Tasmania Invites Aussies to ‘Become a Winter Person’ in New Off Season Campaign

This year’s Off Season features a series of winter ‘heroes’ set against backdrops of unique Tasmanian experiences. The campaign leads with a 60 second film directed by Kyra Bartley, showing the stage by-stage transformation from regular Australian to full-blown winter holiday enthusiast.

In Tasmania, the Off Season represents a large-scale collaboration with the local tourism industry to collectively change the way Australians view a winter holiday. Over 400 businesses from around the island offer special ‘wintery’ experiences exclusive to the cooler months, that feature as part of the overall campaign. From mushroom picking in abandoned railway tunnels, floating on iconic lakes in century old timber kayaks, to live music in underground caves – the Off Season shows how Tasmania  does winter like nowhere else.

Lindene Cleary, CMO, Tourism Tasmania, said, “Winter is when Tasmania is most different to the mainland. Building on our highly successful Off Season for the fourth year, we’re aiming to grow our seasonal demand by inviting Australians to become winter people. In partnership with our tourism industry, the Off Season is fast becoming a must do holiday experience; one that is unlike other winter destinations.”

With creative driven by BMF, this year’s Off Season campaign is Tourism Tasmania’s biggest ever advertising investment in winter, and the first time it will feature a 30 and 60 second video.

Rees Steel, creative director, BMF, said, “Tropical holidays are for quitters. This Off Season, we wanted to show just how rewarding winter in Tasmania can be, even if you have to earn that fun a little. As a reformed lizard person myself, I can vouch that nothing is as life affirming as an ocean swim that close to Antarctica. Hopefully we can turn a few more mainlanders into winter people too.”

Tourism Tasmania partnered with Starcom to deliver media buy, with campaign appearing across a wide range of platforms including TV, Cinema, OOH, online video, social and audio.

Mina Savjak, business director, Starcom said, “This year we are excited to introduce new channels and executions to the already iconic Off Season Campaign. We will be going to market with a total Screens campaign extending for the first time to FTA TV to enable storytelling at scale and connect travellers emotionally to Tasmania. Our Outdoor campaigns have been some of the most talked about in market and once again we are driving innovation in this space, this time with UV printing.

We are utilising this technology for the first time on Large format billboards for additional cut through and sensory immersion”.

The Off Season is in market across Australia until 31 July, with Off Season offers available on the ground in Tasmania between May and August 2024. Visit www.DiscoverTasmania.com.au/off-season.