Visit Sunshine Coast (VSC) has unveiled ‘For real’ as the destination’s new brand tagline, following the launch of a campaign by the same name.
The VSC team shared the news with over 240 members at its annual general meeting and end-of-year networking celebration at the new Night Quarter venue on the Sunshine Coast.
VSC’s interim chief executive, Craig Davidson, said ‘For real’ had been developed over the past 18 months in partnership with creative agency Banjo, but took on new relevance following the COVID-19 pandemic, with extensive research highlighting travellers’ desires for authentic, nature-based and real experiences.
“The new branding segues from our previous ‘Naturally refreshing’ tagline, which has served us well for the past 10 years, but our research showed was no longer setting us apart in the marketplace,” he said.
“Instead, we recognised the increasing importance of authenticity and nature in people’s travel choices, and the new ‘For real’ brand resonated strongly with travellers.
Davidson said the new tagline will be instrumental in driving VSC’s marketing activities into the next decade as it looks to position the Sunshine Coast as one of Australia’s most desired, premium destinations for families, couples, groups and business events.
“It builds on the region’s unique natural advantage of being home to many of Australia’s most pristine environments, including uncrowded beaches, two UNESCO biosphere reserves, a World Heritage marine park, the dramatic Glass House Mountains and sub-tropical rainforest of the Sunshine Coast Hinterland,” he said.
“What has progressed so strongly is being able to offer tourism experiences that match the environment, and this brand is just as much about recognising those experiences, the people, culture, food and lifestyle that make up the fabric of the Sunshine Coast.”
The new brand tagline follows in the footsteps of VSC’s latest marketing campaign, also named ‘For real’.
VSC has partnered with online travel platforms Wotif.com and Experience Oz for the campaign, with phase two offering consumers mid-week ‘Real Deals’ on the Sunshine Coast to help further drive bookings to local tourism operators.
Davidson said the launch of the new tagline was perfectly timed with the recent appointment of VSC’s new boss, Matt Stoeckel, who will take up his position with the tourism board in early 2021.
