With winter kicking in, tourism boards must double up on the creativity to ensure that interstate or overseas visitors still show up. With that in mind, Tourism Tasmania revealed the fifth edition of its Off Season campaign, executed by BMF Australia.

What does it take to create a multi-platform campaign and see it evolve over the years and respond to the market’s current needs? Casey Schweikert and Rees Steel, creative directors at BMF, share their insights.

Marketing Mag: Can you talk to us about the genesis of the ‘come down for air’ tagline for Tourism Tasmania?

Rees Steel: ‘Come Down For Air’ was BMF’s original pitch to Tasmania six years ago, and it’s a testament to what a knockout idea it is that it still hits as hard today. The work has evolved from that initial launch, but those four words still capture an undeniable truth about the island. Executions themselves can flex tonally, and obviously the Off Season has a feel of its own, but ‘Come Down For Air’ always helps bring it back to a very Tasmanian worldview. It’s a corker.

MM: How did you determine the content mix for this year’s campaign and the split across different channels/platforms?

Casey Schweikert: For us, it’s about getting more playful and surprising in where and how we show up. There was a focus on families and showing off some of the cosier offerings for this year’s Off Season, so we leaned into unexpected social formats and trends a bit more. We also expanded our suite of ‘Winter People’ portraits – shot by the phenomenal Jo Duck – to capture a range of characters and experiences people haven’t seen before.

MM: What are the key ingredients for captivating tourism-focused content?

RS: Tourism advertising tropes are so entrenched that our goal is usually to just invert the cliché. Beauty is table stakes, so what else do you reach for? Tasmania, in particular, is a place that is defined by its worldview as much as its landscape, so leaning into the islander perspective – not just the literal attractions or destinations – helps give anything we create a more distinctive voice.

MM: Tasmania is such a diverse destination in terms of what people can do and discover. With so many potential directions for the creative, how did you determine which elements to focus your content creation lens on?

CS: There’s no shortage of unique things going on during the Off Season, but we wanted to feature offers that helped people reimagine what a winter holiday in Tassie can be. It’s not about escaping to the sun or hitting the ski slopes. It’s a little wild and unconventional, from miniature villages, floating saunas, historic theatre tours to Tassie devil encounters. We picked whatever felt the most ownable to Tassie during the wintertime.

MM: How do you infuse ‘newness’ into a campaign that is now in its fifth year?

RS: ‘Long’ ideas like the Off Season give you the freedom to leave stuff unsaid, be more specific, more humane and way more interesting. The year one launch film doesn’t have to explain the whole strategy or pummel you with a checkbox montage. We’ve still got plenty left to talk about every year, and the Off Season just keeps growing. Tassie is a pretty special place, so the well is deep.

MM: Which element of the campaign for Tourism Tasmania

+stands out as your personal favourite or aspect that you are most proud of and why?

CS: I keep coming back to the TikTok video we made inspired by the headline “Cabin Fever Encouraged”. We had the talent portray going stir crazy through a range of poses from playing Jenga and wearing face masks to building a card castle and doing handstands. The talent were up for anything, even making their own pillow friend.

MM: A number of agencies and teams were involved in the campaign’s creation, delivery and rollout. What advice do you have for seamless collaboration that delivers for the shared client?

CS: A master Google Slides deck. Where would we be without that?
RS: Simplicity and potency. If agencies executing the same idea can’t just ‘get it’ and get on with it, the idea will never survive in the wild.

Photograph: Supplied 

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