Gold Coast spends big $$ to remind everyone it’s still here

Gold Coast spends big $$ to remind everyone it’s still here
By Hannah Edensor


Gold Coast Tourism is betting big on its new campaign, splashing multiple millions on its new brand platform and messaging, ‘We Are Gold Coast’, just in case you forgot.

Years in the making, the new platform is putting people at the centre and attempting to scrap the perceptions of a trashy, party-hard destination. Instead, it’s marketing its ‘unforgettable moments’.

Locals are the heartbeat of the We Are Gold Coast brand. The brand creative features local families, couples, groups of friends, even stalwarts of the sea like the Burleigh Longboarders coming together to showcase their home with the world.

“Creating an authentic, compelling destination brand is vital to our success,” chief marketing officer Jan Hutton said.  “The We Are Gold Coast brand platform is part of a broader marketing strategy that will lead the growth of the city’s $5 billion visitor economy through to 2020.

“Unlike some other destinations, ours is a brand that belongs to us all – a public collaboration of the stories from us as destination marketers, and importantly from our locals who host our travellers, from our valued travellers who are temporary locals when they’re here, from our influencers and from our dynamic industry.

“We’re all storytellers at heart and the people of the Gold Coast are the heart of our new destination brand. It’s about conversations and relationships more than just campaigns. It is our collective promise of what people experience here, how they feel when they’re on the Gold Coast.”

“Through two years of research and consultation, we’ve discovered that what distinguishes the Gold Coast in an ever-increasing world of choice for travellers is not our beaches or theme parks; instead, it’s the unmistakable life affirming energy that lives here.”

Industry and political heavyweights were quick to throw their support behind the new We Are Gold Coast positioning.

“This is a destination where people genuinely have exceptionally good lifestyles, and we are passionate about our backyard,” said Bob East, CEO Mantra Group, Chair of Tourism and Events Queensland and Board Member of Tourism Australia.

“You can have a great idea at the wrong time and it won’t work. I think this is a great idea at the right time,” Craig Davidson, CEO Dreamworld added.

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