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The adventure reality show we promoted, shown on Rakuten TV and presented by Pilar Rubio, took three of the major awards made by Branded Content Marketing Association (BCMA): “Grand Prize for Best Branded Content of the Year”, “Best Strategy” and “Best Use of Media”.
A jury of experts made up of renowned communication and marketing professionals chose the project for its innovative character and ability to communicate the messages and the values of the Canary Islands brand effectively through an entertainment format, raising awareness and engaging the audience while also providing useful information about the destination.
This recognition from the BCMA for the strategic quality of the project and its effectiveness as an action to promote the destination shows that we achieved our goal. We decided to use this context because it was an innovative, non-conventional initiative that allowed us to reach potential tourists from 42 European countries, who viewed the content, engaged with it, and took away a better image of the Islands. An outcome like this is essential for the brand in these key markets, and is difficult to achieve using other formats.
At Turismo de Islas Canarias we decided to promote the reality show “Discovering Canary Islands” because it is an innovative initiative and has helped to improve the image of the Canary Islands brand in key markets.
The BCMA is the Branded Content Association that brings together professionals in the communication industry who specialise in content marketing. The Association makes these awards every year at Branducers to recognise the best communication work in Branded Content, a communication asset produced by a brand which, through formats based on entertainment, information or utility, aims to communicate brand values and engage the audience so that viewers will find the content relevant and willingly give their attention to it.
Reality show with high audience ratings
The awards made to “Discovering Canary Islands” are a reflection of the high audience ratings obtained: 31.1 million European spectators watched the series, which is still available. Moreover, an exceptional 81% of viewers watched the whole season. The highest audiences were in Spain and Portugal (6.9 million spectators), the United Kingdom and Ireland (5.3 million), Nordic countries (4.7 million) and in the DACH region, comprising Germany, Austria and Switzerland (4.1 million). Screening on the platform Rakuten TV made such high ratings possible.
More than 31 million European spectators have watched “Discovering Canary Islands”, and an exceptional 81% saw the whole season.
This action allowed us to multiply the impact of a traditional campaign, because the content is much broader and the impact is better qualified, and it also engages audiences with the destination.
Improving the image of the Islands
In addition to collecting quantitative audience data, we conducted a study to find out how the content of the series and the image of the Canary Islands were perceived, to obtain more detailed information about the results of the action. With regard to the quality of the content, spectators rated the reality show 8 out of 10, giving the highest score to the location of the series in the Canary Islands. The score is very high, considering that the wide range of programmes available on platforms gives viewers a more critical outlook. People who saw the series reported a high level of engagement with it, and three out of four viewers recommended it.
The qualitative study carried out by Turismo de Islas Canarias shows that spectators rated the reality show “Discovering Canary Islands” 8 out of 10, giving the highest score to the location of the series in the Canary Islands.
In terms of the perceived image of the region, 86% said the programme helped them to learn more about the Islands, 80% said that their image of the Canary Islands had improved thanks to the series, 74% felt encouraged to search for more information about the destination, and 76% showed greater willingness to visit the Islands after watching the adventure programme. Through the programme we also increased the association of the Islands with nature, culture and sports, consolidating the diversification of what the region has to offer.
The presentation of “Discovering Canary Islands” at the most recent San Sebastián International Film Festival generated informative conversation and positive reactions on social media. Brainchild of co-producers Atlantia Media and Mediabrands Content Studio/Initiative, the programme premiered on 13 October last year, and will remain available exclusively on the producer’s linear and on-demand TV, ensuring an ongoing international presence.