South Australian Tourism Commission

A tourism campaign to revive a recovering river region.

The Brief

Create a marketing campaign to encourage people to throw their support - and dollars - to impacted river communities.

Extreme rainfall and high river flows in NSW and Victoria in late 2022, led to a once-in-a-century flooding event in SA’s Riverland, Murray Lakes, and Coorong around Christmas 2022-23.

The State Government and SATC commissioned Fuller to develop a marketing campaign to boost river tourism by encouraging people to rise up for a river region in recovery.

The campaign’s goal was not just to raise awareness that Riverland businesses were struggling and would benefit from tourism visits, but that people could access vouchers for accommodation and experiences.

The ‘Rise up for our River’ campaign and River Revival Voucher program hit the shores, forming part of the State Government’s $4.6 million river tourism recovery plan to help support Murray River operators.

Service Provided
 Creative Campaigns, Film & Photography

The core insight was “River Revival”, a play on words that supported the brand tagline “Rise Up for our River”. This suggested that the South Australian public could play an important role in the recovery of the Riverland by accessing Revival vouchers.

The focus of the campaign was on real Riverland people (a.k.a Riverlanders) who were struggling with flood damage and closed businesses. These ‘heroes’ became the campaign spokespeople featured throughout the campaign.

With a close connection to South Australia’s regions, Fuller was pleased to be able to play our part in the recovery to help the Riverlanders get back on their feet.

The campaign showcases iconic river locations, highlights tourism operators along the river and calls on South Australians to throw their support to impacted river communities. It launched state-wide across TV advertising, radio, print, outdoor and newspaper wraparounds. It was also supported by substantial digital marketing and social media.

With a profound 5,000 registrations for our River Revival Vouchers in the opening 5 minutes to the public – even our Premier was impressed with the figures (watch video).

RESULTS

With three rounds of vouchers scheduled across the year, we were pleased to see the South Australian market Rise Up.

Round 01

  • 140,000

    Almost 140,000 people registered for the available experience and accommodation vouchers

  • $1.8 million

    $1.8 million generated in voucher bookings alone in the regions

Round 02

  • 110,000

    Just over 110,000 people registered for the available experience and accommodation vouchers.

  • $5.6 million

    $5.6 million generated in voucher bookings – almost doubling the broader economic impact of the first round