Mediaboss Marketing

New Tourism Australia chief marketer Lisa Ronson has pledged to develop the digital and social marketing focus started by her predecessor as she revealed that coastal scenery would become a central theme to the agencys promotional activity.

In her first public address since taking over from Nick Baker last month, the former Westpac marketing boss said it was time to re-establish the strength and appeal of Australias aquatic and coastal areas.

Other destinations including California and Hawaii have closed the gap on Australia in terms of their coastal offering and it was time to step up the marketing of Australias beaches and ocean attractions.

Key to that has been Tourism Australias partial funding of a three-part documentary on the Great Barrier Reef narrated by iconic natural history presenter David Attenborough.

The collaboration with UK-based Atlantic Productions will see the wonders of the reef beamed into hundreds of millions of homes around the world, Ronson said.

After addressing TAs inaugural Destination Australia conference in Sydney today, Ronson also told Mumbrella that digital marketing, a particular focus of Baker, would be further developed and used to help drive conversions, another of Tourism Australias key objectives in 2015.

Ronson acknowledged that destinations vying with Australia for the tourism dollar had picked up their game and closed the gap on Australia in their marketing of coastal attractions.

Lots of competitors have woken up and are using their own aquatic and coastal assets to market themselves and that is appealing to consumers, she told Mumbrella. We sill have an advantage and are quite a way ahead but not as far as we might have been. We need to make sure we stay top of mind.

Its about reinforcing the message of what we have in Australia.

The Great Barrier Reef, the third biggest draw for international tourists behind beaches and wildlife, will play a major role, she said.

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Tourism Australia marketing boss Lisa Ronson outlines strategy in first public address