How are NTOs reacting to COVID-19? What are the strategies behind recovery? How are they retargeting their audiences? These are just some of the questions we asked to VisitDenmark, who told us in a brief interview how they have managed to put into place a strong marketing and communication campaign in response to the global pandemic.

‍

‍

This time we have connected with Jacob Lisbygd, Senior Project Manager at VisitDenmark. Jacob is responsible for the co-creation and implementation of international projects with a variety of partners. He explained us how Visit Denmark has adapted its strategy targeting domestic tourists going through 2020. Jakob took part in the development of the strategy, coordinating nineteen danish DMOs to be aligned with the campaign.

‍

VisitDenmark receives funds from the ministry of tourism to promote the country to international visitors only, but Covid 19 made them change the focus, and the NTO is now targeting mainly locals for at least the whole 2020.  It all started in March, when the management of Visit Denmark made a fast turnaround and met with the ministry of tourism and the industry partners, who agreed on the focus switch. In just a few weeks Visit Denmark managed to develop a new strategy and campaign addressing Danes.

‍

Surveying locals and developing strong campaigns

‍

Before launching such a campaign, the NTO surveyed locals about their plans for summer, and they found that they had very simple plans: staying with their loved ones, meeting friends and travelling within the country. It became clear that the focus of the campaign would have been to remind Danes of the value of the "product" Denmark, which is very evident for international tourists but it might not be so obvious for domestic ones. The campaign was launched with the hashtag 'Meget mere end #baredanmark' translating into 'Much more than #justdenmark', aimed to show to locals how much opportunities the country has to offer.

‍

As part of the campaign, they have launched a series of videos endorsed by Martin Brygmann, a popular Danish actor, a nationally loved character who represents the essence of the 'family man'. The videos show Martin's memories, his genuine enthusiasm for Denmark, its people and its beautiful landscapes.

In parallel to this, Visit Denmark has launched a competition where participants could win a trip in in the country this summer, simply by posting their favourite secret spots on instagram and tagging them with the hashtag #baredanmark. More than then thousand  pictures have been already tagged with the hashtag, and this proofs the great impact of the campaign, which sparked the pride of Danes for their country, rising awareness about the beauty of their own country.

‍

Adapting the strategy as restrictions are lifted

‍

In the first phase of the campaign, the focus was on encouraging the 'out of city' experiences, living the outdoors and exploring the most beautiful natural spots of Denmark. As lockdown restrictions slowly started being lifted, the messaging included the invite to locals to consider city stays, encouraging them to enjoy parks, promenades and harbours, as well as promoting overnights in hotels, B&Bs and traditional accommodations. In fact, especially in the major cities, the accommodation sector is still the one suffering the most.

‍

On June 15th, Germany, Norway, Iceland and the Faroe Islands have opened their borders to Denmark, sparking new possibilities for international tourists. Still, the perception of safety and the current restrictions play a major role in influencing travel intentions of international travellers. Visit Denmark has started now targeting those markets taking a very responsible and 'safety first' focused approach. In view of the opening of the EU countries borders, the NTO is ready to extend this messaging even more.

‍

Developing a bottom-up approach

‍

Local DMOs played a crucial role in the success of the campaign. Instead of imposing a 'rigid' communication scheme to local DMOs, VisitDenmark has adopted a bottom-up approach, letting them free to run their own sub-campaigns independently, but at the same time providing them a valuable toolkit which includes branding material, messaging, and guidelines that are ready to use and integrate in their campaigns. The same approach was used with industry partners, who were provided to businesses with the same support, resulting in a wider spread of the campaign's message and the reinforcement of their image towards customers. One example above all is the danish national rail service, who has adopted the messaging in all their major communications. The campaign has made VisitDenmark even more aware of the importance of involving and empowering all the stakeholders in building campaigns and messages, an extremely important takeaway for all future campaigns.

‍

VisitDenmark represents an extraordinary example of how a bottom-up approach can make a campaign successful, starting with surveying locals and rising their awareness, developing strong messaging that support both local DMOs and businesses.

‍

How are you managing your campaigns? Which kind of approach have you adopted?

‍