“You don’t need a holiday, you need Cape Town” is the tagline of Cape Town Tourism’s new marketing campaign that will be launched internationally at the World Travel Market (WTM) in London next month.

The campaign – announced at CTT’s annual general meeting on October 17 – looks beyond the city’s natural beauty to reveal its multicultural character, diverse people and communities, and encapsulates every facet of the city from tourism to design, business and academic institutions.  “It positions Cape Town as an antidote to an uncertain and changing world, telling personal stories that will inspire and resonate with visitors. It’s an urban elixir if you will...take a good dose of the tonic and although we can’t promise what you’ll find, we can promise that you will find a better self!” says CTT CEO, Mariëtte du Toit-Helmbold.

“The message to international tour operators is: There is more to Cape Town than meets the eye! We have juxtaposed the expected Cape Town with the unexpected Cape Town, showcasing to the trade and media those unique elements that often aren’t as well-known to visitors. In a world that is quite jaded where people are looking for new and exciting experiences, it gives diversity to our message and gives us new products and experiences to sell.”

Keeping in mind its limited operating budget of R40m for 2012 from the Cape Town City Council, CTT plans to enable the international trade and media to sell the destination on its behalf. Du Toit-Helmbold says CTT will partner with international airlines, trade, media and the local industry to put together packages to Cape Town. “What we’re taking to WTM is a practical way for the trade and the media to package Cape Town,” she explains. This includes, among other, a “brand box” with promotional material for the trade, media and local industry.

“Our limited budget is one of the reasons why we had to come up with a campaign that’s quite challenging in its nature, that’s a bit cheeky and pushes the boundaries, that plays outside of the normal travelogue and that has the legs for stakeholders and many other sectors to embrace, whether it’s the conference industry, the investment industry, or academic institutions,” Du Toit-Helmbold says.

Discovery Channel and National Geographic will launch a series of programmes about Cape Town in April next year, as part of a collaboration between South African Tourism, Durban and Johannesburg to showcase the livability of South African cities. The programmes will be screened in key traditional and new markets over nine months and will be supported by advertising (including a TV ad being produced at present), digital and online platforms, events like photo-exhibitions and retail displays; outdoor billboards and print articles. Discovery Channel has also agreed to conduct a film school in Cape Town to generate footage for use by Discovery, CTT and the Cape Film Commission. 

Meanwhile, more authentic and interactive visitor experiences are to be developed in Cape Town. For example, the Fan Walk developed for the 2010 Fifa World Cup will be linked to other sites of significance through a series of walks.

The new campaign has been launched more than a year after the World Cup and Du Toit-Helmbold says it took so long to get off the ground because it involved a lengthy consultative and creative process. “We undertook a very thorough process to understand the markets that we need to reach with our campaign and to build a campaign that has absolute buy-in and support from all sectors, including government. We are very happy to have achieved that.”