Every year, the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity celebrates inspiring work from the international advertising community and this year was no exception. In 2016, a trend toward authentic, out-of-the-box thinking emerged across a broad range of industries, with creative destination and non-traditional attraction marketing getting some well-deserved nods.

One campaign that excited us here at Mascola Group was also one of the first travel and leisure brands to win a Direct Grand Prix award in recent history. A unique tourism campaign for the Swedish Tourist Association created the first country to have its own phone number. See for yourself… 

This isn’t the first time Sweden has employed non-traditional marketing tactics and given their citizens the power to craft a message on behalf of Sweden (see @Sweden’s twitter handle, run by ordinary Swedes), but this campaign took the interaction one step further. Each call is completely organic. You don’t know who you’re going to talk to, there’s no script to read, and the person on the other end of the line is giving you their unfiltered opinion about the country they call home, regardless of the possible risks associated. According to Magnus Ling, general secretary and CEO of the Swedish Tourist Association, the point was “to show the real Sweden – a unique country worth visiting with the right of public access, sustainable tourism and a rich cultural heritage. With ‘The Swedish Number,’ our goal is to create more pride and knowledge about Sweden, both nationally and internationally.”

Although risky, it worked. The Swedish Number was called 128,392 times from 178 countries in under a year. Talk about an impact.

The Swedish Tourist Association’s unique campaign is not an outlier; campaigns that bypass traditional forms of media in favor of a more personalized interaction were very popular this year at Cannes Lions. The unfiltered, honest tone of campaigns like this one help to build authentic connections and trust between consumers and brands, one that’s significantly more authentic and memorable than a most traditional media. This emerging trend has a direct impact on how destinations market to potential visitors; you must inspire them to visit through unique, personal interactions that welcome them to come say hello.

How can you implement creative, non-traditional attraction marketing tactics like this? You probably already have your own phone number, but there are lots of other ways to interact with your visitors in an authentic, memorable way. Share a “behind the scenes” look at how your new display or exhibit was created, or provide funny, personal bios for all of your staff including their favorite aspect of your attraction. There are so many ways to infuse your attraction’s unique personality into your marketing. All it takes is a little bit of creativity!

Feeling stumped at where to begin? We’re pretty creative over here at Mascola Group, let us give you a hand!