Australia – Australian state democratic administrative authority of New South Wales, NSW Government, has launched a new tourism campaign, Feel New, which is a series of emotionally charged films aimed at exploring individual feelings experienced by travellers to New South Wales.

The series of films, which was developed by tourism and major events agency Destination NSW with creative agency Leo Burnett, spotlights on seven feelings most sought after by consumers – ‘joy’, ‘connection’, ‘freedom’, ‘awe’, ‘rejuvenation’, ‘belonging’, and ‘adventure’ – reaffirming NSW’s position as the feel-good state. It also aligns with the overarching ‘Feel New’ brand. 

Moreover, extensions of scenes from the Feel New TV spot have been reimagined in the seven Feeling Films, with each aligning to a single hero feeling. NSW landscapes and cultural encounters feature in the campaign extension, with each film featuring a bespoke remix of the official Feel New soundtrack, ‘Feeling Good’, which was re-imagined by Azure Ryder to make the audience feel the emotional experience that the film represents.

Stuart Ayres, the minister for enterprise, investment and trade, minister for tourism and sport, and minister for Western Sydney, believes that the time was right to take a more emotive-led approach to market the NSW visitor economy.

“The Feel New film series captures all the things I love about our State. It invites everyone to get out and appreciate the beauty and wonder of NSW and promises a return to the excitement and adventure that we all need to feel again,” said Ayres.

Meanwhile, James Walker-Smith, Leo Burnett’s general manager, noted that the Feel New strategy sets NSW apart from other competitor states and gives NSW a distinct advantage when targeting travel intenders.

“Destination NSW has really shifted its approach when it comes to how they promote the state, moving from being a destination brand, which is where many travel brands continue to operate, into the culture brand space. By creating a brand which is feelings-led, they’ve created a brand for the future that at the same time, is the ultimate antidote for the world right now,” said Walker-Smith.

Steve Cox, Destination NSW’s CEO, shared that the Feel New film series continued the fresh new approach to the tourism and major event agency’s strategy for promoting NSW.

“The strategic thinking behind Feel New was to tap into this consumer desire to feel; to build an enduring creative platform to market and promote NSW through its many and varied cultural and natural experiences, which are powerfully captured in these films,” said Cox.