2GB Interview
BEN DAVIS: The Minister for Trade,Tourism, and Investment, and he joins me on the line. Steven Ciobo, goodafternoon.
STEVEN CIOBO: Good afternoon, Ben.
BEN DAVIS: Are you at the SuperBowl?
STEVEN CIOBO: I could not be in a more different position. I'm actually in myoffice at Parliament House in Canberra. You know, for some people, it's theSuper Bowl of Australian politics, but-
BEN DAVIS: Mate, you obviously don't know how to pull a rort. I mean, everyother politician knows how to pull travel rort, you could have got, you wouldhave been front and centre, if you wanted to.
STEVEN CIOBO: No, mate. I've got, you know, I'd rather be talking about it, andthe benefits of this latest marketing campaign with blokes like you, and otherAussies.
BEN DAVIS: Alright. And, is it going to work? Is it going to bring, I thinkit's brilliant stunt, don't get me wrong, I mean, the way that it was drawnout, and there was drip, drip, drip, and people thought there was actually goingto be sequel to Crocodile Dundee. I thought all of that was amazing, don't getme wrong. I think the ad itself is amazing, I'm just wondering, is it going toequal bums on seats on those planes coming to Australia?
STEVEN CIOBO: Well, Ben, if we look at the early results, and, as they say, theproof of the pudding's in the tasting. Let's have a look at what we've beenable to achieve in the last week or two, in the lead-up to this, plus theactual release of the advertisement itself. We've had more than 400 millionsocial media engagements already. And, that is, 80% of that, is in NorthAmerica, which is, of course, our target audience. We've had nearly 4,000 newsitems around this advertisement, and the campaign, and that, of itself is apotential viewing audience of more than 3 billion people. So, I mean, these areextraordinary numbers. And, if you look at the actual advertising value of it,that is, already, more than $30 million. So, on every level, this has been atremendous success so far, but you're right. What's gonna matter is how manymore tourists we get over the next 12, or 24, months, and that's why thisunderpins the campaign for the next two years, we're putting $36 million intothis. And, the reason we're doing it, Ben, is because tourism, in terms ofinternational tourists, is a $41 billion export industry that employs 600,000Australians directly, and I want to make sure we keep it growing.
BEN DAVIS: It's the age-old challenge, isn't it? Getting Americans to cometo Australia. They love us, they love watching us on the TV, they love themovies and everything else, but it's a long way to travel to Australia. And, wehave had some pretty sharp campaigns in the past that I think have been quitegood, but they just haven't managed to tick that box of getting people to bookthe ticket, and to come here. Distance is the big challenge, isn't it?
STEVEN CIOBO: Look, always. And, also, getting Americans to understand that,when they come to Australia, they don't have to do every part of Australia.They don't need to go to Cairns, to the Gold Coast, to Sydney, to Melbourne, toPerth. You know, it's actually getting them to realize, they can come for,four, five, six, seven days, and then go back, and then do more on the nexttrip. I mean, not a lot of Aussies would view it in reverse, where they try togo, you know, from San Francisco, to LA, to Miami, to New York, in one trip.So, we need to break down that perception. But, ultimately, the hardest thingin the North American market is to shift the needle. And, what I mean by thatis, it's such a media-dominated market, that getting that traction, gettingthat cut-through, is critical. And, that's why this campaign has just been soclever. And I cannot, you know, as Australia's Tourism Minister, I cannot thankenough the fact that we got Chris and Liam Hemsworth, Hugh Jackman, RussellCrowe, Margot Robbie, Jessica Mauboy, Hoges himself, you know, all the,[inaudible], these guys stepped up to the plate, in a massive way, to do theright thing by their country, and as a consequence, we've got great traction inNorth America.
BEN DAVIS: Did those big starscharge for their appearances?
STEVEN CIOBO: They charged the absolute minimum that they're legally allowed tocharge, under the Screen Actors Guild. So, in other words, mate, what they did,was save Australian taxpayers millions and millions of dollars. Aussies knowthat Margot Robbie, these days, she could command millions of dollars for anadvertisement. But, they did it because they love their country, they'repassionate about their country, they want to work with Tourism Australia, andthey have been wonderful.
BEN DAVIS: Well, the challenge is to get as many eyeballs as possible onyour ad, and you've certainly done that in a big way, so well done. I don'tknow who came up with the idea, but well done to them. You could always claimcredit.
STEVEN CIOBO: Well, it's the team at Tourism Australia. They're the ones thathave been at the forefront of this, and, they really have done an outstandingjob with this, as I said. The traction has been really strong. Now, what weneed to do it make sure it doesn't just end with a whimper now, and that's it.What we do is, we back it in, now, for the next 12, 18 months, 24 months, andthat's why it's so good that we've got such strong industry support. Qantas ison board, a number of other key tourism operators are all on board. We've gotstates and territories stepping up to the plate, now. So, it bodes really well,to helping to drive more American tourists, which means more economic growth,and more jobs.
BEN DAVIS: Full credit to Tourism Australia. We'll talk again, Steven Ciobo.Thank for your time.
STEVENCIOBO: Thanks, mate.