B2C Marketing

The Vienna Tourist Board continued to actively develop all 17 of its established focus markets (Germany, Austria, Switzerland, the USA, the United Kingdom, Italy, Spain, France, Russia, China, Japan, South Korea, the Arabic countries, Canada, Australia, Brazil and India) in 2021, while also prioritizing six nearby markets with the greatest potential to generate overnight stays quickly: the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Belgium and the Netherlands – the latter two being of particular importance for the meeting industry.

While accommodations remained closed to leisure travelers, the Vienna Tourist Board continued to inspire potential visitors with its always-on digital strategy. As soon as it was known when travel restrictions would be lifted, the Vienna Tourist Board launched activation campaigns in the markets that had the greatest potential at the time. In markets where private travel to Vienna was still not possible, the objective was to anchor Vienna in the relevant target groups and maintain awareness at a high level.

Vienna Strips on OnlyFans

With a potential reach of 800 million people and generating more than 2,800 media reports worldwide, “Vienna strips on OnlyFans” is one of the Vienna Tourist Board’s most successful campaigns to date, winning several prestigious national and international awards. At its heart was a highly charged social topic: just how much nudity is acceptable to us and who decides what constitutes art? Launched in late summer 2021, the PR campaign triggered media interest around the world, positioning Vienna as a living center of art and culture at a time when global travel destinations were vying for attention as demand recovered. Vienna became one of the first brands to set up an account on the OnlyFans social network as part of a cooperation project that also involved the Kunsthistorisches Museum Vienna, the Natural History Museum, the Albertina and the Leopold Museum. Once again, Vienna’s dedicated USP – the capital’s incredibly rich cultural life – formed the focus. The media echo was huge, with coverage spanning the globe: leading media including The New York Times, The Guardian and the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung all reported on it. And the American comedian Stephen Colbert featured the Vienna Tourist Board’s campaign on his Late Night Show.

At the awards show of the Creativ Club Austria (CCA) – the most important creative award in Austria – the campaign was awarded three gold medals in the categories "Overall Campaign", "PR Campaign" and "Social Media", two silver medals in the categories "Promotion and Sales Promotion" and "Creative Media" and two bronze medals in the categories "Innovation" and "Creative Strategy". The main prize "Client of the Year" also went to Vienna Tourist Board – for the second time after 2018. In addition, the PR campaign, which went viral, was also honored with international awards: As part of "The One Show" awards in New York – they are among the world's most prestigious awards ceremonies in the field of advertising, design and digital marketing – the Vienna Tourist Board received the highly coveted award no less than five times in two of the total of 27 categories: Gold and silver in the category "Public Relations", which also brought the overall victory here ("Best of Discipline"), as well as gold and two times silver in the "Social Media" category. At the Clio Awards in New York – one of the most prestigious international creative competitions – the campaign was awarded three silver medals in the categories "Digital/Mobile", "Public Relations" and "Social Media. At the D&AD Awards in London – one of the most renowned benchmarks for creative excellence in design and advertising – the Vienna Tourist Board received three D&AD Pencils: the Yellow Pencil (category "Media - Social") and two Wood Pencils (categories: "Digital - Social" and "PR - Creative Use of Budget"). The German Art Directors Club (ADC) honored "Vienna strips on OnlyFans" with Silver (category "Brand Advertising - Mobile/Online Media - Platform"), Bronze ("Brand PR - Branded Content/Entertainment - Social Media Activation") and the ADC Award ("Promotion - B2C Campaigns - B2C Single Campgain").

Feed Your Soul

The Vienna Tourist Board launched its “Feed Your Soul” campaign in Austria on April 15 with out-of-home advertising. As travel opportunities to Vienna gradually opened up at short notice, the campaign was rolled out successively in seven markets (Austria, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Spain, France, Poland). It specifically targeted a travel-hungry audience longing for new experiences after a year of the pandemic and the associated restrictions on movement.

“Your soul is hungry. Give it a taste of Vienna” was one of the five advertisements. Aimed at seasoned city travelers and culture fans, it invited them to participate in different offerings in German and English – depending on their user profile – that were designed to “nourish their souls” with art, Vienna’s imperial charm, culinary treats and other special experiences in the city. A dedicated ad campaign promoted climate-friendly travel to the city on the Nightjet from Brussels in cooperation with Austrian National Railways (ÖBB). In this spring campaign, the Vienna Tourist Board recorded 53.8 million contacts in seven markets.

Launched on September 15, a fresh iteration of the “Feed Your Soul” campaign revealed what Vienna had to offer in the fall season in eight markets. The large-scale promotion took place in Germany, Italy, France, Spain, the United Kingdom, Poland, Austria and Switzerland, both online and out-of-home. As in spring, the campaign received additional support from a partnership with booking platform Expedia. Following its European rollout, “Feed your Soul” was launched in the US on November 15 – the first time it had run in a long-haul market since the outbreak of the pandemic. Outdoor advertising in prominent locations in New York, and nationwide social media and online advertising drew attention to Vienna’s take on food for the soul. In this fall/winter campaign, the Vienna Tourist Board made 165.1 million contacts in nine markets.

As part of its drive to promote dialog with the participants in the Visitor Economy, the Vienna Tourist Board opened “Feed Your Soul” up to the capital’s tourism providers. Cultural institutions, hotels, tour guides, hospitality businesses, event organizers, traditional manufacturers and lots of other stakeholders were given the opportunity to include their products in the advertising campaign and profile them over a longer period at vienna.info. Integration was facilitated using a hashtag on social media. With the bar to access set deliberately low, it was also possible for smaller companies to participate easily and benefit from the traffic on the Vienna Tourist Board website. Around 100 offers from participants in the Visitor Economy were placed as part of the campaign.

Vienna Wishlist

To bring the last few months of the year to a close on the best note possible, on November 15 the Vienna Tourist Board launched a campaign for the key pre-Christmas season in nine incoming markets. A wintertime Vienna Wishlist was designed to encourage travelers from the United Kingdom, Spain, France, Italy, Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Poland and Romania to visit the city in the run-up to Christmas. Following the announcement of another snap lockdown, all advertising material (online and digital outdoor advertising) was adapted within just 72 hours so that the campaign no longer called on people to travel to Vienna at Christmas, but inspired them to come to the city at a later date instead. In all, the campaign generated 112.8 million contacts in nine markets. A dedicated ad campaign promoted climate-friendly travel to the city on a Nightjet connection from Paris and Amsterdam in cooperation with Austrian National Railways (ÖBB).