WHAT YOU CALL COOL, WE CALL HOLLAND. The campaign that inspired Americans to get hip to visiting Holland
SITUATION ANALYSIS The US is an important global market for Holland tourism that yields nearly 1 million visitors each year. Following a challenging economic climate in the US in 2012, four destination marketing organizations - each with a vested interest in increasing US arrivals and expenditures to Holland – came together to address how to maintain a competitive advantage in the US market. To evaluate and address the situation, the Netherlands Board of Tourism & Conventions, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, Amsterdam Marketing, and Amsterdam Airport Schiphol formed a three-year joint marketing partnership to raise awareness of Holland as a leisure travel destination in the minds of American target audiences.
GOALS
“The key message concentrated on challenging American travelers’ perceptions of Holland by revealing what Holland uniquely offers – a centuries old cultural fabric that vibes with what Americans currently consider cool.”
• Position Holland as a leading travel destination against other European destinations • Leverage American perceptions of Holland in new, innovative, and inspiring ways • Build an intent among US travelers to add Holland to their travel wish lists and ultimately book a trip • Grow the US arrivals market into Holland year over year to defend and maintain market share
EXECUTION
Holland. The Original Cool. To show American travelers why Holland should be at the top of their travel lists, a video strategy was decided as the best medium to showcase the messages of the campaign while also providing an opportunity for shareable content. The key message concentrated on challenging American travelers’ perceptions of Holland by revealing what Holland uniquely offers – a centuries old cultural fabric that vibes with what Americans currently consider cool. In short: what you (Americans) call cool, we call Holland. Come visit! To bring this to fruition, Mustache was selected amongst a competitive review of agencies and tasked with the creative production and execution of the campaign, which began in May 2013. The launch video was designed to inspire Americans to visit Holland, starting with Amsterdam, a city with wide recognition in the US that celebrated a milestone year in 2013. A dedicated landing page for the campaign, www.holland.com/cool, was created as a companion to the video by providing additional travel planning content and tips to help engage our audience and encourage them to book a trip to Holland. Within just a few days after the launch, it was clear that the situation was effectively addressed and the campaign was effective. “Holland. The Original Cool.” was off to become a global success.
RESULTS
5
AWARDS
100k+ SOCIAL ENGAGEMENTS
1MIL+ VIEWS
2014 Adrian Awards Gold & Platinum Award Digital Marketing, Video
2014 Communicator Awards Best Branded Content, Business to Consumer (Online Video) & Best Online Video, Travel
TEDxAMSTERDAM You call it Holland, we call it home. wecomeinpeace11 now that’s what I call advertising
2014 Gold Magellan Award Best Destination Promotional Video
Harold B. How to promote Amsterdam differently! Great! Grant Martin Holland Tourism is managing to get their Holland Cool Campaign to go viral. Nice work.
The launch video earned over 1 million views on Youtube alone in the campaign’s first four months. During this time it also delivered an average retention rate of over 70% a clear indication that Holland was commanding serious attention.
INSIGHTS Now, in the third year of the campaign, there are key takeaways and insights that continue to be a driving force behind of the success of “Holland. The Original Cool.”: • Local Market Knowledge: Understanding what messaging resonates with local target audiences • Content: Using compelling and engaging content to move Holland up Americans’ travel wish lists • Collaboration: Developing partnerships aligned toward a common strategic goal can strengthen a campaign • Creativity: taking risks in the creative process that are well-calculated yields rewards
