VisitSweden asked us to raise the awareness of a little known area called Skane in Sweden, as part of the country's drive to be recognised as a short break summer destination
However, in 2009 the recession and weak pound meant that it was easier and cheaper for many to holiday in the UK, even the well-traveled middle classes were entertaining the notion of taking a holiday within the UK.
In addition to this challenge, we had a very small budget for the entire campaign, including production and media, so we needed to pull above our weight.
After a bit of research into our target audience of urban young professionals, we identified that they were strongly averse to, and cynical of, traditional forms of travel advertising. Instead they were sophisticated users of digital media, and especially comfortable watching online content and using social networks.
It was also clear from our research that the audience shuddered at the thought of bumping into loud-mouthed yobbish Brits abroad. It's everything they despise about their own country. So we decided to play on this fear and dramatize their worst nightmare while showcasing the idyllic alternative, a short break in picturesque Skane.
We created 4 short film webisodes that feature 'Dave', a parody of the cliched British 'yob' abroad, humorously brought to life with a voiceover by Simon Day of 'The Fast Show' fame. In each film Dave traveled around a different part of Skane and made disparaging and colourful remarks about everything he saw. Be it a stunning coastal scene, cultured cafe or beautiful location, nothing ever satisfied Dave's unique tastes. At the end of the day, he'd prefer to be in Southend.
Through a seeding campaign and social media presence on Facebook and Twitter, over 210,000 views of the films and over 2,000 blog posts were generated. The campaign drove almost 11,000 enquiries for more information from the VisitSweden website and Skane has seen a 10% increase year-on-year for sales. The webisodes also gained widespread industry praise, including being shortlisted for a Webby award and voted 2nd best digital ad of 2009 by Campaign magazine.