Switzerland fast becoming the darling of tourism marketing

April 27, 2012 By 5 Comments

MySwitzerland, the consumer facing brand for Swiss inbound tourism, is slowly building a reputation in the industry along the same lines as KLM.

Mention “social media and airlines” and KLM is more often than not the airline that industry folk reference as a bit of pioneer in the sector, following its KLM Surprise project, use of Facebook and a myriad of social-led initiatives and promotions.

But following the success and profile of the Holidays Without Internet campaign, where visitors to a MySwitzerland microsite found their Facebook profiles used to create a rather funny sketch, the tourism board has now found itself increasingly cited as a leader in the crowded world of digital and social marketing for destinations.

Officials clearly hit on a winning formula with the use of two elderly Swiss farmers to front its marketing activity.

But rather than have the pair stare wistfully over Switzerland’s jaw-dropping scenery (British and Irish tourism marketers are very guilty of this in their promos), marketers have used them to create a series of tongue-in-cheek campaigns, more often than not subtly mocking the country for its reputation in the outside world.

The latest campaign was launched just a week ago and has already attracted close to 50,000 views on YouTube.

Here is a clip:

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Kevin May About Kevin May

Kevin May is editor of Tnooz. He joined as a co-founder in August 2009 after spending nearly four years as editor of UK-based business publication Travolution.

Passionate about the business of travel and the internet, Kevin played a major role in establishing Travolution in print, online, events and with an annual awards programme, as well as becoming a regular speaker and moderator at industry events.

Prior to Travolution, Kevin was web editor at Media Week (UK) and also worked in regional newspapers for two years at the Essex Enquirer. He started his career in journalism at the Police Gazette at New Scotland Yard in London.

Comments

  1. Troy Thompson says:
    April 27, 2012 at 2:16 pm

    Nice piece Kev.

    While the humor is apparent in the spots, for me, the real key is the focus. Rather than ‘what’ (lakes, golf, shopping, dining, etc.) they answer the ‘why’ question (the perfect summer holiday).

    The difference is relatively minor in feel, but massive in strategy.

    They are not saying ‘hey, we have everything’ but rather ‘you will have a great vacation here.’

    It is what v. why, and the Swiss have answered the question why very effectively.

    - Troy

    Reply
    • Kevin May Kevin May says:
      April 27, 2012 at 2:29 pm

      @troy – agree, +1, like, and all that…

      For fear of wasting your time (but, hey, it’s Friday!) the comments by the video on YT are pretty mixed.

      But then, whoever relies on YouTube comments as a benchmark of opinion, is as big a loony as many of those that write the comments in the first place :)

      Reply

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