1 Dec 2021

Sydney campaign shines a spotlight on Australia's number one visitor state

Destination NSW extends its ‘Feel New’ tourism campaign with dedicated Sydney TV ad, creative and music release to welcome all to the state’s beating heart, Sydney 

Sydney has always been a shining jewel in NSW’s diverse and expansive tourism offering and from December 1, Australia’s premier state will become the focus of its own dedicated brand campaign, Feel New Sydney, to drive travel and tourism within the domestic market. 

Feel New Sydney provides a fast-paced snapshot into the diverse array of experiences Sydney offers visitors and the stars are the city’s welcoming local neighbourhoods, vibrant energy, rich culture and buzzing night-time economy. World class dining, spectacular natural wonders, plus signature icons, beaches, and sunshine also feature, with 30 second and 15 second TV spots created to entice Australian travellers to rediscover and reenergise in the state’s capital. 

Minister for Jobs, Investment, Tourism and Western Sydney and Minister for Industry and Trade Stuart Ayres said the new campaign for Sydney sent a strong signal that the city was open for business and ready to welcome back visitors. 

“Our Feel New Sydney campaign is inviting everyone back to our beloved city so they can experience it like never before,” Mr Ayres said. 

“Sydney is the beating heart of our state and promises our visitors an experience unlike any other with the power to inspire and reinvigorate. Whether it’s Sydney’s world-class restaurants or its glittering coastline, vibrant nightlife or abundant national parks – there is no shortage of ways to feel new in in our city. 

“The new Sydney-focused campaign will help us achieve our goals in the Visitor Economy Strategy 2030 by inspiring visitors to come and experience Australia’s only truly global city.”  

Designed to be an extension to the recently launched Feel New brand which promotes travel and tourism to NSW, Feel New Sydney is set to a remixed version of the Feel New soundtrack, Nina Simone’s Feeling Good, re-recorded by NSW artist, Azure Ryder, and producer duo Breathe. The spot juxtaposes the city’s culture and nightlife, natural attractions and experiences, and integrates a performance by Bangarra Dance Theatre and scenes from a drag show to showcase a city which entertains and transforms visitors. 

Destination NSW Chief Executive Officer Steve Cox said that Feel New Sydney builds on the overarching NSW brand by revealing a unique persona for Sydney.  

“Sydney is unlike any other city. It has a cosmopolitan, buzzing heart, full of every kind of cultural attraction and at the same time, a rich offering of natural wonders right on its doorstep to balance the big city experiences. Here you find a sunrise culture and an after dark culture – from dusk to dawn Sydney is alive with things to do. Our new campaign brings that contrast to life perfectly,” Mr Cox said. 

Some of Sydney’s top feelings-led experiences depicted in the Feel New Sydney TV creative include:  

• Adventure – the exhilaration of diving through the waves at Freshwater Beach, skating the bowl with locals at Bondi Beach 

• Escape – immersion in nature in Wendy Whiteley’s Secret Garden 

• Connection – having senses sparked by Bangarra Dance Theatre  

• Rejuvenation – the invigoration of feeling the cold sea water on your skin upon diving in for an early morning swim  

• Awe – admiring the beauty of the Sydney Harbour and being captivated by the lighting of the sails at Vivid Sydney,  

• Belonging – reconnecting with family and friends for lunch at The Boathouse Rose Bay 

• Joy – the fun of celebration while watching fireworks over Sydney Harbour and singing the lyrics to your favourite song at a music concert at Carriageworks 

Developed in partnership with visitor economy stakeholders, Leo Burnett Australia and Havas Media Australia, Feel New Sydney aims to drive awareness and visitation to the NSW capital and support the NSW Government’s Visitor Economy Strategy (VES) 2030 to make NSW the premier visitor economy of the Asia Pacific, and boost visitor expenditure by $65 billion.  

Leo Burnett General Manager, James Walker-Smith said that the new Sydney campaign presented the state’s capital in an exciting and fresh way that would appeal to locals and visitors.  

“Our second chapter in the Feel New campaign sets out to firmly position Sydney as a place packed full of opportunities to feel re-energised after a period of restrictions and limited experiences. From feeling refreshed by a surf in the morning, to feeling the energy of live music and theatre and the simple feeling of reconnection with friends and family at an outstanding restaurant, we wanted to bring to life the incredible diversity of feelings you can experience in Sydney and our Feel New platform enables us to do just that,” Mr Walker-Smith said. 

Havas Media Group Head of Integrated Strategy and Planning Nick Kavanagh said the media approach was geared to reasserting Sydney’s dominance in the Australian market and build on the NSW Feel New brand position. 

“As the beating heart of this incredible state, it was essential that in developing a strategic approach we were able to clearly and succinctly land Sydney’s key point of difference vs our competitors; it’s diversity and vibrancy. The subsequent media experience we developed with Destination NSW and our agency partners was driven by this sense of dynamism and variety and provides the perfect next chapter in the state’s Feel New narrative,” Mr Kavanagh said.  

Feel New Sydney will be in-market from 1 December 2021 to 24 December 2021 through broadcast TV, cinema, catch-up TV, print and digital display. The campaign roll out will be supported by a range of marketing and public relations activity, including a partnership with Universal Music to release Feeling Good by Azure Ryder, the music track featured in the Feel New and Feel New Sydney TV ads, via direct streaming platforms including Spotify and YouTube. 

View the Feel New Sydney campaign here, and Sydney.com for travel inspiration and itineraries to make you #FeelNewSydney.   

MEDIA CONTACTS:  

Abbie Wheeler – 0439 003 042 abbie.wheeler@dnsw.com.au 
Emma Reyes, 0424 425 813 emma.reyes@dnsw.com.au 

 
NOTE TO EDITORS: 

Media Assets:  

Click HERE to download Feel New Sydney key assets.  
Click HERE to listen to Feeling Good by Azure Ryder.  
Click HERE to watch the Feel New Sydney 30 sec TV spot. 
Click HERE to watch the Azure Ryder 15 sec teaser video.   

Destination NSW Feel New Campaign Credits  

Client: Destination NSW  
General Manager Consumer Marketing: Kathryn Illy  
Director - Marketing: Sonia McIvor  
Associate Brand Director: Bohdi Lewis  
Director – Content & Creative Services: Bronwen Gwynn-Jones  
Creative Agency: Leo Burnett Australia  
Chief Creative Officer: Jason Williams  
Executive Creative Director: Andy Fergusson  
Creative Director: Adrian Ely  
Creative Director: Nigel Clark  
Design Director: Jason Cooper  
Head of Brand Strategy and Innovation: Dan Pankraz  
Strategy Director: Abbie Dubin-Rhodin  
Connections Strategist: Alex Nel  
General Manager: James Walker-Smith  
Group Business Director: Gemma Cox  
Head of Production: Adrian Jung  
Integrated Producer: Michelle Browne  
Media Agency: Havas Media Group Australia  
Head of Integrated Strategy and Planning: Nick Kavanagh   
Group Business Director: Catherine Edghill  
Brand Strategy: Host/Havas  
Film Production: Jared Knecht / FINCH  
Photography: Mark Clinton / Photoplay  
Post Production: Arc Edit / Atticus / The Mill  
Sound & Composition: SongZu  
Music Publishing Licence: Music Mill  
Music Supervision: Media Arts Lawyers  

About Destination NSW   

Destination NSW is the lead NSW Government agency for the State’s tourism and major events industry and is responsible for devising and implementing strategies to grow the State’s visitor economy. Our particular focus is driving tourism and acquiring and developing major sporting and cultural events for Sydney and regional NSW. In addition, Destination NSW is the major investor in Business Events Sydney (BESydney) with the aim of securing more international conventions, incentive travel reward programs, corporate events and exhibitions.  

About Leo Burnett  

We are the HumanKind agency. We are a creative solutions company whose expertise is in creating populist ideas that have the power to change human behaviour. We’re driven by the truth that what helps people, helps business. We partner with businesses at all stages of change to uncover their real value to the people they want to connect with, and translate this into impactful experiences that connect on a human level.    

About Havas Group   

Havas is one of the world’s largest global communications groups. Founded in 1853 in Paris, the Group employs 20,000 people in more than 100 countries. At Havas, we take a more holistic view of the role of media; examining every step of the customer journey to design and deliver brand experiences that influence consumer opinion, behavior and action at every interaction. Havas Group’s mission is to make a meaningful difference to brands, businesses and people. Havas Group integrated Vivendi in December 2017. We continually deliver growth for some of the world’s most iconic brands through our firm understanding of how to navigate heightened consumer expectation and build experiences that are as progressive as they are effective. We are committed to building a diverse culture where everybody feels they belong, can be themselves, thrive and grow.    

Havas is one of the world’s largest global communications groups. Founded in 1853 in Paris, the Group employs 20,000 people in more than 100 countries. At Havas, we take a more holistic view of the role of media; examining every step of the customer journey to design and deliver brand experiences that influence consumer opinion, behavior and action at every interaction. Havas Group’s mission is to make a meaningful difference to brands, businesses and people. Havas Group integrated Vivendi in December 2017. We continually deliver growth for some of the world’s most iconic brands through our firm understanding of how to navigate heightened consumer expectation and build experiences that are as progressive as they are effective. We are committed to building a diverse culture where everybody feels they belong, can be themselves, thrive and grow.