Skift Take

Travel brands across sectors are examining their role in the industry and recreating themselves as lifestyle brands that push more artistic, creative content that engages locals and foreigners outside of the decision-making cycle.

Visit Holland is trying something new with an experimental video series that captures moments possible throughout the country.

A departure from the tourism board’s campaign-driven marketing strategy, this series of 15 videos showcases different parts of Holland in a style that remains relevant and engaging long after its launch.

The relatively short videos, all are under 60 seconds, paint a picture of mornings in Holland, explore local culinary dishes or reenact the experience of falling in love.

“We try to capture the ‘real’ feeling of what it’s like to just ‘be’ in Holland,” explains Tessa Dirks, the social media manager at NBTC Holland Marketing.

“The art direction and atmosphere are extremely important: With a beautiful swiftness, the viewer is taken on a 30-second experience through Holland.”

Dirks looked outside of the tourism industry for inspiration. She looked at videos from health insurance company Menzis, the newspaper Metro, the telephone company KPN and Nike for ideas on how to innovate beyond campaign-driven videos. The focus was more on conveying a certain emotion than highlighting or explaining a particular place or activity.

“I still see too many tourism brands focusing on campaigns only,” says Dirks.

“I am aiming for ongoing social media marketing. We are developing short movies, which will still be interesting and good to use long after they have been in launched — in contrast to much campaign-driven content.”

A key component of the campaign is its multi-channel distribution. The videos are promoted across all of Visit Holland’s social media channels, its newsletters and via content on its website. The series is also tied to the hashtag #ThisIsHolland, which gives locals and tourists a platform to celebrate everyday life in the country.

Although Visit Holland is looking to move away from campaigns aimed solely at tourists, its last video campaign, Holland. The Original Cool, performed well across social media.

Several of the released videos can be viewed below:

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Tags: marketing, videos, visit holland

Photo credit: All of Visit Holland's videos end with a prompt to use the hashtag #ThisIsHolland. Visit Holland / YouTube

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