Just after 7am on September 27, a sharp whirring click was heard on a Samoan beach as a camera captured the dramatic unfurling of a South Pacific sunrise.
Within minutes the striking image, taken by Gold Coast-based photographer Garry Norris, had been uploaded to photo-sharing platform Instagram and tagged with the #helloworldrelay hashtag, marking the start of a ground-breaking social media campaign from agency group Helloworld.
Designed to coincide with World Tourism Day, the innovative relay campaign filled the next 36 hours with images taken in 80 locations, starting at the westernmost point in the world and making its way around the globe past powdered desert dunes, turquoise turrets, hot air balloon-sprinkled skies and glassy azure seas before finishing up back in the South Pacific with sunset in the Cook Islands.
The photos were uploaded to Instagram by 80 “influencers”, known for their impact on the social media stage worldwide, but the snapping snowballed as non-official Instagrammers from across the world seized upon the hashtag, throwing their own photos into the mix.
The campaign’s reach was enhanced by a partnership with Adshel, with Helloworld becoming the launch partner for the company’s real-time outdoor “live screens”.
Speaking with Travel Weekly, Helloworld’s chief marketing officer Kim Portrait explained that the campaign was about far more than simply generating beautiful and inspirational imagery.
“We were firstly looking for a way to increase awareness of our brand, but to do so in a way that showcased our expertise,” she said, adding it was specifically designed to reinforce its “Experts in Everywhere” tagline which was unveiled at its Owner Managers Conference in October. To that end, once the destinations were selected and the relevant partnerships put in place, Helloworld chose agents from within its ranks to design the “perfect itinerary” for those locations.
“So the images that we collected on the day were sourced from places featured in our expert agents’ itineraries and from the amazing things to do in those places that our experts know about.”
The relay was also used to generate interest ahead of the company’s global sale which ran from September 30 to October 6.
A few highlights from the #helloworldRELAY included:
- 16,515 Instagram posts, 5,391 tweets and 1,077 Facebook interactions for #helloworldRELAY
- Over 60 countries participated with over 22.8 million audience reach on Instagram alone
- Over 10,000 enquiries from customers over a seven day sales period
- 360,000 engagements across Helloworld social channels took place
- The most Instagrammed images included the USA (839), Thailand (707), New South Wales (693), Oman (444) and England (412) which interestingly reflect many of the most loved destinations for Australian travels and emerging destinations
- 29 Instameets of all shapes and sizes were hosted across the globe from 70 participants on a double decker bus in Hobart, by sea on paddleboards in Lord Howe Island to an underground river in Palawan, the Philippines, kayaking in Cornwall, England and the top of Blackcomb Mountain in Whistler, Canada.
:The successful global sale we hosted immediately after the relay also showed that we were able to turn lookers into bookers of travel with increases in sales,” Portrate continued.
“We couldn’t be more proud of the results that we have seen from the #helloworldRELAY and really want to thank Australian and global participants, our agents and our travel partners for showing us what a wonderfully diverse and beautiful place planet earth really is.”
The campaign is part of a wider social media strategy for Helloworld, with many more campaigns to follow over the next year.
“We know travellers are using social media to become inspired, to look, research and then book,” Portrate said. “Having an active presence in social media can help establish our brand position as experts, grow brand awareness and increase customer engagement.”
