Consumer Marketing Activity
Recent marketing updates & how to get involved
Winter Marketing Activity 2025
DQ’s new ‘Welcome to the Flow State’ campaign is live in both the Australian and domestic markets driving brand awareness and destination preference for a Queenstown winter and ski holiday.
Click below to view the activity plan.
The campaign has seen great results to date generating*:
- 7.5M Impressions
- 1.3M Interactions (clicks, engagements or video views)
- 648K website sessions
- 166K member referrals (24.6% conversion rate)
*Period: 1 March - 11 June
Additional activity will go live this month, including the campaign video at the Sydney Film Festival outdoor screenings and full-page brand ads in the June and July Air New Zealand Kia Ora magazine.
A busy start to the winter media famil programme with multiple news media outlets in town this month broadcasting the buzz of winter in Queenstown, along with a line up of journalists and travel writers from Escape Magazine, Karryon, Stuff and OHbaby! in the coming months.
The Queenstown Wānaka Snow Reports are back for another year, giving our ski enthusiast audience weekly video updates on snow conditions, forecasts and happenings across the five ski areas in the region. Starting mid-June, the series will extend for 14 episodes through to the end of September.
Digital & Social Always On Activity
DQ’s always-on digital marketing activity ensures Queenstown maintains a consistent brand presence in the domestic and Australian markets, supporting visitation year-round. The always-on campaign runs across Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Google and TikTok, targeting all stages of the booking journey - from sparking destination appeal and desire to providing useful trip planning information, and driving conversion in the form of member referrals.
DQ launched its winter digital marketing activity in Australia on 1 March, followed by the domestic market on 1 May, targeting two key segments: Ski Enthusiasts and Winter Lovers.
The campaign positions Queenstown as the ultimate winter and ski holiday destination by showcasing its stunning alpine landscapes, diverse activities, and world-class snow experiences. Digital activity reinforces Queenstown’s reputation as the Southern Hemisphere’s top skiing and snowboarding destination with a focus on converting demand into bookings.
Web performance Year to date (1 July 2024 – 11 June 2025):
- 2.7M sessions (+3% YoY)
- 587K member referrals (-3% YoY)
- 21.5% conversion rate
DQ always on ad examples
- View DQ's Meta Ad Library for a snapshot of the ads we have live across Facebook and Instragram.
- View Google's Transparency Centre for previews of ads live across GDN, paid search and YouTube
Sponsored Content Partnerships
- Through a partnership with New Zealand Ski & Snow Magazine, Queenstown will feature in the winter issue with a full-page brand ad and editorial profile on local skier Blake Marshall, exploring how he finds his Flow State in Queenstown.
- DQ has partnered with Ski & Snowboard Magazine to promote Queenstown as a winter destination in the Australian market. The issue features a full-page brand ad and an editorial highlighting the regions two towns, four mountains proposition.
- DQ’s Neat Places partnership continues with a refresh and reprint of the Queenstown Pocket Guide, with the latest update featuring more local art galleries and boutique stores. The guides are available at the DQ office or on the Neat Places website.
New Tourism New Zealand Brand Campaign
Tourism New Zealand have today launched a new global brand campaign celebrating and bringing some fresh meaning to the 100% Pure brand positioning. The campaign will span multiple markets and channels and there are various ways you can leverage and get involved. Access the Campaign Toolkit here.
DQ’s Direct-to-Consumer EDM Platform
The direct-to-consumer email strategy builds personalised relationships with domestic, Australian, and long-haul visitors. Content is aligned to subscriber interests, sharing stories about our people, place and unique experiences on offer. The email series over winter will be focused on skiing and snowboarding, winter events and activities, food and drink, and family-themed content.
The most recent eDMs can be viewed below:
- Meaningful Adventures & Unique Adrenaline Rushes
Sends: 1,753
Open Rate: 54.2%
Click to Open Rate: 7.1%
- Your Ultimate Winter Holiday Destination (Domestic Ski & Snowboarding eDM)
Sends: 4,168
Open Rate: 32.9%
Click to Open Rate: 6.9%
- Your Ultimate Winter Holiday Destination (Australian Ski & Snowboarding eDM)
Sends: 2,701
Open Rate: 43.4%
Click to Open Rate: 4.0%
- Cosy Places to Eat, Stay & Drink
Sends: 5,533
Open Rate: 46.5%
Click to Open Rate: 10.9%
'What's On' Event Marketing Campaign
DQ’s autumn event marketing campaign launched in February and will continue throughout the autumn months promoting a range of events in size and scale. Let us know what’s on! Submit your event listing to feature on QueenstownNZ.co.nz.
Let us know what’s on! Event listings inform DQ’s digital activity, event guides and submissions to Tourism New Zealand.
Electrify Queenstown 2025: Brand and Marketing
Electrify Queenstown is back for 2025 with a three-day line up of speaker sessions, trade shows and electric experiences. The event has a new brand, website and marketing activity targeting local business and community audiences. It's free to attend – secure your spot at electrifyqueenstown.co.nz
Tourism New Zealand's 'Everyone Must Go' Campaign
Leverage TNZ’s autumn activity in Australia by submitting a deal to incentivise Autumn travel to Queenstown. The campaign is focused on driving short-term holiday arrivals from Australia during March, April and May. Login to the TNZ Tourism Business Database to create a deal.
DQ members are welcome to load the same deal to QueenstownNZ.nz where it will be featured on your product listing and on the Special Offers page. Login to the DQ Extranet to create the offer.
Queenstown Brand Refresh & New Website
Destination Queenstown will be launching a new refreshed website in the coming weeks so watch this space.
As Queenstown's official tourism platform, delivering over 3 million sessions annually, this upgrade will deliver enhanced user experience and interface improvements aligned with our recent brand refresh.
Important actions required prior to launch:
- Please review and update your product listing on QueenstownNZ.co.nz. If you need assistance with your login credentials, please contact Aimee.
- Replace any materials featuring the previous colourful Queenstown NZ logo with our updated brand assets. Click here to download the updated logo.
Spring Marketing Activity & 'Spring Stays' campaign
Spring marketing is in full swing, promoting Queenstown as the ultimate spring destination - a time when visitors can do everything; from skiing, biking and hiking to golf, adventure activities, family experiences and enjoying the region’s amazing food and drink.
Our new ‘Spring Stays’ campaign will launch on 1 September with the objective of driving spring demand and longer length of stay. As well as being promoted across our QueenstownNZ owned and paid channels, the campaign will be featured via key partnerships with Stuff NZ and NZ Herald, as well as a 12-week Kidspot campaign promoting family travel.
Other spring partnership activity includes editorial and brand content in Australian Golf Digest ; Neat Places socials and editorial activity with media platform Escape Video, showcasing unique spring and summer experiences.
'SPRING STAYS' CAMPAIGN
DQ’s ‘Spring Stays’ campaign will run from 1 September – 31 October, in both the domestic and Australian markets, to drive demand and encourage longer length of stay and slower travel. This new campaign invites members to partner with another operator to create spring travel packages that celebrate the best of the season.
The campaign will focus on driving referrals to members via the package listings housed on QueenstownNZ.nz. Media activity includes DQ’s always on digital and social media, print and digital placements with Stuff NZ and NZ Herald (NZME), as well as promotion via DQs Kidspot partnership.
To take part, upload your spring ‘slow travel’ package via the DQ Extranet by selecting ‘Travel Packages’ as the listing category.
Package requirements:
• Minimum four-night stay
• Combination of accommodation and at least one experience with another local business or businesses
• Valid for redemption 9 September – 15 November
Load your spring travel package here.
Queenstown Winter Marketing 2024
DQ’s winter campaign activity is live in both Australia (since 1 March) and domestic markets (since 1 May), focused on driving destination preference for a Queenstown winter and ski holiday. This is a fully integrated approach across consumer, media and trade channels targeting both our ‘Winter Lovers’ and ‘Ski Enthusiast’ audiences.
Led by a hero winter brand video and a new ski enthusiast video, supporting ad content showcases activities on-and-off mountain, our unique people and place, and encourages visitors to stay longer, do more and travel with a lighter footprint.
Channels include Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, native and Google Display Network as part of DQ's 'always on' digital strategy.
High impact channels include Connected TV in Australia and Video on Demand in New Zealand, a partnership with the Sydney Film Festival and various media famils planned across the season. A partnership campaign with Trip Advisor will be launched in July to target Australian audiences and specifically drive demand for Ski.
The Queenstown Wānaka Snow Reports are back for 2024. In collaboration with Lake Wānaka Tourism, the weekly video series targets ski enthusiasts in New Zealand and Australia to drive hype and preference for a Queenstown ski holiday.
DQ recently ran a lead generation ski giveaway during the month of June to grow our domestic ski consumer database.
Showcasing Regenerative Tourism: From the Ground Up
From The Ground Up, a new case study series designed to shine a light on local businesses making a difference to our region's environmental, community, cultural and social wellbeing. The six-part video series showcases a mix of tourism product, community initiatives and business innovation, taking viewers on a journey around the region, meeting and getting to know the local heroes championing regenerative tourism.
The first six episodes follow inspiring journeys of dedicated locals committed to making change. From repurposing waste to pioneering world-first experiences, each episode celebrates people and organisations shaping a thriving future for Queenstown, from the ground up.
The series is promoted via a paid digital campaign across Meta and YouTube. The videos are also promoted through partnership activity with We Are Explorers and were screened at the recent Wao Film Festival at Te Atamira.
Refreshed Queenstown NZ brand video
In early January, DQ launched a refreshed brand video to generate awareness, drive destination preference and encourage visitors to see more and explore a further while they're here. This is live in both the domestic and Australian markets across all paid digital channels as part of our Discover/Awareness layer of the campaign, and will run until April.
Our People Our Home Campaign – Series 2
In the second series of ‘Our People, Our Home’, we introduced our visitors to more passionate locals who make up the fabric of our community.
Live from 20 September 2023 - Jan 2024, the four-part mini-series was rolled out across DQ’s social and digital channels with a paid campaign and an extended local cinema schedule.