G Adventures (a Canadian company) entered the Australian market with little brand recognition or market share. It was operating in an extremely competitive environment with several other well-known brands (many of which were Australian owned and operated). The company needed to increase its brand awareness among Australian travellers to become first-to-mind when considering small group adventure tourism – a sector of the travel industry that was up-and-coming at the time.
Through a highly targeted consumer media relations program and trade media outreach, Mulberry aimed to build end-user awareness for G Adventures and the tours it operates, supporting the company’s ongoing business expansion in the region.
Mulberry’s highly successful PR campaign encompassed all manner of communication strategies. Mulberry:
• Managed trade media relationships, coordinating the drafting and pitching of regular press releases, stakeholder interviews and destination features.
• Was the first point of contact for consumer media outreach. As a result G Adventures was featured in the high-profile travel sections of Australia’s major metropolitan newspapers regularly.
• Pitched and coordinated media famils for relevant journalists and outlets.
• Represented G Adventures at trade shows and conferences both in Australia and overseas.
Mulberry successfully grew G Adventures company awareness in the media over ten years from near zero coverage, to being one of the most prominently featured tour operators.
Some of the notable successes working with G Adventures have included:
• Mulberry’s efforts saw G Adventures reach over 161,642,135 Australians and New Zealanders in one twelve-month campaign period alone.
• Mulberry secured over 20 high-profile listings in the ‘deals’ section of Escape and Traveller – the two biggest consumer travel newspaper supplements, driving last-minute tour bookings.
• Mulberry successfully supported G Adventures over a number of crisis situations including an unaccounted-for tour group in a conflict situation and a cruise ship sinking in Antarctica.
• Mulberry coordinated several successful trade media competitions including book giveaways and the inaugural G Adventures Responsible Travel Ambassador competition with KarryOn.