WOW Branding

If you follow the news (and you do..), you’ve probably seen the media hoopla around “the best job in the world”. It may be a job posting, but what it really is, is one of the most brilliant PR campaigns I’ve seen in a long time. The value of the global coverage and attention it has created, is beyond measurement. Queensland, Australia has been associated with the image of a tropical paradise in the minds of millions of people around the world. It probably is (Great Barrier Reef and all..), but know we all know.

Enter Alberta, Canada. Another part of the world that have been blessed with jaw dropping scenic beauty. Recently this Canadian province launched a new website promoting Alberta. It also got a lot of attention, but for the wrong reasons. It turned out that one of the photos used on the site was, in fact, showing a British landscape. And all hell broke loose.

Yes, it does seem a bit weird to use a photo from the UK to portrait the natural wonders of Alberta. Authenticity being the key word.

But that’s not my point.

Both Queensland and Alberta had the same objective and the same tactic. How the hell do we break through the noise and get some attention (and tourist dollars..) going our way?  Let’s have a website developed and support with some PR. The similarities stop there.

What a different approach - and result. One being truly innovative and putting Queensland on the dream destination map. The other being painfully traditional and executed in a way, that gave it it’s 15 minutes of fame for all the wrong reasons.

Game over.