What's Happening

The ground-breaking 100% Pure New Zealand tourism marketing campaign is turning 10 years old this year.

The 100% Pure New Zealand campaign is New Zealand’s longest-running tourism campaign, and one of the longest-running global campaigns in the world.

"Many have said to me that it is the brand’s consistency over such a long period of time which has helped to build up our brand awareness overseas," says chief executive of Tourism New Zealand George Hickton. "We aim that the brand works to let consumers know the key messages about New Zealand - the authenticity of our country - and that this consequently gives the international travel trade a really good base on which to sell our destination."

"It’s meant that we’ve been able to develop and build upon our investment, rather than spend money on reinventing and recreating new marketing work and give our trade and media partners a solid base to work from."

Everything Tourism New Zealand does works to push the 100% Pure New Zealand message, and Mr Hickton says the industry have played a key part in this.

"The campaign is about selling New Zealand as a quality destination," he says, "and we couldn’t have done it without the support of the travel trade. I’d like to thank you, for helping us promote great New Zealand product that reflects the 100% Pure New Zealand values."

In 1999, the campaign was the first to go out and use the same key message to brand New Zealand, all over the world.

In the last 10 years, the first ever global marketing campaign for New Zealand has claimed accolade after accolade, including helping New Zealand win the Guardian and Observer (UK) ‘Best Long-Haul Destination’ in four separate years, and the campaign itself taking out the Pacific Asia Tourism Association (PATA) Grand Award for marketing and the United Nations World Tourism Organisation have cited it as one of the best nation brands in the world in their new ‘Handbook on Nation Branding’.

Mr Hickton says its flexibility has meant it has been able to be used for a wide variety of activity and promotions.

"We worked hard to tie in the 100% Pure New Zealand campaign with ‘The Lord of the Rings’ trilogy being filmed in New Zealand; we could apply it to the America’s Cup; and we took it to the Chelsea Flower Show in London. We used it to give the Lions rugby tour supporters a ‘100% Pure Welcome’ and we put it on a Giant Rugby Ball in Paris during the 2007 Rugby World Cup."

"It’s been revised and reviewed, tweaked and adapted, but it’s proven that it can rise to meet the challenges and opportunities over the last 10 years," say George Hickton. "This is a campaign that can work for New Zealand for a long time to come."

For more information, video clips and images see: http://10yearsyoung.tourismnewzealand.com