Our digital campaigns reach a billion of ad impressions

Read about our campaigns and feel inspired. Not only that we carried out six impressive digital campaigns, which in total reached almost one billion ad impressions on portals, social networks and television channels, and several hundred million social media users, we have also executed digital campaigns in cooperation with the most influential global media giants such as National Geographic and the BBC. 

MAKE NEW MEMORIES IN SLOVENIA AND SHARE THEM WITH US

The Slovenian Tourist Board launched the promotional campaign Make new memories in Slovenia and share them with us in early June 2018. The goal of the campaign was to gather a total of two million posts with the hashtag #ifeelsLOVEnia (in Slovenian, the campaign was entitled Two million reasons why we feel Slovenia). By providing recommendations for experiences in mostly less known, but still exciting destinations and products, the campaign addressed the people of Slovenia as well as its visitors. Yesterday marked the two millionth post with the hashtag #ifeelsLOVEnia on Instagram. The post highlighted Lisca.

The Slovenian Tourist Board devised the campaign with the goal of fulfilling current challenges in Slovenian tourism as well as those defined in the 2017–2021 Strategy for the Sustainable Growth of Slovenian Tourism, such as deseasonalising tourism and dispersing tourist flows.

On this occasion, State Secretary Eva Štravs Podlogar highlighted: “Slovenia is increasingly becoming a globally recognisable tourist destination. Excellent promotional activities carried out in foreign markets by the Slovenian Tourist Board have contributed greatly to this, and particularly its digital promotional campaigns, which address the broader public around the world. Digital promotional campaigns impact the dispersal of tourists in time and space since these campaigns also promote less developed and less known tourist destinations. Most importantly, Slovenia is presented as an attractive destination 365 days of the year in these digital promotional campaigns. It is certainly not enough that tourists are successfully addressed and drawn to visit Slovenia. The tourist offer and hospitality they experience in our country are also important. For this reason, we will help the leading tourist destinations to develop competences and new, attractive tourist products and digitalise our cultural heritage using European funds over the next two years. Our common goal is to develop 5-star experiences of interest to domestic and foreign tourists so that they consequently spend several days in Slovenia and happily share their experiences on social media.”

The campaign is one of the six visible and successful digital campaigns used by the Slovenian Tourist Board to systematically, effectively, and innovatively present Slovenia as a destination for unique experiences, which is committed to sustainability.

Maja Pak, Director of the STB, emphasised the effectiveness of six key digital campaigns with which the STB reached several hundred million users worldwide: The Slovenian Tourist Board carried out six key digital campaigns this year; some of them involved the largest and most credible global media such as National Geographic and the BBC. With posts and videos whose production and content stood out from the average, we showcased Slovenia as a unique and richly authentic country with beautiful natural features and attractive experiences. Campaigns presented on the most important social networks, web portals and high-reach media recorded excellent results, including almost one billion ad impressions on social networks, television channels, and in print media, and reached no fewer than 274 million social media users.”

As the Make new memories in Slovenia and share them with us campaign came to a conclusion, Maja Pak stated: “The realisation of the objective of a total of two million posts in only a year and a half proves that Slovenian citizens and numerous visitors to Slovenia took the campaign on board, and the posts reached as many as 200 million online users. The campaign sought to find two million reasons for our excitement about the scenic beauty of our country. And we found them. By sharing experiences, feelings and suggestions, we became the most authentic ambassadors of Slovenian tourism. Together we uncovered known and, particularly, less known but equally attractive destinations, products and experiences throughout the year, and thus contributed to attaining the objectives set in the 2017–2021 Strategy for the Sustainable Growth of Slovenian Tourism, with which we address the modern guest and respond to the challenges of modern tourism.

The campaign was carried out through the currently most essential communications channels: on the social networks Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, the newsletter of the Slovenian Tourist Board, and on the central Slovenian tourism portal www.slovenia.info. Since launching the campaign on 6 June of last year, the Slovenian Tourist Board has recorded excellent responses by social media users: at the beginning of this year, the total number of posts using the #ifeelsLOVEnia hashtag had already reached one million, while yesterday this number was at two million. The campaign generated 1.6 million new posts; before it was launched, the number of social media posts with the #ifeelsLOVEnia hashtag had only been 400,000. On average, 3000 posts have been recorded with this key word. Some 25,000 users visited the campaign’s landing pages.

On the web pages of the official tourism portal www.slovenia.info, the most exciting posts from various social networks were highlighted. Every week, the Slovenian Tourist Board selected three of them and gave out practical prizes for them – 147 in total. The landing pages also provided tips for visiting 59 hidden corners of Slovenia every week. In this section, 34 leading destinations were presented in greater detail.

The importance of the campaign was also recognised by 19 Slovenian media outlets, which significantly contributed to the recognisability of the campaign. Furthermore, when it was launched, the campaign was supported by numerous tourism companies, institutions, and influencers.

The Slovenian Tourist Board received multiple awards for the Two Million Reasons Why We Feel Slovenia campaign: it received the Golden Sempler Award at last year's SEMPL Media Trends Conference which took place last November, and it received The Golden City Gate Award at this year’s ITB Berlin. The campaign was also among the finalists of the prestigious Content Marketing Awards, and this year it was a finalist at the City Nation Place Awards.

As the two millionth post containing the #ifeelsLOVEnia hashtag is posted, the campaign has come to an end, but that does not mean that people will stop posting posts with this hashtag. The Slovenian Tourist Board invites Slovenians and visitors to Slovenia to continue posting beautiful photos and videos about Slovenia on social media and to post the #ifeelsLOVEnia hashtag.

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC DIGITAL CAMPAIGNS ABOUT THE LAND OF UNIQUE EXPERIENCES  

In addition to the Two Million Reasons Why We Feel Slovenia campaign, the Slovenian Tourist Board has also been carrying out five digital campaigns in 2019 in cooperation with globally recognised and influential media players. Videos and photos convey to potential visitors the story of Slovenia as a country of unique natural features committed to sustainability and offering genuine and special experiences that are far removed from mass tourism. The Slovenian Tourist Board has devised all of its campaigns in accordance with the goal of positioning Slovenia as a green, boutique, and sustainably oriented tourist destination. Advertising through high-reach digital channels and cooperating with the most recognisable brands is in accordance with the current trends in promotion and addressing modern tourists seeking unique experiences. 

National Geographic campaigns: Slovenia as the land with waters of wellbeing and a story of the four natural elements

National Geographic is one of the most recognisable and most influential media outlets in the global market, which is, in terms of content, specialised in topics related to nature, experiences in nature, and travel, and it therefore reaches the audience that we have been targeting in Slovenian tourism. It focuses on telling convincing stories through exceptional photographs and videos, which allows it to take the number one spot on Instagram among media brands with no fewer than 123 million followers. This year, the Slovenian Tourist Board highlighted Slovenia on National Geographic's digital and TV channels in two campaigns as a land waters of wellbeing and performed the multi-channel digital campaign “Air, Water, Earth, Fire”.

October marked the beginning of a four-month National Geographic campaign titled “SLOVENIA, WATERS OF WELLBEING. The campaign will last until the end of February next year, with a break in December. It includes digital advertising and presentations on the National Geographic channels in the UK, France, Germany, and Italy, in the US market, as well as on the websites of this media giant.

Slovenian waters are presented in a four-minute video through stories of individuals who are inseparably connected to water, including the Slovenian four-time Olympic medal winner Sara Isaković, who used this opportunity to share the following: “I am very pleased that I have been selected as an ambassador of Slovenian waters, as I have spent most of my life in water, where I have also had my most beautiful and unforgettable moments. I am particularly pleased that, even after finishing my career in sport, I can contribute to promoting Slovenia in the world and work on projects such as the unforgettable filming with the National Geographic team, thus spreading the message of Slovenia as a country that boasts unspoilt water wealth.”

From 14 January to 21 April, the ‘4 ELEMENTS’ campaign ran on National Geographic, which showed the beauty of our country through a story about the four natural elements: air, water, earth, and fire. The campaign tells the story of Slovenia’s exceptional natural beauty and it highlights our commitment to sustainable development. It was carried out in markets in Germany, Austria, Italy, France, the United Kingdom, and the United States, and it used a unique natural backdrop, the wealth of waters, excellent and authentic cuisine, and a rich cultural heritage to tell the story of a country that is worth-visiting in all four seasons of the year. Ciril Jazbec, a multiple award-winning world-renowned photographer, who has been working with National Geographic since 2014, also worked on devising the concept for the video stories of Slovenia. 

On this occasion, Ciril Jazbec stated: “I have been taking photographs of Slovenia since I was little. My career as a photographer then took me mainly abroad due to my work with National Geographic. However, I began re-discovering Slovenia two years ago, when National Geographic asked me to photograph my hometown of Tržič, and I discovered that our country is truly wonderful. I have been re-discovering this over and over.”

Within this year’s ITB Berlin global tourism trade show, the campaign receivedThe Golden City Gate award.

A global digital campaign and the ‘Only in Slovenia’ series on the BBC

This year, the global digital campaign was carried out with a new message and creative concept titled ‘I feel Slovenia – MY WAY’ focusing on unique experiences. It was carried out in no fewer than 16 European markets, in the USA and Canada, and on the Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Google, Yandex, YouTube, VKontakte, Outbrain, and Gmail communications channels, and in online and printed media. The campaign was conducted in six advertising waves from 4 March to 15 November, with a break during the high summer season; this allowed us to pursue the goal of increasing tourist visits before and after the high season. Digital advertising within the campaign was based on content marketing and was also carried out, among other places, in renowned media outlets, such as The New York Times, the BBC, Krone, Focus, and Le Figaro.

A new series titled ‘ONLY IN SLOVENIA’ was also created within the campaign, resulting from a collaboration between the Slovenian Tourist Board and BBC Global News. From 10 September to 10 November, our country was presented to viewers in the USA, Canada, and Europe through videos on the BBC TV channel and a special landing page as a unique and green country for boutique experiences with rich cuisine and culture. The BBC is one of the largest and most credible global media outlets, which is also leading in the field of reaching international travellers in Europe who have higher purchasing power.

The DACH campaign for guests from the higher income class in the German-speaking area

The campaign, which was carried out in the markets of Germany, Austria, and Switzerland from the beginning of October to the end of November, addressed guests from the higher income class. Advertisements on TV channels, in printed media, and on social media highlighted Slovenia as a destination for world-class gastronomic, cultural, and wellness experiences. The campaign addressed those segments of tourists that also travel outside of the main summer tourist season and who do not choose their destinations based on the lowest price criterion. In order to carry out the campaign and successfully address the guests, a preliminary in-depth study to identify high-value travellers and define the most effective communications channels was performed.

The Slovenian Tourist Organisation will continue to pay special attention to digital content marketing, particularly to digital campaigns in the most important social media and websites, by creatively using modern technologies and constantly improving the user experience.

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