Travel is not just about the things you do – whether that’s visiting a new destination, meeting its diverse people, or experiencing its one-of-a-kind events. It’s also about how it makes you feel.
Travelling to somewhere new ignites a smorgasbord of senses and emotions that stay with you long after the wheels of your return flight hit the tarmac.
Following months spent indoors, Aussies are more eager than ever to experience these sensations and refamiliarise themselves with the outside world, including their own backyard.
Destination NSW’s campaign, Feel New, developed in partnership with Leo Burnett and Havas Media, leverages this desire to develop emotional connection, inviting audiences to once again understand what visiting NSW feels like.
A recently released extension, Feel New Sydney, tightens the campaign’s focus on the state capital by showcasing the emotional medley summoned by the Harbour City’s enriching atmosphere and dazzling scenery.
Through a series of spots, social, digital display and activity across multiple channels, as well as the launch of Azure Ryder’s “Feeling Good” score, Destination NSW encourages all Aussies to immerse themselves in the bewildering landscapes, bustling cities, diverse communities, and enriching atmosphere of NSW and Sydney.
The Feel New 60-second clip is a sensorial experience in itself, showcasing the state’s bounty of spectacular landscapes, soundtracked by immersive storytelling, trickling crystal waters, native wildlife, breath-taking thunderstorms, and Ryder’s smooth rendition of the Nina Simone classic.
Building on top of this, the latest Feel New Sydney spot highlights the state capital’s unique locales, sizzling dishes, vibrant night-life culture and natural ambience.
While both spots compliment the campaign’s overall emphasis on emotional connection, Feel New Sydney further foregrounds the Harbour City as the state’s cultural and commercial pièce de resistance.
In a marketing sense, Feel New is a breath of fresh east coast air, representing a shift from traditional experience-led travel marketing to something more emotionally and corporeally attuned.
It’s a unified approach that forgoes activities and destinations, and instead highlights the unique sensory experiences NSW provides in order to reinvigorate excitement among outsiders looking to quench their travel thirst, particularly after some challenging years.
“We’re extremely proud of the partnership we’ve built with Destination NSW,” said Leo Burnett general manager, James Walker-Smith.
“We’ve built an ambitious brand platform that is the first time NSW and Sydney have been brought together under one, holistic idea.
“Feeling new is something that we can all relate to, and we’re delighted to be bringing this work into the world as we all start to look beyond the narrow horizons of lockdown.”
Leo Burnett executive creative director, Andy Fergusson, said it was an “exciting, yet challenging” task highlighting the environmental diversity of NSW.
“Rather than leading with activities and destinations, we focused on the myriad of feelings you’ll experience on a trip to NSW.
“Because, if you really get under the skin of NSW, you can’t help but Feel New. And right now, who wouldn’t want that?”
Havas Media Group head of integrated strategy and planning, Nick Kavanagh, said the agency wanted to “reassert” Sydney’s dominance in the national market by building on Destination NSW’s ongoing campaign with Feel New Sydney.
“As the beating heart of this incredible state, it was essential that in developing a strategic approach we were able to clearly and succinctly land Sydney’s key point of difference vs our competitors; it’s diversity and vibrancy.
“The subsequent media experience we developed with Destination NSW and our agency partners was driven by this sense of dynamism and variety and provides the perfect next chapter in the state’s Feel New narrative.”
The campaign aims to bolster NSW visitation and visitor spend by $A65 billion by 2030, further supporting the state government’s Visitor Economy Strategy.
Phase two of the Feel New platform will launch in February 2022, and we can’t wait to see what other sensory delights Destination NSW has in store.
