Cape Town Tourism launched its most significant marketing campaign ever last night, the ‘Find your Freedom’ interactive immersive campaign launching simultaneously in Cape Town, Berlin, London and New York. The launch took place at the Zeitz MOCAA.

Intended to run until the end of the year, the ‘Find your Freedom’ campaign is aimed at Millennials, described as travellers who would prefer to be guided in a City than to buy and use a guide book. The traveller chooses the adventure, and finds his/her freedom. 

The campaign is a three-prong one, allowing the traveller to choose to tap into his/her Urban Adventurer, channel your Nature Warrior, or indulge your Fearless Foodie. The commercial for the campaign shows images of the Zeitz MOCAA building, Groot Constantia, Boulders Beach, a restaurant, wildlife,    underwater, and more.

Before receiving the media release, I searched the Facebook page of Cape Town Tourism (Love Cape Town). If one is a ‘Fearless Foodie’, seeking cuisine ‘smoke, magic, theatre’, one might choose to go to FYN, La Colombe, Chefs Warehouse Tintswalo Atlantic, and Belly of the Beast.  If you are an ‘Urban Adventurer’, one can choose to see Cape Town from a skyscraper, hear stories of ordinary people living extraordinary lives, understand the history of our city, and explore every space. As a ‘Nature Warrior’ you might seek solitude, would head off on one of the city’s nature trails, enjoying the birdsong and blue skies, or take your surfboard to a nearby beach. Or hike up Table Mountain.

Interviewed by Sued-Afrika Magazin, Cape Town Tourism GM Enver Duminy said that Tourism is on the up, but that it is a long journey of recovery after two years of Corona and Lockdown regulations, the Tourism industry having lost about 40% of its jobs. Domestic Tourism has recovered, at 70% of the 2019 level. International Tourism is around 50 % of that of 2019. Last-minute bookings are on the up, he said. Information needs to be provided to travellers more quickly. Reaction needs to be fast and immediate, for example when the travel bans left many tourists stranded in Cape Town. Older travellers have become more conservative, Duminy said, while the Millenials and the Generation Z have become more adventurous. The new marketing campaign is aimed at well-to-do Millenials, travelling with a purpose, experiences being more important than staying in a fancy hotel, and wanting to make a contribution at one’s Travel destination. The new ‘Find your Freedom’ campaign is based on ‘Gamification and choice-based travel’. Depending on one’s choice of travel avatar, Culture, Eating, or Nature options are presented.  Media to be utilised are Instagram, Tik Tok and videos.

In his speech last night, Duminy expanded on the marketing details of the campaign. Millenials make up 23% of the world population. Travel is in their DNA. They seek authentic experiences and meaningful connections. One third of them will spend R80000 – R100000 on a holiday. They are ‘digital natives, pioneers of the digital travel journey’.  They book everything online, they use social media to experience a destination before they arrive, they value the opinions of their friends and influencers above anyone else…’. Every part of their travel experience is shared on Instagram, Tik Tok, Snapchat and YouTube.  Cape Town Tourism has partnered with GoPro Local, Expedia for bookings, and top media partners in Berlin, London and New York. ‘Cape Town represents freedom for all and now’s the time to find your freedom’, concluded Duminy.

City of Cape Town Alderman James Vos enumerated the benefits of travel, making one smarter, less stressful, happier, and more attractive. He said that Cape Town is receiving 239 flights per day.

I received the Cape Town Tourism media release whilst writing this post this morning :

 

‘CAPE TOWN TOURISM LAUNCHES LANDMARK IMMERSIVE TRAVEL EXPERIENCE

 

South Africa, 29 March 2022: Cape Town Tourism has launched its most important initiative to date – the landmark Find Your Freedom immersive travel experience. The interactive interface uses game-style graphics to empower global travellers to choose their Mother City adventure, based on the guide they identify with – the Fearless Foodie, Nature Warrior, or Urban Adventurer. It’s a first-of-its-kind concept from the leading destination marketing organisation.

Enver Duminy, CEO of Cape Town Tourism, says, “Find Your Freedom uses the latest digital technology to immerse viewers in unique Cape Town choice-driven video experiences. You choose your guide. You choose your adventure. It’s an interactive journey from start to finish.”

It’s fast-paced, captivating and unlike anything any other destination marketing organisation worldwide is doing. Alderman James Vos, City of Cape Town’s Mayoral Committee Member for Economic Growth, says, “Our goal is to fuel faster recovery in the visitor economy. Following the pandemic, people worldwide are itching to explore, do more, and reclaim that sense of purpose. We want to encourage individuals in our key source markets to jump on a plane and come to Cape Town to find their freedom. This new campaign really hits the mark not just in terms of being something original and fun, but most importantly, being enticing enough, I believe, to result in actual bookings.

Hosted on the Cape Town Tourism website, visitors are welcomed into an immersive world by an enchanted African story-teller, who urges them to choose their guide. All characters are designed to be visually striking, in gaming-inspired, Afro-futurist graphics.  Once they select the Fearless Foodie, Nature Warrior or Urban Adventurer, the viewer is taken down a rabbit hole of rapid videos, showcasing some of the best offerings linked to their interests. For example, a fearless foodie will ‘visit’ La Colombe, watch an aunty fold samosas in the Bo Kaap, and dive into steampunk scenes at Truth Coffee.

The fact that viewers get to make their own choices is the cornerstone of the campaign and very current with international trends. Leigh Dawber, Chief Marketing Officer at Cape Town Tourism, says, “With the creeping onset of the metaverse, choice will continue to govern virtual experiences that feel ever more real. In this campaign, we’ve combined real-life footage of Cape Town with whimsical CGI touches.”

This method of putting the user in charge increases engagement. Dawber adds, “Many of us remember those iconic Choose Your Own Adventure childhood books. This campaign works in a similar way. It’s innovative and inspiring. It lets you dictate how you explore our beautiful city. Millennials, especially, have a keen sense of adventure and desire to travel with purpose. Our aim is to appeal to this. The more personalised you can make your experience of the Mother City, the more likely you are to plan the trip of a lifetime.”

The Find Your Freedom immersive travel experience also leans on the idea of co-creation. Cape Town Tourism is working with GoPro Global, where six international ambassadors will share what ‘Find Your Freedom’ in Cape Town means through their lens. Dawber says, “The idea with this initiative is to delve into a different kind of storytelling. This partnership will see these renowned creatives share their stories, their way.”

Cape Town Tourism is also partnering with Expedia on conversion, enabling visitors to effortlessly book and enjoy special travel packages and discounts.

Ultimately, Find Your Freedom works to restore confidence in Cape Town, which suffered greatly from the global travel bans over the past two years. Consistently called one of the world’s best and most beautiful destinations, the Mother City really does have something for everyone.

Duminy concludes, “Cape Town represents freedom for all and now’s the time to find your freedom!”

To find your freedom, visit CapeTown.Travel or play the game now.’

Chris von Ulmenstein, WhaleTales Blog: www.whaletalesblog.com www.chrisvonulmenstein.com/blog Tel +27 082 55 11 323 Twitter:@Ulmenstein Facebook: Chris von Ulmenstein, My Cape Town Guide/Mein Kapstadt Guide Instagram: @Chrissy_Ulmenstein @MyCapeTownGuide