INSTA-FUN IN TROPICS
Apprentice influencers set sights on promoting Far North’s natural beauty to world
A TEAM of apprentice digital taste-makers’ journey to internet celebrity has taken them to the tropics to help market one of the most beautiful locations on Earth.
Smartphone manufacturer OPPO put a nationwide call out to wannabe social media powerbrokers to apply for its “influencer internship” program after naming Far North Queensland’s the Daintree one of Australia and New Zealand’s most Instagrammable locations.
Former Cairns local Alex Bradley answered the call and was plucked from a huge field of aspiring cultural instigators eager to turn travel and adventure into a career.
She was catapulted into an influencer boot camp with mentors including Kate Torpy and Olly Neville – the online power couple behind the KoTravellers Instagram account.
It was the duo’s first time exploring the region, and they used their smartphones to share the views of the Daintree with their 290,000-plus followers, amassing thousands of Instagram likes in a matter of hours.
Ms Bradley is at the start of her campaign to reach a similar height of online stardom.
“It was so amazing to come back to Cairns,” Ms Bradley said.
“I grew up a local here before relocating to Sydney a few years ago.
“I always knew the beauty of Far North Queensland but I had never explored the Daintree before.
“It was such an incredible opportunity to get to come here for work and capture stunning imagery of the wildlife and scenery that is so unique to Far North Queensland.”
The OPPO team was taken to some of North Queensland’s most picturesque destinations including Barron Gorge, Mossman Gorge, Cape Tribulation, and Palm Cove.
The next stop for the Instagrammable destinations tour is Wineglass Bay in Tasmania, where Ms Bradley will be joined and mentored by wellknown Instagram influencer, Milly Bannister.
The program followed OPPO research that found a quarter of young Australians aspired to become an Instagram influencer.
A whopping 73 per cent of young Australians said the number of followers and likes they got on Instagram is important to them, with 45 per cent saying it also made them anxious.
OPPO Australia managing director Michael Tran said the company would start employing and training full-time influencers in the not so distant future.
“So, to kick it off, we’ve created a paid influencer internship,” he said.