Rottnest Island Authority

Rottnest Island has been one of Western Australia’s most popular summer holiday destinations since 1902. With an aim to highlight the Island as a great place to visit over the cooler months too, Detail was engaged to develop a campaign to increase accommodation revenue during winter, particularly Monday to Thursday, and increase visitor spend for the Rottnest Island business community.

Summer holiday hotspots in WA experience a significant downturn during winter, as people jet-set to warmer destinations or travel to places which cater specifically for the cold weather. We needed to create an advertising and marketing campaign which would highlight the unique experiences the Island could offer across the winter months.

The concept of the ‘More Rottnest’ campaign was to highlight the ‘more’ of what people crave during winter and which can be found at Rottnest – more time, more laughter, more living and more family time. The campaign was implemented through the use of promotions, billboards, print advertising, bus backs, social media and a dedicated website showcasing winter experiences and retail offers.

The successful campaign resulted in 100% extended stay occupancy during winter, and 489 winter accommodation packages were sold compared to 295 the previous year. Overall visitation to the Island in July increased by 23% compared to the same period in the previous year, and overall Island revenue increased by 20.5%.

Facebook was managed by Detail during this time to combat the strong level of negativity toward the Island, particularly in relation to price comparisons with Bali, and cultivate a more positive and supportive audience attitude. Upon completion of the social media contract Facebook had increased to 56,000 fans and a more engaging and positive interaction was achieved.

Supporting the ‘More’ campaign, Detail also engaged with the media to promote the Island as a tourism destination both within WA and Nationally.
The campaign received a Tourism Marketing Award at the Perth Airport WA Tourism Awards and was a Gold Award winner in the Pacific Asia Travel Association Gold Awards.