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Lessons Learned from the “Best Job In The World” Campaign

Okay, I applied for the job. So did everyone I know last year when Queensland, Australia conducted a highly visible marketing campaign aimed at increasing awareness of, and visits to, the region.

It was, essentially, a contest. But it was packaged as a job — for six months, the winning “applicant” would be flown first class to the Great Barrier Reef from anywhere in the world, where your only tasks would be to feed the dog, clean the pool from time to time, and blog about how amazing it is being there. All expenses paid. Oh, and a salary of USD$8,800 per month.

While traditional advertising and public relations supported the campaign, this was one that was won in social media.

The Wanderlust Report has a great set of lessons learned from this campaign.

• User-generated content will challenge your intestinal fortitude
• Social media costs more than you think
• It takes more effort than you can imagine
• Don’t try to make it viral
• Planning and execution are key
• Set goals so you can measure success
• Don’t try to fake it: you’ll get caught

My favourite job application (and not just because this guy is from Canada too):

<h2>Campaign Results:</h2>

• 34,680 job applications
• $390 Million AUD of publicity
• Australia tourism down, but Queensland tourism up 20%
• 50% of Australia trips now include a Queensland component

Don’t forget to check out Wanderlust’s complete resources on the topic:

1. Using Social Media In Destination Marketing
2. Queensland: Social Media or Integrated Campaign?
3. Key Takeaways from the Queensland Case Study
4. Social Media Best Practices in Destination Marketing

Petitions Go High Tech to Save a Rainforest

(NOTE: During this beta period, this is the only case study using the Regions category. Case studies will be categorized by region by the end of February.)

The Great Bear Rainforest is one of the few truly wild places remaining in B.C. until a few years ago, there were no concrete, long-term plans in place to preserve it.

To try to pressure the provincial government to ratify a protection agreement, Greenpeace Canada, ForestEthics, and the Sierra Club of B.C. launched the “Keep the Promise: Save the Great Bear Rainforest” campaign in fall 2008. Capulet Communications was brought onboard to run the social media components, which included a Facebook group that attracted more than 4,000 members and became the hub for online activities. Other tactics used included a “Bear Your Soul” Flickr Contest, local blogger outreach, and both Twitter and YouTube presences.

In the end, the government promise to protect one third of the globally significant rainforest was fulfilled. Full Case Study

Carnival Cruise Lines Uses Social Media To Promote Sales

Carnival Cruise Lines thinks it’s pioneered the use of social media to build customer loyalty and satisfaction. Its campaign included launching a blog, a Twitter stream, Flickr photostreams, and a web site offering a virtual interactive tour, an online community/ social network offering photo/ story sharing, scrapblogging, trip planning, event organizing. The target audience was travel agents and new as well as existing customers. The results — more than one million hits on the web site and more than 20,000 online bookings Case Study

Humana Uses Social Media To Promote Freewheelin Initiative

Humana, one of America’s largest and most reputed health-care companies, is using social media to promote its new initiative: Freewheelin’, a bicycle sharing program with a community of health-friendly participants at its core. The social media campaign started with identifying biker groups in each city using Meetup.com and arranging group rides for word-of-mouth initiatives. Participants were given information sheets about Freewheelin and encouraged to upload their videos and photos. A Facebook page, a blog, blogger outreach program and Twitter stream were then adopted. The results – 41,000 miles ridden and 1.2 million calories burned in total Case Study

Online Video Campaign for Mission Skincare

Mission Skincare hired Swirl to promote a new personal product – high performance, athlete-engineered skincare. The objective was to increase brand awareness online and drive traffic to Mission Skincare’s website. Swirl reached out to influencers and consumers and giving them the product free for testing. Swirl used a Flickr Photo Finish Group encouraging people to share their training secrets. Charlie Engle, a partner athlete used twitter to promote the product as he ran across USA. A Facebook community, a dedicated blog and YouTube Channel were also used in the promotion. The results – up to 60 visits a day on Mission Skincare website Case Study

Purnia Launches Web Platform To Enhance Traffic

Purnia with an objective to realistically add original content and grab the attention of pet lovers so that they could return to the site, launched a web platform called Pet Charts, a definitive guide to the best pet-related photos, videos articles and blog posts online. The web platform was developed to so that in a single visit pet-lovers could get their fix of funny, entertaining and informative content and the entire experience was presented by Purina. It also had an option where the visitors could vote for their favorites to move them higher up the charts. The results have been very impressive as Pet Charts has quickly grown into one of Purina’s top 5 most-trafficked properties and has turned to be a favorite of the pet community. Case study