Travel Portland has gone random with a niche new campaign featuring Dom and Adrian, aka Christiaan Van Vuuren and Nick Boshier, aka the Bondi Hipsters to target Australians and Kiwis.
“I’ve done everything there is to do in Bondi. I am so bored.” Says Adrian.
“Ugh, tell me about it brah. Let’s go to Portland”. Says Dom.
The Bondi Hipsters are trading Sydney’s Bondi Beach for the urban, organic hip of Portland as they star in a series of eight video episodes to be broadcast on Facebook and YouTube over a five-week period.
In the campaign, viewers will get to follow the crazed pair on their Portland adventure as they check out new business ventures that (in their party addled minds anyway) will, of course, be way cooler than any of the Portland locals ideas.
Given that the US still ranks as the #1 as the most visited long-haul destination for travellers from Australia and New Zealand, Portland plan to tap into traveller’s increasing appetites for exploring further afield.
“We know that the culture of a city and its people influence their travel choices, so we wanted to really bring that to the forefront. Our goal is to make Portland shine as a US travel destination to consider, showcasing its thriving creative community in all things food, craft beer, wine, coffee, music and design.”
Ajay Date, vice president of marketing for Travel Portland speaking to Campaign Brief.
“Portland as a destination is anything but traditional. So, we want to tell our story in a way that really stands out for potential travellers. The Bondi Hipsters are the perfect partners to get the message across in an entertaining way. We hope travellers will come away with a better understanding of Portland without the hard sell that often comes along with travel marketing.” Says Date speaking to Campaign Monitor.
The campaign looks and feels rather similar to the Bondi Hipsters classic first video ‘The Life Organic’, which went viral five years ago and to date has racked up over 1.5 million views. For me personally, it’s still the best.
Flight Centre has partnered to be the call to action for a competition that is running run alongside the campaign, offering travellers the chance to win a trip for two to Portland following in the Bondi Hipsters’ footsteps and staying in the uber cool Jupiter Hotel.
Check out the Flight Centre competition here.