Sandra Tiller and Lukas Merl from the Vienna Tourist Board are at the forefront of leveraging AI to craft innovative marketing campaigns. Sandra and Lukas shed light on the DMO's approach to targeting art lovers with their comprehensive marketing strategy.

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Behind the idea    

#UnArtificialArt is an exciting initiative created by DTTT Member, Vienna Tourist Board. Combining AI and art generates new ways of portraying and interpreting historical artworks.

Today, Generative AI is widely regarded as the next big disruptive technology, reshaping everything from how we work, communicate and experience things, to influencing the very nature of what is considered authentic. You're unlikely to end a day without having read or heard about some kind of new AI development, as a marketer, why does this technology matter to you?

So how does it all come together? The Vienna Tourist Board's #UnArtificialArt campaign leveraged the power of AI to reimagine iconic artworks from Vienna's most renowned artists, such as Egon Schiele. The team tested with two AI image creation platforms, DALL-E 2 and Midjourney to generate unique and captivating interpretations of these masterpieces. After a thorough evaluation, the Vienna Tourist Board ultimately selected Midjourney for the campaign, citing its ability to produce more nuanced and accurate results, particularly following recent platform updates.

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The possibilities for using AI are endless. DMOs have the opportunity to personalise user experiences and complement traditional research by incorporating machine learning for predictive analysis. As the Vienna Tourist Board's #UnArtificialArt campaign effectively demonstrates, there are creative ways for destinations to use AI to create fun and quirky campaigns that reinforce destination positioning. The DMO is no stranger to taking such a bold approach, having previously created an OnlyFans page for the city's more explicit artworks, capitalising on the attention this adult-oriented site obtained when it launched.

The Vienna Tourist Board decided to utilise the capabilities of AI in their marketing because it was a trending topic and they wanted to be part of the discussion and bring a new perspective. The idea of incorporating cats into the imagery originated from these curious felines being featured in cave paintings, making them symbolic but equally humorous and eye-catching. This helped to get potential visitors to stop and look at the content, while simultaneously enabling audiences to know that AI was used to generate the imagery. There was a lot of initial resistance to the idea, especially from the museums the DMO worked with who had concerns the initiative might have a negative influence on the way their collections are perceived. However, after seeing the AI-generated images, partners understood the potential of the campaign and began to support the initiative.  

In leveraging the rapid developments of AI technology, the Vienna Tourist Board reinforced its competitive position by creating intrigue, engagement and appeal amongst potential visitors and perhaps being a little controversial at the same time.

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Appealing to Art-Loving Americans

In a bid to broaden its appeal and attract a wider demographic of visitors, the Vienna Tourist Board set its sights on expanding its reach in the US market,  primarily among visitors from the East Coast of the United States. While Vienna is a renowned destination, it still lags behind more established art hubs like London and Paris in terms of international recognition. To address this, the Vienna Tourist Board embarked on a strategic initiative to position Vienna as a premier art destination, highlighting its impressive collection of over 100 museums.

To amplify the campaign's impact, the Vienna Tourist Board took the bold step of securing a prime spot in New York's Times Square, where it proudly displayed its AI-generated artwork on a digital billboard. This unconventional yet captivating marketing move garnered significant attention, achieving an impressive 67.1 million Digital Out-of-Home impressions, demonstrating the effectiveness of this innovative approach.

On a brand strategy level, #UnArtificialArt works nicely as the relevance, even the controversy perhaps, plays well from a digital PR perspective. At the very least, it sparks curiosity and playfulness, reinforcing Vienna's core brand values. This ultimately creates heightened awareness and interest, driving more people to consider visiting the city.

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Using AI to Strengthen Vienna's Brand

The Vienna Tourist Board has an ambitious strategy, with residents and visitors coinciding at the heart of the approach. Today, 90% of residents view tourism as positive, which is key for the Vienna Tourist Board to see the support of communities for their marketing and inspires the DMO to continue being innovative in promoting the destination.  

Digitalisation plays a key role in the city's future and the visitor app 'ivie', developed by the Vienna Tourist Board, is an example of this. It is targeted towards visitors already in the city to enhance their experiences with curated suggestions based on data and personalisation. It includes guided audio tours, specific tips and maps. Whilst perhaps a crowded space, the Vienna Tourist Board's team recognised through detailed research that there was a gap in the market for a premium companion app for visitors, with high-quality content, good use of data and native functionality.

Initiatives such as ivie are a clear example of how Vienna's strategy is being shaped and enabled by digitalisation and the opportunities presented by exploiting the full potential of technology. With #UnArtificialArt combining art and technology, this represents a further opportunity to take this strategy one step further. It connects the rich history of art in Vienna with the current interest in AI, where the opportunity to test these developments and become a relevant voice is key.

This represents a wider shift in expectations from visitors for more digitally enhanced, interactive and even sometimes intellectually challenging experiences. Expectations of visitors to popular attractions are greater than ever. When attending an art exhibition or museum, visitors no longer simply want to see a gallery, but instead to be immersed in the experience, where they can interact with art digitally.

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Continuous use of AI

The Vienna Tourist Board's willingness to experiment with the most recent generative AI developments, which offer considerable potential to take the brand to the next level, demonstrates a new wave of opportunity being created for brands to exploit AI for marketing purposes.

Vienna follows in the footsteps of several other DMOs who have similarly sought to exploit recent AI developments, such as the Faroe Islands announcing their National Gallery to be the first to launch an AI exhibition, whilst Visit Denmark also sought to tap into the hype around generative AI with a campaign that brought famous artworks to life, sharing their inner thoughts in a play on their 'Land of Everyday Wonder' brand.

The example shared here shows how you can use Generative AI really well in tandem with the huge potential for content and quirky initiatives to go viral and garner incredible PR interest. It is important to note however that this is markedly different to others, who see its potential as a central component in the digital user experience, such as Austria National Tourist Office, who have been a frontrunner in this space as shown in this case study here.

1. Realise technical opportunities - To be competitive in today's digitally enhanced environment, DMOs have to be more innovative than ever before and realise the opportunity to capitalise on the exposure brought by new technological developments.
2. PR potential of being an early adopter - There are clear benefits of being one of the first to do something innovative which brings about great media exposure and highlights destinations in a positive light. However, DMOs should consider further extensions that shift campaigns from short-term PR to something that gradually becomes more meaningful over time.
3. Think about marketability - Don't jump head-first into using AI. It's important to first understand the potential reach of a campaign and have a clear strategy.  
4. Keep it 'on brand' - When tapping into a development like AI, it's important to remain relevant to your destination and true to your brand. AI should complement and enhance the existing destination appeal by enabling enhanced creativity.
5. AI can improve the visitor experience - If used in the right way, AI can add value and boost visitor satisfaction, while also giving destinations publicity and exposure.