New tourism campaign from Destination Gold Coast promotes Australia’s playground

The Gold Coast is moving away from its last controversial tourism campaign with a $2.5 million rebranding. WATCH THE AD

GOLD Coast tourism leaders want visitors to “come and play” on the Glitter Strip in a $2.5 million ad campaign to launch today.

Featuring billboard and TV spots in Australia’s biggest cities, the new campaign unashamedly embraces the Gold Coast’s “famous for fun” reputation in a move away from recent efforts to present the city as a more highbrow destination.

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Replacing the controversial “We are Destination Gold Coast” slogan, the “Australia’s playground” rebranding plays to the region’s famous strengths of beaches, theme parks and good times, with an emphasis on inviting families to “come and play”.

Two years ago, a campaign under the “We are Destination Gold Coast” branding was criticised for making only minor mention of the city’s theme parks, but there is no danger of that this time around with the parks, who collaborated on the campaign, playing a starring role in new TV ads to roll out in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne.

A succession of previous tourism campaigns highlighted the region’s growing sophistication, but Destination Gold Coast CEO Annaliese Battista made no apology for returning the focus to the Glitter Strip’s best-known attractions.

“We are being unapologetic and bold in playing to Gold Coast’s strength as Australia’s best holiday destination for families, with an offering that’s second to none,” she said.

The new campaign emphasises family fun and theme parks.

“By positioning the Gold Coast as Australia’s playground, the campaign highlights the many different ways families can ‘play’ on the Gold Coast – from theme parks, to the iconic beaches, the lush tropical rainforest and the casual outdoor family-friendly dining scene.”

Village Roadshow Theme Parks CEO Clark Kirby said the campaign showcased the Gold Coast as Australia’s holiday playground.

“Our theme parks are an iconic part of the Gold Coast and we are proud to work on this campaign which we know will bring visitors to the Coast,” he said.

New Dreamworld CEO John Osborne said good visitor numbers to the Gold Coast meant good results for theme parks.

“There’s a lot of common ground and we think the target market for the campaign is exactly the sort of target market we are after,” he said.

In the year to September, domestic visitor numbers to the Gold Coast fell 2.1 per cent, but that downturn was tempered by a significant increase in visitor spending.

It is hoped the new campaign will spark a surge in tourist numbers.

Originally published as New tourism campaign from Destination Gold Coast promotes Australia’s playground