TOURISM Western Australia's new $5.6 million brand and marketing campaign has received mixed reviews, despite the state government's confidence in the self-described “whacky” attempt to drive visitation to WA.
The brand positioning from Sydney-based creative agency HOST was launched on Sunday by Premier Colin Barnett and Tourism Minister Liz Constable, who unveiled The Extraordinary Taxi Ride as the first marketing campaign under the Experience Extraordinary brand.
The interactive taxi ride involves the public entering a competition to be passengers on sections of the nine-week journey around WA with celebrity guests joining in.
The public will also vote online for the official taxi driver with the story of the journey to be told online, in press, on radio, outdoor and on television.
Opposition tourism spokeswoman Liljianna Ravlich said she has no confidence in the new campaign and suggested the $5.6 million could have been better used to secure or retain valuable events for the state.
“If the premier thinks it’s whacky, and he’s put that on the public record, then even he has got some reservations about it,” Ms Ravlich told WA Business News.
“I think the first challenge will be actually getting a taxi (in Perth). It’s not a smart move.”
Tourism Council WA president Paul King is more positive, believing the campaign is innovative enough to generate interest in WA.
“The choice of cabbie and those people participating is extremely important, their camera skills and personality need to be good if it’s going to be well-received,” he said.
“But you don’t want to send a message that you can get a taxi from the airport and drive to Karratha or the Bungle Bungles.
“I don’t want it to be the only campaign that TWA rely on, but it’s a start.”
