PR success for Tourism Queensland
After a worldwide search, Tourism Queensland has appointed its new Islands Caretaker. 'The Best Job in the World' competition proved a huge success for Tourism Queensland, so much so that BBC One has now ordered a documentary to be made about it.
The campaign launched in January attracting almost 35,000 applicants and an estimated £54m of press coverage around the world, it has been deemed by many as the "most successful tourism marketing campaign in history".
When seeing the vast amount of media attention this one job advert generated I can’t help but wonder if Tourism Queensland were expecting the interest it generated?
The contest for the dream job attracted some controversy after being announced in January. Its website crashed due to a deluge of visitors, angering many hopefuls who could not lodge their video applications, suggesting that perhaps Tourism Queensland had not anticipated the full impact of its communications?
The BBC documentary set to air on July 2, the day before the winning candidate Briton Ben Southall begins his role as caretaker of Hamilton Island will provide yet more free publicity for the country. Ben will also be writing a blog on his experiences and being interviewed by the media to further promote the country.
Anticipated or not, Tourism Queensland is certainly making the most of the interest it generated!