The 18–29-year-old global “Youth” segment accounts for 22% of arrivals into New Zealand. They stay longer, spend more and have a greater likelihood of returning. However, holiday arrivals among this age group had started to decline in the last three years.

Despite high awareness, they don’t consider New Zealand an appealing destination. They know it’s beautiful, but they’re worried it won’t be as fun or as exciting as other more popular destinations.

So, to show young travellers just how much they could do in one day in New Zealand, we partnered with STA Travel to create a unique, world-first tourism product that could only be experienced in New Zealand. The 5X1NZ adventure pass allowed travellers to do five adventure sports in just one day.

To demonstrate the experience we got a Red Bull athlete to complete the five adventure sports in just a single hour and in one continuous move.

One of the biggest Australian news sites, Yahoo, was invited to exclusively test the experience. An exclusive broadcast interview was placed with Channel 7’s Daily Edition, featuring a live cross to the Red Bull athlete in New Zealand.

The video and news were then distributed to news, travel, tech and bloggers to secure over 100 pieces of coverage.

The 5X1NZ film was then promoted on Tourism New Zealand’s owned social channels and through STA Travel and Red Bull.

Bookings with key bookings partner STA Travel jumped 95% in the first two months.

To show young travellers just how much they could do in one day in New Zealand, we created a unique product that could only be experienced in New Zealand. The 5X1NZ adventure pass allowed travellers to do five adventure sports in just one day.

To launch it we got a Red Bull athlete to complete the five adventure sports in just a single hour and in one continuous move.

The film launched in September 2014 on Tourism New Zealand’s owned social channels; Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube.

It was shared via Red Bull and picked up by travel blogs around the world.

The 5X1NZ Adventure Pass was launched through STA Travel online and in hundreds of stores across all global markets.

Paid support, such as banner ads and paid links, directed people to Tourism New Zealand’s website and to STA Travel to book their own 5X1NZ adventure.

5X1NZ exceeded all expectations.

• Most importantly the online content drove travel bookings. Our target was to increase Youth referrals through travel partners by 20%. However, bookings with key bookings partner STA Travel jumped 95% in the first two months (4.75 times above target)

• This is extraordinary as Youth typically take 3–6 months to book their travel

• The campaign also created strong brand effects. It was highly motivating for 90% of the Youth who had recognised the campaign

• Huge amount of online views: 730,000+ video views (not including views via Red Bull or STA Travel)

• Provided in excess of $1.9 million in PR Equivalent Advertising Value

• Overall, the campaign achieved an ROI of 8:1, well above our target of 6:1