the COROMANDEL
Around an hour's drive from Auckland Airport gets you to spectacular Coromandel Peninsula - a geographic sweet-spot that harnessed video to marked its story to the word
HADLEY DRYDEN, general manager, Destination Coromandel, is particularly proud of the GoPro campaign used to promote the region online.
“It wasn’t limited to a specific market but was relevant to specific interest groups that we knew our region could deliver upon,” he says. “The fact that GoPro got on board exposed the Coromandel to an audience we would never have otherwise reached.”
The plan was simple, shoot The Coromandel purely on GoPro and hope that people would share it via their channels, explains Dryden. “We had to secure quality footage and present it in a non-commercial way. We’re a fairly lean operation, we took a calculated risk to invest in reputable cinematographers and send them around our backyard for a demanding ten-day shoot.
“The stars aligned right from the start – barrelling surf, amazing sunrises, bluebird days; Orca even swam by while they were diving!”
He says exposure from the campaign has been “significant” and continues to grow – tracking at around one million organic views across all episodes on multiple digital channels.
“GoPro immediately licensed the footage and went to work creating their own edit. This gave us the credibility required to secure further promotion from the likes of Crowd Goes Wild TV, who filmed separate surfing and canyoning adventures for their show.”
Dryden uses Cathedral Cove Kayaks as a stand-out example of how to get it right in the tourism business.
“They have the luxury of showing off one of the country’s most popular natural attractions. Yet they’re never complacent and always grateful for the opportunity to showcase their backyard.
“Employing staff that fit with their culture is critical to their success. Because of this they consistently deliver quality tours in a laid back way that epitomises the Coromandel lifestyle.”
Canyonz is another example. “A relatively new business that’s unleashed a bucket list experience. “Their full-day canyoning adventure is an epic 300-metre descent down Sleeping God Canyon. Everything about it is so raw, which is hard to come by in an increasingly commercial industry,” says Dryden.
“Of all the successful tourism businesses I’ve come across they’ve all got one common trait – a positive persona. Bularangi Harley Tours is a great example; salt of the earth characters only too happy to help promote the Coromandel, even if they’re unlikely to benefit. They understand the bigger picture of collaborating to compete and gain market share.”
Dryden believes tourism is currently all about destination management.
“The season is getting longer and visitation is at an all-time high. This has come with its own challenges which has seen central government develop initiatives to drive visitors to the regions while also improving basic infrastructure where required.
“This will become increasingly important in the foreseeable future.
“Could we be doing anything better? If I had to pick one thing it would be the need to adequately fund DOC to manage the conservation estate. Our reputation depends on it.”
Dryden’s looking forward to a number of new tourist initiatives for the region, many involving new waling and bike trails.
“If development helps to preserve the natural attributes that attract people here in the first place, then tourism’s contribution to the local economy will continue to grow.”