Marketing Plan for Queensland

Queensland recognizes that tourism is one of its major economic pillars, and the state has developed a marketing plan to boost the sector. The strategy of the state aims to double the expenditure of overnight visitors from $15 billion to $30 billion. For it to realize the goals of the plan, it has identified destinations, source markets, reasons people visit, and the type of visitor to advance the marketing efforts. The four strategic elements will enable Queensland to undertake promotional activities aimed at boosting tourism. Marketing campaigns will target specific demographics in certain areas and give them explanations on why they should visit and where to go.

The specific international marketing goal of Queensland is driven by the 2020 vision of the state, which aims to increase the spending of overnight visitors to Queensland from $15 billion to $30 billion. The entire marketing plan revolves around this aim. As a result, the state has developed strategies that will help to achieve the intention that includes identifying the areas to market the state and identification of the ideal visitor.

The primary region that this marketing plan will focus on is Finland. The country has a large population and shows increasing interest in tourism. Queensland can market itself as an attractive destination to gain from the numbers. The target audience in the market is older people aged 30 to 60 years, and Queensland will position itself as a state that offers relaxation and fun.

Potential Activities

Queensland is a region that experiences a favorable climate and has a variety of tourist destinations for people to visit. It boasts of reef-fringed tropical islands, reefs, rivers, rainforests, beaches, and waterfalls. Overnight tourists can get different activities to enjoy during their stay. For instance, they can go for the following leisure undertakings.

Boating: it involves taking boat rides to different parts of Queensland.

Biking: visitors can ride bikes through the urban area and parks

Hiking: the excellent forests and climate offer a conducive environment to go for walks and nature discoveries.

Sunbathing: Queensland gets sunshine for long periods of the year making ideal for those seeking to get tanned.

Diving: For those who enjoy deep sea diving, Queensland offers ideal settings for the purpose.

Fishing: Tourists can catch fish in the rivers and the sea.

Four-wheel driving: Four wheel drive enthusiasts have a prime location for driving their cars on the sandy dunes in Queensland.

Selected Activities

The activities that Queensland will market in Finland are sunbathing and fishing. Fishing is appropriate for this audience because the Finnish people are used to it in their country. However, the country being close to Russia has a cold climate that leads to the lakes and rivers freezing (Chow, Wekker & Snyder, 2012). The warmer climate in Queensland can appeal to these tourists. Sunbathing will also attract tourists from Finland who can enjoy the warm climate. The activities are culturally appropriate for the Finnish people.

Activities Overview

Sunbathing and fishing are suited to the people of Finland. In terms of scope, the fishing and sunbathing leisure undertakings in Finland are common. The people can enjoy riding bicycles in a new setting. Fishing will involve catching fish in rivers, and sunbathing will include laying in the sun in hotels and boats to get tanned. The activities are culturally appropriate for the people because they do not have a strict restriction on the type of dressing used for these activities. The activities are not costly because companies in Queensland offer the equipment needed, such as boats and fishing equipment. The ethical issues to be considered are the safety of the tourists. Personnel with an adequate understanding of the region and with relevant skills can guide the visitors to guarantee their safety. The legal requirements are observing fishing restrictions to avoid depleting fish.

Section 2 - Implementing the Activities

Activities Documentation

 Scope: The activity will be television commercials showing the leisure undertakings available in Queensland. They will run between 7 pm and 9 pm in a major television station in Finland, which is older individuals. The commercials will show people fishing and sunbathing in different parts of Queensland. For the fishing, it is vital to showcase some of the types of fish that people can catch in the rivers. It will also include images of the hotels since the people will need a place to stay. The commercial will be in the form of a story of a senior tourist’s visit to Queensland together with his family. They will begin with early morning bike rides and the man can go fishing while the rest of the family sunbathes. It will show them enjoying excellent meals before retiring to splendid rooms. Social media marketing is also another activity in the promotion. Keyword research, content creation, and engagement will be the primary actions. One person from the promotional team will collect information on the keywords related to tourism that the Finnish audience searches online. The data will guide content creation, such as articles and blog posts. The team will create Facebook and Twitter pages to communicate with the people taking questions and answering them. The goals of the promotional activities are as follows.

1. Increase awareness of the leisure activities available in Queensland for two months.

2. Increase the number of tourist visits to Queensland by 2% over the two months.

Resource Requirements

Personnel will be needed for the promotional activities. Finances are also necessary to pay the staff, firms that will make adverts, and advertising channel. The table below provides a breakdown of the budget for the activities.

Item

Cost

Personnel

$15,000

Advertising and Advert Creation

$20,000

Meetings and report preparation

$800

Total

$35,800

Cultural Requirements

Symes & Phillipson (2001) observe that Finland has inshore fishing waters that are icebound for two months in the southern part and up to six months in the northern region. Thus, fishing is culturally appropriate for the people because they exercise it but winters restrict them. Queensland should market itself as an alternative fishing area at such times. Finland has a strong culture of watersports. The people also enjoy sunbathing in the few sunny months. Queensland as a destination provides the right environment for the activity.

Role and Responsibilities

The state intends to form a board comprised of five people to market the destination. The team will comprise of the following individuals.

Role

Responsibilities

Chairperson

Organize board activities

Lead implementation of activities

The spokesperson for Queensland as a destination

Vice-chairperson

Deputize chairperson

Market destination

Secretary

Prepare reports

Record activities and results

Treasurer

Maintain financial records

Market destination

Member

Market destination

Social media marketer

Any other task given by chairperson

Activity Briefing

The briefing process will involve two weekly meetings with the board. The first meeting will be aimed at giving information and answering the question. After that, the team will hold two meeting weekly to give progress reports, identify problems and create solutions.

Action Plan

Phases

1. Inform and prepare the team

2. Identify Appropriate Companies to advertise

3. Advertise and visit the region

4. End activities

Activities in Phases

1. Inform and Prepare Team

The activity at this stage is meeting with the board members to inform them of their responsibilities and answer their questions.

2. Identify Appropriate Companies to Advertise

The team will determine a company that can develop advertisements for promoting Queensland. The team will select the advertising channels to be used in Finland. It will examine the stations suitable for reaching its target audience.

3. Advertise Region

The advertisements created for marketing Queensland will be aired on televisions for two months. It will also involve other promotional activities, such as the chairperson attending tourism expos in Finland. Social media marketing will also be a part of the activities involved in this section. It will include creating content and developing and maintaining social networks pages.

4. End Activities

The team will provide a report on the entire marketing process including performance. It will also identify challenges that need to be addressed should the authorities in Queensland desire to undertake another promotion.

Personnel at Each Phase

All the board members will be involved in each phase except during visits to Finland where the chairperson and vice chairperson will attend the expos to reduce costs.

Budget at each Phase

The budget for each stage of the marketing process is given in the table below. The items are estimates created before making the final decisions.

Phase

Cost

Inform and prepare the team

$100

Identify Companies for Advertising

$500

Advertise region

$10,000

End Activities

$100

Deadlines

The team must meet the following deadlines for the promotional activities that will last for the next two months.

Phase

Deadline

Inform and prepare the team

July 23, 2018

Identify Companies for Advertising

August 1, 2018

Advertise region

August 30, 2018

End Activities

September 15, 2018

Monitoring and Evaluation Plan

A survey will be given to Finnish tourists arriving in Queensland to determine the effectiveness of the marketing efforts. The following three questions will gauge performance.

1. Did you make your decision to visit Queensland after watching the recent advertisement in (Name of TV Station)?

2. Did the destination meet your expectations as advertised?

3. Please rate your satisfaction with the activities and services offered from 1 to 10.

Section 3 – Reviewing Performance

The team completed the phases and activities mentioned in the above section. The board gathered data from Finnish tourists visiting Queensland and undertook a survey using an evaluation tool with the questions. The data was drawn from 300 individuals to help determine whether the marketing activities gave good results.

Monitoring and Evaluation Results

The outcome of the data shows that it had some success. From the 300 persons who answered the questionnaire, 186 tourists said they visited after watching the adverts. A total of 140 stated they that they thought that the destination matched the promotions. Queensland received a high rating since 203 people gave a rating above six.

Results Analysis

The analysis of the results shows that the marketing activities reached their goals. The number of overnight visitors grew with the majority coming from Finland. Most of the Finnish tourists said the presentation of the advertisement brought them to Queensland due to the available activities. They were also satisfied with the services and the match between the destination and the information in the adverts.

Conclusion and Further Steps

The promotional activities were able to realize their goals. The board noted that marketing Queensland presents a challenge due to limited information on hotels and their rating. The authorities should help these establishments to get the necessary ranking and offer the information. Due to the success of the initial marketing activities, the local government should consider further promotional activities to continue selling Queensland as a tourism destination.  

References

Chow, K. F., Wekker, S. D. & Snyder, B. J. (2012). Mountain weather research and forecasting: Recent progress and current challenges. New York, NY: Springer Science & Business Media.

Symes, D. & Phillipson, J. (2001). Inshore fisheries management. Norwell, MA: Kluwer Academic Publishers.