to book specially designed family friendly packages to ensure they have a great time in the region.  

To further promote the Goldfields message in these interstate markets an electronic direct mail (eDM) was sent out to a database of 40,000 people, giving them the chance to win a holiday in Goldfields.  All entries received will also have their details added to our consumer database so will receive our future seasonal electronic newsletter.

This marketing activity will be backed up by another burst in May, this time promoting the region to couples without children.  This activity will use a mix of print advertisements and interactive online banner ads to encourage visitors to book value added holidays in the Goldfields. 

There are still opportunities for operators to participate in this winter campaign.  Please contact Jo Pincus for more information. 

During December 2009 Goldfields Tourism ran a small Google AdWords campaign to help keep the Goldfields name in the minds of people looking for summer holiday ideas.  The campaign ran for 18 days during December and in that short time delivered over 4,400 new visitors to visitgoldfields.com.au.  The campaign is measured by the click through rate (industry jargon based on the number of people who click on your Goggle search result) and our campaign had a rate of 2.41%. 

This number may seem small but for these sorts of campaigns it is an excellent result.   A similar campaign for another Victoria tourism region had a click through rate of 0.65% (which at the time they though was good!). Following these great results we were determined to use Google AdWords again for our 2010 activity. 

Some of you may be aware of the Great Dividing Trail, a significant Trail that runs through our region, stretching from Ballarat to Bendigo with another branch that runs from Daylesford to Bacchus Marsh.   Started up by the Great Dividing Trail Association over 15 years ago this is a significant natural asset for our region.

However for some time now Goldfields Tourism Goldfields Tourism in conjunction with the Great Dividing Trail Association and their mountainbiking sub-committee, Parks Victoria, Conservation Volunteers Australia and People and Parks Foundation has been working together to develop and improve the 190km section of Track that links Ballarat to Bendigo.  The aim is to rebrand the Track the Goldfields Track and develop a quality shared use experience to be enjoyed by both bushwalkers and mountainbikers. 

In December 2009 this Project Committee via Goldfields Tourism successfully secured a $500,000 Commonwealth Government TQUAL Tourism Development Grant to make the Goldfields Track project a reality.

Thanks to additional support from our Project partners and the four local government Shires that are home to the Track (City of Ballarat, Hepburn Shire, Mount Alexander Shire and the City of Greater Bendigo) this is now a $1,000,000 project that will see the Goldfields offering an exciting and unique nature base tourism experience.

When completed the Goldfields Track will be unique to Australia.  Yes there are other Tracks and Trails that are open to both walkers and bikers but they are rail trail style.  What will make the Goldfields Track so different is the combination of bush immersion, high quality supporting tourism product and experiences at various locations along the Track and easy access from Melbourne by both own or public transport.

With a finish date of 31 March 2011, this is a very exciting project for the Goldfields region.  As the project progresses we look forward to keeping you updated on the works and how local tourism operators can get involved.

Public Relations for the Goldfields

The Goldfields Tourism appointed public relations (PR) agency Q Strategies has been working hard to develop PR opportunities for the Goldfields.  Activity is designed to both support and build on the marketing activity being delivered.

A number of results have already been delivered and more are in the pipe line including some exciting media familiarisations. 
Some results to date are:

• Herald Sun newspaper, 18 December : Win a Goldfields Holiday profiled in the Herald Sun on
• Border Watch newspaper, 15 – 17 December:  Win a Goldfields Holiday profiled in the (covers towns in and around the Victoria South Australia border area)
• Herald Sun, Friday Escape section 5 February – 101 Great Festivals of Victoria feature.  Q Strategies managed to get 11 of our events and Festivals listed.   A great result indeed.

We’ll keep you informed as more media results come to hand and copies of articles will be put on www.goldfields.org.au for you to view.

If you would like to find out more about any of the above activities, including how you can be involved, or register on a database to receive updates on marketing opportunities please contact Goldfields Tourism Project Manager, Jo Pincus at see1@vic.australis.com.au

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