Other Campaign Highlights

Comprehensive 360 campaigns, so-called “communication tips,” are among the marketing highlights of the Vienna Tourist Board. These campaigns are often about socially or media relevant topics, include both online and offline activities, and appeal to different target groups: international travelers, and representatives of the travel industry, but also journalists because of their considerable news value.

In 2018, the campaigns of the Vienna Tourist Board and its agencies received 36 national and international awards, with 28 of them going to communications in 2018, the themed year for Viennese Modernism. This assessment was also reflected in the digital creative ranking of the trade paper “update“ for the year 2018, in which the Vienna Tourist Board finished in first place as Austria’s most award-winning customer.

EAGLE’S EYE VIEW OF VIENNA

The Vienna Tourist Board sent up eagles to capture moving images of the city from the air. Using virtual reality glasses, the international traveling public can experience a 360° view of Vienna from the perspective of these raptors. At the behest of the Vienna Tourist Board and with 360°, 16:9 cameras on their backs, Fritzi, Bruno, Darshan and Victor took off from the Danube Tower and from a hot air balloon that rose into the air from the garden of Palais Schwarzenberg. The eagles circled above the city and collected pictures from a bird's eye view in 4K resolution; as production company, Red Bull Media House gave flight to the Vienna Tourist Board’s campaign. It was a world premiere. Never before have eagles been deployed with a 360° camera above large city. Of course, all the necessary veterinary medical approvals were obtained before the event, and none of the eagles were harmed during filming with the weight-optimized cameras. The video has been viewed a total of 2.3 million times worldwide and has also been discussed in 110 media reports. The video in 360° format

REACH

2.3 million

video views

110

global media reports

SEE VIENNA. NOT #VIENNA

Photograph less, experience more. For three days, a large red hashtag covered one of the most famous images in the country: Gustav Klimt’s “The Kiss” at the Belvedere. The measure was part of a Vienna Tourist Board campaign in Germany and the United Kingdom promoting enjoyable travel away from selfie mania, and so took up the international trend toward “digital detoxification.” In November, the public in Hamburg, Berlin and London was addressed in public space and naturally also on social media as part of this 360 campaign. It showed travelers paying more attention to their smartphones than to the actual attractions. A huge hashtag in the middle of the picture obscured people’s view of the sights and represented the lost freedom of being able to fully enjoy all aspects one’s vacation. The message was: “See Vienna – not #Vienna. Enjoy the city behind your pics!” It appeared in Germany on some 700 city lights, on posters on the London underground, and in large format at Waterloo and Liverpool stations as well as on the cover of the monthly magazine “Balance.” Online, the target group was reached via Instagram, Facebook and through banner advertising as well as under unhashtag.vienna.info. In spring 2019, the campaign will be repeated in the USA.

Those who visited Klimt’s “The Kiss” at the Upper Belvedere between November 6 and 8 saw a replica with a huge red hashtag pasted over it. Naturally steps had been taken to comfort those who were unable to see the world-famous painting: The uncovered original work could be viewed just one room further on. Photograph less, experience more – this was the motto for visiting Vienna for influencers Uwa Scholz from Germany and the “Twins That Travel” Claire and Laura from the United Kingdom. At the invitation of the Vienna Tourist Board, they spent three days in Vienna in order not to do precisely what they usually do: document each step of their journey and share it via hashtag.

Carrying analog instant cameras, on their journey of discovery through Vienna they photographed significantly less, but instead were able to enjoy countless experiences consciously and without stress. Afterwards they reported to their fans at length on their analog experience of Vienna. Visitors were able to borrow instant cameras at no charge from the Tourist Info on Albertinaplatz and so experience Vienna and not #Vienna. The Vienna Tourist Board’s campaign following the “digital detox” trend was picked up in 49 media reports. With all the online and offline measures, a potential total reach of 377 million contacts was achieved. At the award show of the “Creativ Club Austria“ in May 2019, the campaign was distinguished with 7 Veneres – 1x gold, 4x silver and 2x bronze – as well as an entry in the CCA award book. At the renowned Art Directors Club Awards in Germany it received a silver ADC Nail as well as an additional award.

REACH

media reports in 15 countries

377 million

contacts total reach on and offline

ART BASEL: VIENNA PRESENCE IN BASEL AND MIAMI BEACH

For the sixth time, in 2018 the Vienna Tourist Board had a presence at Art Basel, one of the world's most important fairs for modern and contemporary art, and for the first time at the fair in Miami Beach. Vienna’s presence in Basel from June 14 to 17 focused on the exhibition at the Kunsthistorisches Museum Vienna (KHM) curated by Wes Anderson and Juman Malouf. The Museum had invited the multiple award-winning American film maker and his wife, a renowned writer and designer, to curate a show assembled from the four million items in the museum. The Vienna Lounge in Basel was an homage to this extraordinary exhibition: Designed by the award-winning Studio EOOS as a modern Viennese coffee house, the wallpaper was photographs from the archives of the Kunsthistorisches Museum Vienna. As the highlight of Vienna’s presence, Vienna Tourist Board director Norbert Kettner invited an audience to a talk in the Vienna Lounge on June 13. With KHM curator Jasper Sharp as moderator, Emilie Gordenker, Director of the Mauritshuis in The Hague, Nicholas Cullinan, Director of the National Portrait Gallery in London, and KHM General Director Sabine Haag discussed the topic of “Possession Obsession: What makes us collectors?” At Art Basel in Miami Beach (December 6 to 9) the Vienna Tourist Board was the only tourism destination represented. The visitors – an art-loving, affluent target group – were put in the mood for Vienna by the “Green Lounge” wine bar in the Collectors’ Area and a coffee house under palms, along with associated online and press activities.

FROM VIENNA WITH LOVE: FOCUS ON ROMANCE IN THE ARAB REGION

Since travelers from Arab countries particularly appreciate the romantic aspects of Vienna, in the first six months of 2018 the Vienna Tourist Board organized the campaign “From Vienna with Love” in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). As a highlight of this focus on romance, the campaign called attention to the city with a “heart campaign.” Right before the many fireworks at the “Eid Al Fitr” celebrations – the fast-breaking after Ramadan – in mid-June the Vienna Tourist Board distributed special glasses in the Festival City Mall in Dubai and on Corniche Road in Abu Dhabi as well as 200,000 “LoveVienna” glasses through the media. These glasses display a heart when the wearer looks at a light source and so transformed the fireworks into a “rain of hearts.” The campaign “From Vienna with Love” was launched with a bridal fashion photo shoot in Vienna. Extensive information about Vienna as a destination for romance and honeymoons can since be found at love.vienna.info. Media work, social media advertising and B2B events as well as cooperative ventures with influencer Zahra Pedram and the tour operator Al Rais were also part of the campaign.

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA ON THE VIENNA STORY STAGE

With the “Vienna Story Stage“ format, the Vienna Tourist Board brought 60 journalists from 18 different countries to Vienna from October 11 to 14. A highlight was a panel discussion on the topic of “Shaping a destination - What makes Vienna so unique?” at the Odeon Theater. Powerful testimonials were gathered: LGBT icon Conchita, celebrity chef Konstantin Filippou, design expert Lilli Hollein, and art historian Jasper Sharp were also available for discussions in fireside conversations. In the context of individually selectable city tours, media representatives were familiarized with the quintessential aspects of Vienna. Journalists could then each select three out of a total of six tours on different themes ranging from museum highlights such as the Belvedere, Albertina or Leopold Museum, to Hut & Stiel mushroom culture, Petz horn factory or silversmiths Jarosinski & Vaugoin to the “HoHo” wooden high-rise and the winery Wieninger. Kettner and his team welcomed representatives of major media such as O Globo (Brazil), Le Monde (France), Cosmopolitan (Russia), Radio Canada (Canada), National Geographic Traveler (Australia) and The Chosun Ilbo (Korea).