Norway Convention Bureau has won the ICCA Best Marketing Award 2009 for its “Norway for natural reasons” campaign, famous for depicting a rear view of a naked man enjoying the elements.
The ICCA Best Marketing Award, established in 1997, recognises the excellence and outstanding achievements of organisations in their effort to market their destination or product.
Presenting the campaign to a panel of judges and a record number of over 900 delegates at the 48th ICCA Congress & Exhibition, which took place last week in Florence Italy, Convention Director Bente Bratland Holm admitted the bureau took a calculated risk including nudity in the campaign.
“This photo was actually a favourite of mine before we started the campaign,” she joked.
It certainly proved popular, with aNorway Convention Bureau survey showing 84 per cent of polled meeting planners registered a positive approach to the brand. For only €150 in brand development costs, the three-year €1m marketing campaign helped attract incoming international visitors worth €93.6m for the local economy.
On winning the award, Bente Bratland Holm said:"Winning the ICCA BMA is extremely important to Norway Convention Bureau and we are so pleased to have received this recognition from our colleagues in the industry! As we said and believe: our colleagues can be our best ambassadors!”
“It really gives a lot of motivation for our stakeholders in Norway to continue the work we have started as a team. I believe that it is also motivates other Convention Bureaus around the world to see that you can achieve great results from small budgets, - if the strategy is the right one. Thank you all for voting for Norway, and thank you ICCA!”
For more information, visit Norway Convention Bureau
