BAHAMAS TOURIST OFFICE UK WINS COVETED MARKETING AWARD
The revolutionary 14 Islands Film Challenge media campaign has captured a coveted award from the top online travel media, Travolution.
The Bahamas Tourist Office UK won the prestigious award for the Best Use of Social Media. The announcement follows a period when visits to the Bahamas’ UK website increased by a significant 50% since videos from the agency’s 14 Islands Film Challenge were shown on the site beginning in March this year.
The awards judges nominated The Bahamas entry for its originality, innovation and for being fun. They thought the campaign was well-blended across a range of different media channels, was backed up by a fantastic website and great content. The campaign was also commended for having created something that had longevity and was not just a one off. Following Tourism Queensland’s hugely successful ‘best job in the world’ campaign, the judges said the bar had been set very high for tourist boards but that The Bahamas had reached it.
The 14 Islands Film Challenge, devised and implemented by travel marketing agency Fox Kalomaski, comprised a nationwide competition to find the UK’s most talented aspiring filmmakers. At the same time, it would highlight 14 of The Bahamas’ charming islands and build unprecedented awareness of the country throughout the UK. The challenge was created to drive traffic to www.bahamas.co.uk, and a huge level of entries was generated solely by a social media campaign.
Tommy Thompson, Deputy Director General, Bahamas Tourist Office, comments: “My thanks to everyone concerned for all the hard work to achieve this prestigious award. There has been a fantastic consumer response to a campaign in which The Bahamas Tourist Office has embraced fully integrated digital marketing for the first time. We’re really excited that Fox Kalomaski’s approach enabled us to give rising stars in the UK film industry the opportunity to create content, involve The Bahamian people and showcase The Bahamas as a fantastic holiday destination.”
Other organizations shortlisted for the Best Use of Social Media award were Air France KLM, TripAdvisor, Eurostar, Travelzoo, Lancashire and Blackpool Tourist Board, Travelfusion and Winchester City Council.
