South African Tourism set up a microsite in conjunction with Travel Weekly in June.
The aim of the site was to publicise our mega fam for 100 agents and keep momentum going about the destination once the trip was over.
We wanted agents to know where they were going and what they would be doing on the mega fam. The microsite meant that a greater number of agents could get a feel for the trip. It created a lot of excitement.
Blogs were posted on the site during the fam trip so agents back home in the UK could follow what was going on. We also made videos of agents on the trip to upload to the microsite.
The plan is to keep the site going until the end of November and there will be further promotional activity around it to remind agents it is there, especially now the video footage has gone live.
South African Tourism has also run competitions on the service to encourage other agents and readers to post their own experiences of the destination on the site.
We’re looking at ways to encourage agents to revisit the site.
We were spurred on to do the trade microsite following the success of our consumer site with the Telegraph last year. That same site has been adapted for use this year.
This year’s theme is My South African Feast. The message is not just about food, but that is the platform to showcase the destination’s quality and value for money.
Through food, we were able to highlight the various places visitors can eat in South Africa, such as out in the bush or on Table Mountain; the value for money; the convivial atmosphere of a feast and the welcoming nature of the people.
The consumer microsite has also been added to this year, with video footage as well as additional content. South African Tourism also joined forces with the Hoxton Apprentice restaurant in London and took five chefs and five front-of-house staff to the country.
We then ran reader promotions in Condé Nast Traveller and Wanderlust inviting 90 readers for a seven-course meal at the Hoxton Apprentice restaurant.
