Tourism Fiji has engaged marketing heavy hitters to attract business back to its shores. The Where Happiness Finds You campaign is just the beginning of a program that will see Fiji claw back market share.
The culmination of a new global strategic direction embracing new branding, a new website design, social media and PR, the new advertising campaign is a series of 60, 30 and 15 second TVCs which will go to air around the world this weekend.
Devised by New Zealand-based advertising agency, Colenso BBDO, the commercials reflect consumer insight which identified Fiji as the Happiest Place in the World in the 2011 WinGallup Global Barometer of Happiness.
CEO of Tourism Fiji, Rick Hamilton said this finding provided the perfect opportunity for the development of a new creative platform: ‘Fiji – where happiness finds you’.
“When you think about it, the whole world is continually looking for happiness,” Mr Hamilton explained. “But actually, it’s Fijians, the people who are trying the least, who have it the most.
“We wanted to demonstrate why Fiji is the happiest place in the world and ultimately to show how this happiness can be transferred to our visitors.”
Mr Hamilton said the brief was to develop the brand and strategy to represent the essence of Fiji – the people’s spirit and friendliness, the place and the experiences.
“Fiji offers an idyllic environment and diversity of experiences and this gives it a unique identity,” Mr Hamilton added. “The locals make our visitors smile and feel happy and we also wanted to demonstrate the culture and choices offered on our group of serene and relaxing tropical islands.”
The campaign features TVCs using brand themes that best represent Fiji: happiness, relaxation, families, romance, surfing and adventure. One TVC showcases the beauty of Fiji and the second conveys the happiness it makes you feel – more than anywhere else in the world.
“This is crucial, because it’s what sets Fiji apart from other island destinations. They all have beautiful beaches, sun and clear water, but none of them make you feel the way Fiji does,” Mr Hamilton said.
The campaign was shot over two weeks on location in Fiji in the Mamanuca and Yasawa island groups, Denarau, Nadi, the highlands and the Coral Coast on Viti Levu and Tavenui in the north.
Originally scheduled for late 2012, it was delayed until May 2013 due to the December cyclone that affected so much of the tourism industry in Fiji, with many islands and resorts suffering significant damage.
The Colenso BBDO creative team behind the shoot is Creative Chairman, Nick Worthington,
Art Directors Brett Colliver and James Tucker, Copywriter Simon Vicars (ranked the 5th best copywriter in the world), Head of Art, Mike Davison.
Derek Henderson was responsible for photography and the filming in conjunction with the company Curious, based out of NZ. One of the most renowned and dynamic photographers in the Southern Hemisphere, he spent the better part of the last 20 years in New York, London and Los Angeles before returning to New Zealand in 2007.
