About a month back I came across a web link which promised a lifetime experience for lucky few to travel to SA with guess whom – Jonty Rhodes. I think the offer was just irresistible to no to try.
For one – SA is a heaven and anyone who loves to explore nature at its best- this was a significant upside. With so much of varied landscapes to offer – Adventure, Wildlife, beautiful landscapes, cosmopolitan outlook, global cuisines, breathtaking locations – well the list can be endless. And each one of them worthy writing, clicking, narrating, tweeting inspiring others, to take the leap, and just put this country on your bucket list.
Secondly associating with Jonty Rhodes who epitomizes all positive traits – good sportsmanship, excellent athlete, role model for aspiring cricketers and above all a good human being. The offer was worth a try.
I tweeted about why I believe I should be taken to South Africa, and believe that many in the country would have found the marketing promotion worthy of a try. I call this a smart marketing initiative by the SA Tourism for India. Having a pulse on adventurous, young Indian , who love to travel – express, blog, and stay relevant to their social peers, and who worship Cricket and hence have a great love for Jonty Rhodes is a killer combination.
I am not too sure of quantitative data as to how many people tweeted and participated in it, but qualitatively this was a great initiative and was a good attempt at leveraging the paid – earned and owned media for SA Tourism. The website – owned media has allowed many to interact and share it on their social media (earned media). The client must have paid a small sum for the paid media which was worth the effort.
Hope to see many more such tourism initiatives in India and keeping my fingers crossed for the results of Take me to South Africa contest.