Aussies set to blitz North America

The Sydney Morning Herald says that Los Angeles radio listeners will wake up to Aussie accents and Canadians will be consumed with all things ocker during a three-week North American blitz, part of a new Tourism Australia strategy to entice Americans and Canadians Down Under for a holiday.

The promotional blitz begins in Los Angeles on Monday when Sydney radio disc jockeys Sonia Kruger and Todd McKenney infiltrate one of LA’s top radio stations, MYfm.

The radio station is being renamed MY Aussie FM for the three-week promotion, and Kruger and McKenney will share the microphone with the LA station’s announcers.

About 775,000 Angelenos tune in to the station each week.

“Americans in particular love to hear the Australian accent and enjoy our laid back sense of humour and style,” Tourism Australia’s vice president of Americas, Michelle Gysberts, said.

As well as Kruger and McKenney, who have a radio show on Sydney’s MIX FM, talking up Australia to LA audiences, ads using Australian voices, online promotions and trip giveaways will become part of MYfm’s daily programming.

A MYfm producer has flown to Australia and will be reporting each day from a different Australian destination.

Following the success of the G’Day USA promotions in Los Angeles and New York and G’Day Toronto in recent years, from April 3 to 6 G’Day Vancouver: Australia Week 2008 will be held in the western Canadian city.

The number of Canadians travelling to Australia has grown two per cent each year for the past five years, with 84,000 in 2003 rising to 109,000 in 2007.

Downtown Vancouver will play host to the Australia.com OzFlix Film Weekend, the Macquarie Penfolds Wild Tasmania Gala Ball, the Australian Travel Expo, the Planet Oz: Walk on Australia’s Wild Side interactive and educational exhibition and the Surf’s Up! Sydney Foam Party.

The foam party, featuring entertainment by Aussie drag queen Courtney Act and DJ Jayson Forbes, will target Vancouver’s gay and lesbian community.

Tourism Australia, Qantas Airways, The Australian Trade Commission and Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade joined forces to organise G’Day Vancouver.

“The Australia Week model is a fantastic example of government and private enterprise working together to create a really powerful branding tool for Australia,” Tourism Australia managing director Geoff Buckley said.

A Report by The Mole from the Sydney Morning Herald