There is a quirky phenomenon in Norwegian culture. Every year, two million sheep are released to explore the beautiful landscapes of the Norwegian wilderness, exercising their “right to roam,” or “allemannsretten.” The Visit Norway campaign follows the adventures of four of them. Kari, The Surfer Girl, Lars, The Foodie, Erik “Mr. Chilled” and Frida The Adventurer. Their stated mission: “To help protect the cultural landscape of Norway.”
Beate Gran, Digital Marketing Manager for Visit Norway explains the evolution of the idea. “We challenged several agencies to come up with an idea for the summer travel campaign, but this one stood out immediately. We all laughed out loud when we saw the initial presentation.” Beate said she and her team knew the campaign could resonate with anyone because of the simple, pure humor behind it.
Each of the four sheep featured in the ad were from different regions of Norway. “Each had a distinct personality and a name” said Beate, “we gave them a character that culturally is somewhat typical for the region they represented.”
The Visit Norway team promoted the campaign on Instagram and Facebook, and consistently drove viewers to a particular #SheepWithAView landing page. They typically use a number of different social media channels, but for this campaign decided to use just two. “You have to focus your efforts on the channels where you get the most engagement and where you know your audience engages,” says Beate.
What was the key to the campaign’s success? Beate points to humor. “The content was cute and playful, triggering an emotional response and motivating people to engage and share.” She goes on to add ” I think the most disruptive campaigns are the ones that are really thinking different and you have to take a risk.”
Lessons for Others
The campaign became somewhat of a viral sensation, reaching 64 million people and audience sentiment was 98.8% positive. It was certainly clear #SheepWithAView showcased Norway successfully and gave audiences a different look at the destination.
Organization:
Visit Norway
Industry:
Travel & Tourism
Name of Organization Contact:
Beate Gran, Digital Markeying Manager Visit Norway
Authored by: J Pritchard
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