In September 2018 we started to develop a storytelling destination marketing concept “Go Wild, Choose Estonia”. Our goal was to raise awareness and visibility of the destination by proactively communicating authentic and unique experiences that can be enjoyed in Estonia, focusing on creating and curating engaging content. Although mainly aiming for digital marketing, we used multiple channels to reach our target audience to maximize the impact of the marketing message. We decided to add stories and personal touch to every marketing activity.
The “Go Wild, Choose Estonia” concept has a playful meaning – Estonia is one of Europe’s greenest and most forested countries, Estonians love their nature. On the other hand, we are a relatively unknown destination – so we wanted to encourage event planners to book a non-traditional destination for their events.
Introduced at ITBM World at the end of 2018, the theme has been the linchpin of the our marketing activities since that time, with our social media messaging, blog posts, website, trade show efforts and PR activities all falling under its conceptual umbrella.
Our story-telling destination marketing campaign has yielded stellar results in the year since its launch, including unprecedented growth in industry contacts, international press coverage and bureau membership, statistics show. Read on about the results of the first campaign year!
In addition to sparking positive coverage in the international press, the campaign received high honours from the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) when they granted it their ICCA Best Marketing Award 2019.