DQ Consumer Marketing Update

As we prepare for the exciting winter season ahead, DQ has been busy with winter marketing activity in both the domestic and Australian markets. Our new winter brand assets are performing very strongly, and we are pleased that they are resonating with audiences in both markets. DQ’s always on digital activity also continues to deliver great results and we encourage members to keep their listings up to date to ensure best possible referrals from DQ. we’ll also have new consumer assets that communicate the region’s regenerative tourism ambitions coming in the next few weeks.

The FY23/24 DQ business plan has been completed and submitted to QLDC. Off the back of this, we are developing a new marketing plan to align tactical activity to both the destination management plan and the FY23-24 business plan. A new regenerative-led model will be introduced from July onwards which will see activity shift from the current volume focus of the dream-plan-book model to a virtuous cycle approach which seeks to continually improve all interactions with visitors.

You will have seen the announcement that TNZ is discontinuing its domestic marketing, which DQ supports. We thank TNZ for the great work over the last few years, encouraging Kiwis to see more of the country, and the RTOs can continue to build on those efforts. DQ is very focused on the domestic market and ensuring Kiwis are encouraged to explore our region.

Finally, it’s been incredibly exciting to have the Love Queenstown initiative up and running. It gives our visitors a way to give back to climate, conservation and biodiversity initiatives in the region. New activity promoting the fund and its purpose has also been launched. If your business is interested in exploring how to get involved, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.

Ngā Mihi

Sarah O'Donnell
Marketing and communications director

Winter 2023 Activity 

DQ’s winter activity has been live in Australia from 1 March and recently launched in the domestic market on 1 May. Activity is focused on the upper funnel – dream and plan layers – building brand and driving destination preference.

Winter activity is led by a new winter brand video and supported by written content that dives deeper into our winter story, shining a light on our unique people and place, while highlighting our destinations winter sustainability initiatives and experiences.

The new winter brand video has delivered strong results to date, with almost 2.5M views across paid channels in the last 3 months and tracking at an 80% video completion rate on YouTube.

Media across both markets is led by an extended paid digital and social strategy targeting winter lovers and ski enthusiasts. Digital activity is supported with premium placements on Connected TV in the Australian market, and a nationwide campaign on TV1, TV2 and TVNZ Video On Demand in the domestic market. DQ’s ‘local profile’ series is also promoted through Australia’s ‘SnowsBest’ channels including the Southern e-Mag and ongoing eDM activity to their 80,000+ database.

View the 60 second winter brand video here, or click on the image above.

Digital Always-On Activity 

DQ’s always-on digital marketing and social activity means Queenstown has a destination presence in both the domestic and Australian markets year-round, aimed at supporting sustainable demand. The activity and content are designed to shape the destination reputation, sharing stories about our people and place, and attracting likeminded visitors. 

Total website results YTD from 1 July 2022 – 31 May 2023:

• Over 2.84M website visits to QueenstownNZ.co.nz (+53% YoY)
• Over 611,000 member referrals/clicks from QueenstownNZ.co.nz to operator websites (+76% YoY)
• Conversion rate of 23.6%

Love Queenstown Community Fund
Love Queenstown is a platform that connects visitors and the tourism industry with our community organisations and the great work they do.

Learn how your business can champion the Community Fund here, or email ash@queenstown-wanaka.nz

'What’s On’ Event Marketing Campaign
DQ’s digital event marketing activity will continue throughout winter promoting multi-day events, through to local community events and initiatives.

It is free to submit an event listing on QueenstownNZ.nz. Event listings inform DQ’s digital activity, seasonal event guides and submissions to Tourism New Zealand.

DQ’s Direct-to-Consumer eDM Platform

DQ's direct-to-consumer email campaigns are tailored to reach domestic, Australian and long-haul audiences with relevant and inspiring content that aligns with their interests. Content over the winter months will be focused around the two core winter segments of ski enthusiasts and winter lovers. A new eDM subscription campaign will launch focused on growing our database.

Important visitor targeting changes on Meta

Meta has recently changed their location targeting options for creating ads, and the ability to distinguish between visitors and residents when targeting locations has been removed. As a result, any in-destination ads will now show to both residents and visitors. To adapt effectively, we recommend operators update their messaging and ad copy to account for this change and keep this in mind when analysing performance. 

Google Analytics Deadline

Universal Analytics will be sunset on 1 July 2023. If you use Google Analytics to track your website performance and optimise your marketing strategies, it is crucial to migrate to Google Analytics 4 (GA4) by then. As a result of this change in platform, Destination Queenstown's website metrics that we report on will see a variance of up to 10% when compared with historical Universal Analytics data. Learn more here.

How to Leverage DQ’s Marketing Activity

There are multiple ways to leverage and get involved in DQ’s marketing activity:

1. Ensure your listings on QueenstownNZ.co.nz are up to date. Check open hours and contact details are correct or consider updating imagery and descriptions to suit each season.
2. Make sure your Google My Business listing is up to date, considering opening days and times, as well as any contact details.
3. Submit upcoming events to be listed on DQ’s Events hub. It is free to do so and you can load anything from community planting days, local ride nights or Farmers markets.
4. Send DQ any new imagery and video content to ensure we are using your latest assets in our activity. Please email new content to daniellaj@queenstownNZ.nz
5. Keep DQ up to date with any new products, sustainability initiatives, or changes to your business – we always love to hear from you and it’s a welcome opportunity to meet the team.
6. Keep an eye out for the regular Queenstown Connect members workshops where we cover a range of topics to support member capability building.

If you require more information or if you have any questions about DQ’s marketing, please email rubys@queenstownNZ.nz