Reiselivskonferansen Fjordane frå bre til hav 2017

1. Inspired by Iceland
Sveinn Birkir Björnsson
Promote Iceland

2. Promote Iceland is a public-private partnership,
promoting Iceland internationally for trade, tourism,
foreign direct investment, and culture.
Visit Iceland is the official destination marketing
office for Iceland and aims to attract travelers to
Iceland. We work effectively on promoting and
marketing to consumers in cooperation with the
tourism industry under the umbrella brand of
Inspired by Iceland. We are a platform for
cooperation with effective network with domestic
and foreign tour operators and other stakeholders
in Icelandic tourism.

4. • Nature was the main driver in
all marketing material
• Different logos, different brands
promoting Iceland
• No platform for cooperation
and/or conversation
• Little or no cooperation between
different industries
• Different messages between
markets
• Little market research
10 years ago:
Marketing of Iceland as a
destination was very fragmented

5. 2010
European airspace
closed for six days
10 million passengers
affected
Projections showed 20%
decrease for Icelandic
tourism
Eyjafjallajökull
Eruption

6. 2010
Inspired by Iceland
Public/private marketing campaign
Government, City of Reykjavik,
Icelandair, Promote Iceland and 80
tourism companies from Iceland

7. Objectives for
Icelandic Tourism
1. Increased awareness of Iceland
as a year-round destination
2. Increased commerce from
tourists
3. Decreased seasonality in every
region for Icelandic tourism
4. Inspire responsible travel
behavior and maintain positive
visitor experience

8. 2011-2012
IMPROVE IMAGE OF
DESTINATION
REDUCE SEASONALITY
2013-2015
IMPROVE IMAGE OF
DESTINATION
REDUCE SEASONALITY
GENERATE HIGHER
EXPENDITURE PER
VISITOR
SPREAD TOURISM
GEOGRAPHICALLY
2016- ?
IMPROVE IMAGE OF
DESTINATION
REDUCE SEASONALITY
GENERATE HIGHER
EXPENDITURE PER
VISITOR
SPREAD TOURISM
GEOGRAPHICALLY
RESPONSIBLE TRAVEL
CHAPTER 1 CHAPTER 2 CHAPTER 3
MARKETING ICELAND
2010
CRISIS MANAGEMENT

9. Building Blocks for Marketing
We base all our marketing on a guiding light developed with the tourism industry

10. GUIDING LIGHT
IN MARKETING
Iceland
It’s not for everyone.
It’s not for those who go where everyone else goes.
It’s not for the conservative and expected traveler.
It’s for those who travel the world to experience
something different, to come back with stories to tell
and secrets to share.
The stories of Iceland don’t stop as winter comes.
Every season, and in every region, Iceland offers secrets
to the adventurous and enlightened traveler.
So welcome! To all those who travel with the spirit of
adventure, exploring and creativity. It may not be the
first place you think of travelling to this season, but it’ll
be the first place you tell your friends about.
Come and be inspired by Iceland.

11. MESSAGING
& STORIES
We use different
themes to tell the
story of Iceland

12. SPECIAL FOCUS
Sagatrail & Culture Health & Wellness Film
Meet in Reykjavik Food & Culinary Adventure

13. INTEGRATED
MARKETING
APPROACH

14. STAKEHOLDERS
&
STORYTELLERS

15. Target groups
The Fun-loving Globetrotter The Independent Explorer The Cultural Comfort Seeker

16. The
“Enlightened tourist”
target group is defined by
the following:
Between 20 and 65 years old
• Urban profile
• Above average education
• Above average income
• Above average consumtpiton of internet, mobiles
and media
People that do not want to follow the herd
• Want to travel independently
• Interest in culture, ideas and lifestyle of other people.
People that want to travel to new and exciting destinations
• Want to go on vacation during winter time
• Are open to new experiences
• Seek new challenges
• Are ready to share their experience with others

17. INTERNAL
MARKETING
HOW WE WORK
WITH STAKEHOLDERS
It is important to maintain an active
dialouge with stakeholders and create
a good flow of information
Regular meetings are planned with all
stakeholders to deliver the plan.
DIVISION AND
TEAM MEETINGS
BOARD
MEETING
MARKETING
MEETING
STAFF
MEETINGS
REGIONAL
OFFICES
ADVISORY
BOARD MEETING
INFORMATION
MEETINGS
STRATEGY
MEETING
Week Month 3 Months 6 Months Year

18. 0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
Mjög
sammála
Frekar
sammála
Hvorki né Frekar
ósammála
Mjög
ósammála
Kýs ekki að
svara / á
ekki við
Mean : 1.600 | Confidence Interval @ 95% : [1.380 - 1.820] | Standard Deviation : 0.503 | Standard Error : 0.112
I am happy with the results of the Inspired by Iceland campaign in the last two years?
100% Agree

19. 0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
Mjög
sammála
Frekar
sammála
Hvorki né Frekar
ósammála
Mjög
ósammála
Kýs ekki að
svara / á
ekki við
Mean : 1.550 | Confidence Interval @ 95% : [1.285 - 1.815] | Standard Deviation : 0.605 | Standard Error : 0.135
I am happy with the co-operation with in Inspired by Iceland?
95% Agree

20. 0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
45%
50%
Mjög líklegt Frekar líklegt Hvorki né Frekar ólíklegt Mjög ólíklegt
Mean : 1.850 | Confidence Interval @ 95% : [1.523 - 2.177] | Standard Deviation : 0.745 | Standard Error : 0.167
How likely are you to recommend participation in Inspired by Iceland?
80% líklegir

21. We Say and Do
Things Differently

22. 2011 | Íslander
Created a platform for Icelanders to invite tourists to do something
“Icelandic” with them. 150 invites – 700 accepted.

23. 2012 | Iceland by another name
Created an app that allowed tourists to suggest an alternative name for Iceland
based on their experience of the country. 25.000 name suggestions.

24. 2013 – 2014 | Share the secret
Created a map where we asked Icelanders to show their favorite secret place to
tourists. 200 secrets shared on map – 12.000 using #Icelandsecret hastag

25. SOURCE: ICELANDIC TOURIST BOARD
INTERNATIONAL VISITOR ARRIVALS TO ICELAND 2010 - 2016
459 252
540 824
646 921
781 016
969 181
1 261 938
1 767 726
0
500 000
1 000 000
1 500 000
2 000 000
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

26. DECLINING GROWTH IN THE REGIONS
SOURCE: STATISTICS ICELAND
BEDNIGHT % GROWTH YOY IN THE REGIONS OF ICELAND (2012-2014)
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
2012 2013 2014
Regions

27. CAPITAL GROWTH ECLIPSING THE REGIONS
BEDNIGHT GROWTH % YOY COMPARISON IN THE REGIONS VS. CAPITAL AREA (2014)
-15%
-10%
-5%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
South & Southwest West & Westfjords North East
SOURCE: STATISTICS ICELAND

28. 2014 - NEW APPROACH
Bottom-up, instead of top-down
• Yearly strategy meetings
• Monthly marketing meetings
• Re-targeting lists
• Participation in press trips / social media

29. Marketing is the
best (only) tool
available to us to
communicate with
visitors to Iceland.

30. Let’s talk about
Responsible Tourism

33. ASK GUÐMUNDUR - THE IDEA
When you want answers, you usually use a
search engine. But why ask a computer when
you can ask a human? We created the world’s
first human search engine. So now when you
have a question about Iceland’s secrets don’t
just ask a machine, Ask Guðmundur – the
human, quirky and decidedly Icelandic search
engine.
THE HUMAN SEARCH ENGINE
When you want answers, you usually use a search engine.
But why ask a computer when you can ask a human?

34. Westfjords Reykjavík North South ReykjanesWest East
THE HUMAN SEARCH ENGINE
When you want answers, you usually use a search engine.
But why ask a computer when you can ask a human?

35. ASK GUDMUNDUR: RESULTS

37. 2015: FASTEST GROWTH IN TOURISM EVER
SOURCE: ICELAND TOURIST BOARD, HIGH SEASON (JUNE – AUGUST), LOW SEASON (JAN – MAY, SEPT – DEC)
INDEX BEDNIGHT TREND IN THE NORDIC REGIONS (2010-2015)
80
100
120
140
160
180
200
220
240
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
Iceland
Denmark
Finland
Sweden
Norway
BEGINNING OF
ASK GUDMUNDUR
CAMPAIGN ACTIVITY

38. YoY INCREASE IN VISITOR SPENDING PER DAY
kr.48 000
kr.50 000
kr.52 000
kr.54 000
kr.56 000
kr.58 000
kr.60 000
kr.62 000
kr.64 000
2013 2014 2015
Average Visitor's Spend per Day
SOURCE: FOREIGN CARD TURNOVER (CENTRE FOR RETAIL STUDIES) & HOTEL BEDNIGHTS (STATISTICS ICELAND)
+8% INCREASE IN
SPEND PER DAY
2015: MORE SPENDING

39. 2015: LOWEST SEASONALITY EVER
0
100 000
200 000
300 000
400 000
500 000
600 000
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
LOW SEASON HIGH SEASON
SOURCE: ICELAND TOURIST BOARD, HIGH SEASON (JUNE – AUGUST), LOW SEASON (JAN – MAY, SEPT – DEC)
VISITOR ARRIVALS THROUGH KEF AIRPORT
+ 35%
INCREASE
IN WINTER
TOURISTS

40. 0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
2012 2013 2014 2015
2012
2013
2014
2015
+ 21% GREATER
THAN ESTIMATED
BEDNIGHT % GROWTH YOY IN THE REGIONS (2012-2015)
30% ACTUAL
ICELAND TOURISM 2015
2015: BEDNIGHT GROWTH DOUBLED IN THE REGIONS

41. -15%
-5%
5%
15%
25%
35%
45%
South & Southwest West & Westfjords North East
2014 Growth
2015 Growth
+ 408%+ 200% + 280%
HOTEL BEDNIGHT GROWTH % YOY COMPARISON IN THE REGIONS VS. CAPITAL AREA (2014-2015)
ICELAND TOURISM 2015
2015: ALL REGIONS TOURISM GROWTH INCREASED BY AT LEAST 200%.

42. Gudmundur drove 38.6% uplift in consideration
0% 2% 4% 6% 8% 10% 12% 14% 16% 18% 20%
Viewers
Non-Viewers
UPLIFT IN CONSIDERATION % FOR VIEWERS COMPARED TO NON-VIEWERS
+ 38.6%
Would you consider to go to Iceland during winter?
SOURCE: GOOGLE BRAND LIFT SURVEY

43. ASK GUÐMUNDUR: ÁRANGUR (UMFANG)
446M IMPRESSIONS DELIVERED THROUGH OUTREACH
52M UNIQUE REACH DELIVERED
1.2B ISK VALUE CREATED THROUGH OUTREACH
679 ARTICLES GENERATED
7M TOTAL VIDEO VIEWS

44. ASK GUDMUNDUR
INCREASE OF 164%
ON THE SEARCH
TERM “ICELAND”
400% AVERAGE INCREASE IN FOCUS
MARKETS ON BRAND, PRODUCT AND
CREATIVE TERMS.**

45. REGIONAL SEARCHES ON GOOGLE IN 2015
40% YoY INCREASE
HEIMILD: GÖGN FRÁ GOOGLE

48. HOW IT WORKS
We created a series of fun online
videos to teach tourists how to
enjoy Iceland at its best, to get the
most from their visit, safely and
responsibly.
By successfully completing the
Academy programme tourists
received some kind of certification
and also perhaps potential
benefits, making a happy holiday
even happier.

49. PLAY ICELAND ACADEMY LAUNCH VIDEO

50. 1.3 B IMPRESSIONS DELIVERED THROUGH OUTREACH
124M UNIQUE REACH DELIVERED
2.2 B ISK VALUE CREATED THROUGH OUTREACH
8.5 M VIEWS OF LAUNCH FILM
1.179 ARTICLES PUBLISHED
19.000 PEOPLE ‘GRADUATED’ FROM THE ACADEMY
850 ICELANDIC TOURISM COMPANIES PARTICIPATED
ICELAND ACADEMY: KEY NUMBERS 25.2 – 21.12 2016

51. 30% INCREASE
IN CONSIDIRATION TO
TRAVEL TO ICELAND
ON AVERAGE*
*Source: Google Brand Lift Survey March 2016 (Germany, France and Canda), Exposed vs Control.
ICELAND ACADEMY

52. ICELAND ACADEMY
INCREASE OF
342%
ON THE SEARCH TERM
“ICELAND”
1523% AVERAGE INCREASE IN FOCUS MARKETS ON
BRAND, PRODUCT AND CREATIVE TERMS.*
*Source: Google Brand Lift Survey March 2016 (Germany, France and Canda), Exposed vs Control.

56. I PLEDGE TO BE A RESPONSIBLE TOURIST.
WHEN I EXPLORE NEW PLACES,
I WILL LEAVE THEM AS I FOUND THEM.
I WILL TAKE PHOTOS TO DIE FOR,
WITHOUT DYING FOR THEM.
I WILL FOLLOW THE ROAD INTO THE UNKNOWN,
BUT NEVER VENTURE OFF THE ROAD.
AND I WILL ONLY PARK WHERE I AM SUPPOSED TO.
WHEN I SLEEP OUT UNDER THE STARS,
I’LL STAY WITHIN A CAMPSITE.
AND WHEN NATURE CALLS,
I WON’T ANSWER THE CALL ON NATURE.
I WILL BE PREPARED FOR ALL WEATHERS,
ALL POSSIBILITIES AND ALL ADVENTURES.
THE ICELANDIC PLEDGE

61. TAKK!