O&M Mumbai Teases Tourists with Wonderfully Shot Diu Tourism Campaign

The tourism industry is abuzz with a flurry of marketing activity. Every state is jostling to woo vacationers to come and visit them. Backed by heavy media spends they are going all out to display their many wonders and numerous holiday options. In such a competitive market space does a small Union Territory like Diu stand a chance? Does it have enough to interest the tourist and the traveller alike? O&M Advertising - Mumbai, the creative agency in charge of the advertising duties for the Union Territory, certainly thinks so.

When the Agency did preliminary research into what people thought of Diu, they were surprised to find that most people didn't know where it was. Many thought it was close to Daman. In fact, Diu is a tiny island in the Arabian Sea just off the southern tip of the coast of Saurashtra. The other big negative was that it was considered only as a watering hole for the adjacent dry state of Gujarat. But the truth is that the place has immense natural beauty, rich Portuguese heritage, some of the most stunning architecture and certain attractions that no other state in India has. All these, combined with the fact that it was a small and peaceful island destination, made it unique.

Sumanto Chattopadhyay, Executive Creative Director, South Asia, Ogilvy explains the thinking behind the campaign' "Despite the serene natural beauty, the Portuguese heritage and other attractions of the place, Diu is a blind spot for most tourists and travellers. To make them look at Diu with new eyes, we have re-branded it as Ilha de Calma – Portuguese for Isle of Calm."

The one week long teaser campaign kick-started with four print ads, each with one stunning image from the island and it signed off with the logo of Ilha de Calma. The copy invited readers to search for the mysterious island on www.ilhadecalma.com.

OgilvyOne Mumbai have executed the digital campaign with an immersive online experience that helps achieve the core campaign premise of looking at Diu with new eyes. Using a gamification approach, visitors to the site explore 360 panoramic views of the island and are invited to guess its correct location. 

Radio was used to educate listeners on how to pronounce the name and also diverted traffic to the microsite. Twenty second TV commercials completed the teaser campaign, each with a single stunning and meandering shot of the place, ending with the message, ‘Find your Isle of Calm. Ilha de Calma’.

"Once we had deployed the teaser ads to get people interested and talking about this new mystery place," adds Chattopadhyay, "all that was left to do was to reveal that it is in fact Diu."

The reveal TVC launched a week after the teaser campaign. It starts with a young woman executive stuck in her busy chaotic life. A sudden break in the chaos happens when we cut to the serenity of the island.

We watch her indulging herself in the calm surroundings and experiences of the island. The commercial ends with her enjoying the sunset atop a lighthouse as the logo of Diu, Ilha de Calma is revealed. Follow up press ads in major newspapers completed this phase of the campaign.

OgilvyOne Mumbai completed the mystical journey leading up to Diu on the digital platform at www.visitdiu.in – a responsive website. Through a navigation that’s simple and picturesque, the users find out all they need to know, right from directions to reach Diu, to the best hotel and travel options available. 

Visually captivating content and regular contests on leading social networks such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube are geared to keep the buzz alive and get users excited about exploring the island of Diu. 

Sumanto Chattopadhyay further commented on the risks and rewards of the campaign. "It was brave of the client to go with a campaign like this. And it has worked. People have noticed it and are talking about it. The conversion from chatter to bookings should follow soon. It is a sustained long-term effort."