GTA completes new integrated marketing, communication strategy
THE Guyana Tourism Authority (GTA) and Concept Farm have completed a new living integrated marketing and communications strategy and action plan for Guyana, and are now working to implement the strategy by integrating it into their work plans for this year.

Director of the GTA, Brian Mullis, said the new action plan is designed to act as a road map for the authority’s collective marketing efforts between the GTA and their partners, including local stakeholders.

“The plan helped to identify the right audiences for sustainable growth and develop a comprehensive strategy that includes digital and social media, content development, web development, public relations, partnerships, influencers and email marketing to maximise exposure, engagement and ROI through the core markets in North America, Canada, and the UK and investment markets such as Germany and the Netherlands,” said Mullis in an invited comment.

Concept Farm, an international firm, and the GTA developed the strategy and plan to fully integrate the communications mix across North America, Europe and Latin America. The plan will stretch for five years.

“Importantly, Concept Farm provided the GTA with the training necessary to evolve the plan over time, so that we no longer have to utilise external consultants to develop our marketing plans.,” he said.

GTA representative, Nicola Balram, said the authority is in the process of updating their internal staff, marketing sub-committee and subcontractors on the outcomes of this plan and starting to integrate it into their 2019 work plan.

As part of an effort to increase tourist arrivals and promote Guyana as an emerging and sustainable destination, the GTA had enlisted Concept Farm, a boutique strategic advertising agency based in Long Island City, New York, to develop the strategy and action plan for the destination.

Virtually untouched, Guyana lies on South America’s northern coast and is home to pristine rainforests, immense waterfalls, savannahs, mountains, rivers and rich biodiversity found nowhere else on the planet.

Guyana also boasts a healthy birding population, many of the world’s giant species, welcoming indigenous peoples, and diverse cultural and heritage roots.

Unique to the destination is its fusion of Caribbean and South American influences and the fact that it is the only English-speaking nation in South America.

With a specialisation in tourism, Concept Farm has worked with many partners in the past to help shape and build their destinations and product to the right audiences. They recently launched an Authentic Aruba campaign, using local voices to distinguish the island from its Caribbean competitors.

The activation won Aruba and Concept Farm 11 HSMAI Adrian Awards – the most for any destination – for best use of content strategy, virtual reality, social media, video content and the prestigious Pioneer of Visual Storytelling honour.