Tongan supporters have certainly drawn a lot of attention over the Rugby World Cup campaign and riding on the back of that enthusiasm comes the unveiling of the country’s new tourism campaign ‘Tonga – The True South Pacific’. Featuring a brand overhaul, the campaign comes courtesy of agency bcg2 and sister agency Mediacom.
In what was a lengthy pitch battle to win the account, bcg2 and Clemenger BBDO presented their creative prowess in Nuku’alofa to over 20 industry representatives, before bcg2 came out tops earlier this year.
The official launch for the event was held at Auckland’s Cloud, with more than 100 dignitaries, including Tongan Royalty, Tongan and New Zealand government ministers and diplomats, milling about with travel industry representatives, airline partners and tourism media.
The launch phase of the campaign is aimed at showcasing all the things that will make Tonga a true South Pacific experience in key tourism markets like New Zealand, Australia, the US and the UK. Among the campaign features is the redevelopment of Tonga’s brand image and communications — even key tourist infrastructure around Tonga has been redeveloped.
Online, the changes are clear. bcg2 and Mediacom teamed up with Yahoo in a rich media campaign leading to a completely redesigned Kingdom of Tonga website. The website is largely driven by image, with text taking a back seat to bold rotating photos that showcase Tongan life .
As for the chief executive of Tonga’s Ministry of Tourism, Sakopo Lolohea, he seems well chuffed with the results, saying “Tonga is now getting noticed in the marketplace as never before”.
