The challenge
In 2023, Australian tourism body VisitCanberra launched their first ever international advertising campaign, in India. This was a significant step to promote Australia’s capital city as a tourist destination in the global market, so it was important for VisitCanberra to measure the impact of that marketing investment.
To assess the effectiveness of their campaign, VisitCanberra needed a robust but affordable research solution. Since their overall media budget was relatively small for a market of India’s size, they could not rely on a conventional research study that measured advertising recognition and impact across the whole market, since large parts of the population would not have been exposed to their advertising. Instead, they needed help to devise an approach that suited their research objectives and reflected the overall scale of the media investment.
The solution
The VisitCanberra team collaborated with Glow to develop a methodology and survey that could effectively measure the influence of their marketing campaigns on the perceptions and consideration of their Indian target audience.
A representative sample of Indian respondents was surveyed to collect data on their long-haul travel activities, their familiarity with Australian destinations, and their previous visits to Australia, including their awareness and opinions of Canberra. To determine the potential impact of VisitCanberra’s advertising, a forced exposure methodology was employed: respondents were shown the VisitCanberra ad and then asked the same questions about their perceptions of Canberra as before. By comparing the pre and post-viewing responses, VisitCanberra could assess the potential impact of the ad on perceptions and consideration of visiting Canberra. Additionally, open-ended responses were collected to gather more detailed information about the factors driving Canberra’s appeal.
Glow’s platform is specifically designed to facilitate high-quality research in a quick and efficient manner. This study was conducted shortly after the conclusion of the local marketing campaign in order to capitalize on residual awareness among those who had seen the campaign naturally. The fieldwork for the study was completed in under a day. VisitCanberra was able to view the results in real time as respondents completed the survey, and they were able to use the platform’s powerful built-in analysis tools to analyze the results quickly and easily.
The outcome
The results revealed that while Canberra had some level of awareness amongst Indians, it was not the most well known or appealing Australian destination, highlighting an opportunity for marketing to increase knowledge and desire to visit.
The study demonstrated the power of VisitCanberra’s advertising to stimulate interest in visitation. Post-exposure attitudinal change demonstrated an increase in consideration of Canberra as well as improvements in key impact metrics such as appeal of the Canberra region, likelihood to visit, and interest in recommending Canberra to others. It also provided rich comments about the drivers of appeal that are useful inputs for developing future communications.
The research served the important purpose of helping VisitCanberra demonstrate the potential value of overseas advertising and marketing activity to the Government and the industry. It has already helped them gain support for future marketing activities, in India and beyond.
If you’re looking to test the impact of your marketing activity, track your brand performance, or discover the attitudes and motivations of your customer base, Glow can help. Our platform is designed for speed, simplicity, and reach, and our research experts are always ready to provide support. To learn more about how Glow can assist your business in conducting quality market research quickly, please visit our website or book an intro with one of our friendly team members.
