| Title | FLANDERLUST |
| Brand | VLAANDEREN VAKANTIELAND (FLANDERS VACATION LAND) |
| Product/Service | HOLIDAY STAYS IN FLANDERS |
| Category |
B01. Challenger Brand Strategy |
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Entrant
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ABSOLUUT Wijgmaal, BELGIUM
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Idea Creation
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ABSOLUUT Wijgmaal, BELGIUM
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Media Placement
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ABSOLUUT Wijgmaal, BELGIUM
|
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Media Placement 2
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ABSOLUUT Wijgmaal, BELGIUM
|
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Production
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ABSOLUUT Wijgmaal, BELGIUM
|
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Production 2
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ABSOLUUT Wijgmaal, BELGIUM
|
Credits
| Ronny Schildermans |
Absoluut |
Creative Director |
| Joris Mateusen |
Absoluut |
Strategic director |
| Sofie Van Hellemont |
Absoluut |
Account Director |
| Tine van Hove |
Absoluut |
Client Services Director |
| Thomas Klein |
Absoluut Zulu |
Head of digital |
| Adriaan De Raymaeker |
Absoluut Zulu |
Social media strategist |
| Maggie Schaiko |
Absoluut |
Strategist |
| Steven Van Der Auwera |
Absoluut |
Art Director |
| Thomas Van Camp |
Absoluut |
Copywriter |
| Astrid Vanwolleghem |
Absoluut |
Design director |
| Geert Cleynen |
Absoluut |
Brand director |
| Ward Van Brussel |
Absoluut |
Graphic Designer |
| Daphné Goossens |
Absoluut |
Graphic Designer |
| Margot Descamps |
Absoluut |
Account manager |
| Glenn De Clerq |
Absoluut |
Digital project manager |
| Ella Van Capellen |
Absoluut |
Editor |
| Tom Uytterhoeven |
Absoluut Zulu |
Digital campaign manager |
| Maxim Van Wezenbeeck |
Absoluut Zulu |
Social copywriter |
Summary
A holiday in your own country? Boring! The Belgians rather escape to more 'exotic' neighbours such as France, Spain or Italy. The grass seems always so much greener on the other side, especially when a city hop to Barcelona or Paris is just a mere 80 euros away.
After working behind the scenes from August 2018, the Flanders Vacation Land campaign was launched in May 2019. We had the audacity to put Flanders - a little-known Belgian region - on the world map.
During our research, we found out that logistics alone wasn’t the culprit. What’s really hurting inland tourism had more to do with negative Flemish perceptions towards their own “rather boring” country. So there’s never been a desire or incentive to find out what’s really hidden in back of their own backyards.
We knew we couldn’t convince people to see what they didn’t believe. But we could go along with their preferences and play the domestic card with international flair.
Our creative strategy was to distinctly pair 'unknown, but exotic and stunning' Flemish views to world famous destinations - by using descriptive names to evoke jaw-dropping comparisons. We created “new eyes” to see all that they’ve missing - right before their eyes.
Although our strategic plan for Flanders Vacation Land was strictly regional, the impact was more mind-altering. We made best use of outdoor and social media with visually astonishing Flemish landscapes - on buses and at train stations.
The campaign was highly targeted in hyperlocality. For instance, if you were in Antwerp, you only saw Flemish destinations on the other side, and vice versa.
Though our primary goal was to encourage the Flemish to travel more inland. The greater impact was to make them consider their home country as a go-to travel destination.
Early results show:
1) branded search on holidays in Flanders increased x 5
Or: 5 times more people looked for destinations/trips/stays/holidays in Flanders through Google.
2) + 18% unique web visits on site in campaign period (blended organic and paid)
3) + 12% valuable website interactions (newsletter subscribes/clicks on ‘more information’ buttons/‘clicks on ‘book’ buttons)
4) + 3,4 % bookings in the first part of 2019 (in the Flemish regions)
5) and on top of this, a recent Flemish tourism survey revealed a whopping 72% of Flemish would recommend Flanders as a holiday destination!
In Flanders Vacation Land, we ultimately show how sustainable travel can be better for the long run – good for the environment, for local tourism, and for ourselves. It was an irresistible package of exciting new destinations that’s not just closer to home - all of Flanders in just under 2 hours. It’s also cheaper and a whole lot climate-friendlier.
The Belgians don’t have a tendency to heap praise for their country – so the result is that visitors are almost always pleasantly surprised by what they find. Why not the Flemish themselves?
Please tell us about the challenger brand and how your campaign challenged / was different from your competitors
Instead of competing with more attractive destinations, we used them in our favour. We challenged local assumptions and their embedded cultural biases that Flanders is generic and boring to a “never-seen-before” category. What we have seen can no longer be unseen and that’s how new curiosity is sparked. But the change doesn’t lie in just revealing hidden beauty in Flanders, it’s exchanging the provincial look for a global one.