• by Eric Yaverbaum , September 25, 2024

You’re wasting your time reading this article. Seriously, why would you want to learn about a marketing strategy that could make a travel destination go viral?

While counterintuitive, telling people not to visit somewhere or do something can lead people to visit that very place or do that very thing. Recently this strategy has become a popular marketing tactic for driving local tourism.

Oslo’s viral “Is it even a city?” ad, with nearly one million views on YouTube, is a perfect example of this strategy in action. When the Oslo resident in the ad, Halfdan, complains about how small and boring the city is, he’s actually showing us how navigable it is and the many activities to do there. The ad isn’t meant to make viewers agree with him or think you’re right, why would I go to Oslo?  Instead, the ad is trying to get viewers to chuckle and think holy cow, you can do that in Oslo? I would love to visit someday.

Nebraska employs this same strategy with its marketing campaign that reads “nothing to see or do here,” and then goes on to list all the things you can see and do in Nebraska.

In another example, Mammoth Cave National Park in Kentucky used a report  that called it the “most disappointing U.S. tourist attraction” to boast about its offerings in a recent social media post. That same post currently has over a hundred thousand likes, and now over a hundred thousand people know what Mammoth Cave National Park is and what they could do when visiting there.

Creating a marketing campaign telling people why they shouldn’t visit is an effective and humorous way to create awareness for any destination in need of a tourism boost. If you’re considering this route in your next campaign, here are tips for you if you definitely don’t want your promotion to go viral (see what I did there?):

Make it funny: In Oslo’s ad, the resident Halfdan is portrayed in the most ridiculous situations. At one point in the video, he’s eating a lollipop while looking at a picturesque sunset. Don’t be afraid to lean into humor.

Use language and visuals strategically: Use language to tell people why they shouldn’t visit somewhere -- then use images or videos to tell them why they should. A breathtaking picture of a mountain that reads “Don’t hike here” might earn a raised eyebrow, and potentially a new hiker for that mountain.

Get specific: Mammoth Cave National Park’s post reads “discover nothing ‘other than trees’ on over 80+ miles of hiking, biking, horseback riding, and water trails.” This actually makes the point that the park has more than just trees. Describing a destination’s offerings means those viewing the promotion now know the activities to do there and, hopefully, it intrigues them to visit.

As seen from the last total solar eclipse and Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour, tourism can drive entire local economies. Increasing tourism isn’t always easy, especially if a destination isn’t the most beloved or well-known, or isn’t expecting pop stars or eclipses to come through any time soon. In a nonstop world driven by 10-second videos that go viral in seconds, it’s important to lean into creative ways to make your campaigns go viral. Especially if it will not work under any circumstance (kidding again).