Fiji: Where Happiness Comes Naturally
Entering organisation: Tourism Fiji
The pandemic hit Fiji's tourism hard, as tourism is almost 40% of its economy. Reopening borders became a crucial step for Tourism Fiji to revive the nation's economy. Over the past decade, Fiji marketed itself as a convenient family getaway under the slogan 'Where Happiness Finds You'. However, as travellers sought more authentic experiences, the strategy had to be revised.
Portraying Fiji as an island destination wouldn't suffice. The transformation required tackling two key issues: Firstly, Fiji regularly tops surveys for the happiest countries in the world and as a platform for a holiday – moving away from it completely would be a mistake. However, on its own, happiness not only risked feeling superficial, it was also ubiquitous in other categories. Secondly, visitors who weren’t interested in lounging poolside were discounting Fiji, even though it offers a range of experiences. In fact, most travellers stated that ‘getting under the skin of the local culture’ was now vital in choosing a destination.
However, Fiji marketing was lacking cultural depth. The challenge: Convince an audience of authenticity seeking travellers that Fiji is more than a superficial flop and drop destination. The strategy involved identifying the brand refresh goals, central to which was the need to increase visitor arrivals and expenditure closer to pre-pandemic levels. The goal was to establish a unique, recognisable, and meaningful identity for Fiji that differentiates it from major competitors, and enhance Fiji's visibility in key markets, including Australia, New Zealand, North America, China, the United Kingdom, and Europe.
The strategic proposition was that holiday experiences that deliver genuine happiness are from a culture that has mastered it. Tourism Fiji undertook a global RFP to find a new agency to assist with the brand refresh. After a thorough, multi-stage process, Host/Havas were clear and unanimous winners. To ensure the agency understood Fiji and its people, a core team travelled to Fiji for a full immersive experience, visiting villages, schools and cities and talking to Fijians from all different backgrounds and walks of life.
The brand refresh and associated global campaign, and the success of both is the result of the partnership between Tourism Fiji and Host/Havas. While the campaign primarily aimed at core global markets, extensive stakeholder involvement ensured authentic representation of Fijian culture. Engagements included consultations with Tourism Fiji Board, Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation, Ministry of iTaukei Affairs, internal teams, and consumers for initial research. After meeting Fijians across cities, villages and the tourism industry, the team discovered that happiness doesn’t find you in Fiji, it surrounds you.
This led to a key insight: happiness is not something Fijians turn on for tourists but is an outcome of Fijian culture developed over generations – hence, Fiji: Where Happiness Comes Naturally.
Upon launch, industry partners received a brand toolkit with the new logo, key messages, and social assets, facilitating consistent messaging alignment and broader dissemination of Fiji's new image.
The challenge was to add depth to the 'happiness' Fiji is currently associated with by convincing an audience of authenticity seeking travellers that Fiji is more than a superficial flop and drop destination. From this strategy, a rebrand that put Fijian culture, and the happiness it’s built on was created.
A subtle but transformative shift from ‘Where Happiness Finds You’ to ‘Where Happiness Comes Naturally’ highlighted Fiji as more than a postcard destination; instead showcasing a genuine perspective on happiness.
The previous identity had its origins in smiling faces. To create a culture-first identity, the team partnered with a third generation Masi artist to create traditional motifs which symbolised different facets of Fijian cultural happiness: nature, sharing, food and drink, warm welcomes.
Alongside the new brand, five new brand experience pillars were developed that capture the most authentic version of Fiji. The pillars provide a taste of what’s on offer across the 333 islands: experiences lived and breathed by locals, and crafted to help guests bask in the familiar and discover the new.
The campaign showcased the vast experiences available in Fiji, well beyond poolside cocktails. Continuing the culture-first approach, the campaign film was recorded in iTaukei, Fiji Hindi, and English to celebrate the three primary languages of Fiji. Still assets were captured by an awarded National Geographic photographer to truly capture the Fijian spirit. A series of cut-downs and variations of the brand film were created so that the new brand narrative could have presence on multiple channels, and different executions could be played across different markets as relevant. A key lesson learnt was that happiness is not something Fijians turn on for tourists but is an outcome of Fijian culture developed over generations – it is a result of communal living, strong family bonds and deep-routed spirituality.
The campaign delivered all key measurement metrics and - across five of the first six months of 2023 - pre-pandemic arrival numbers were surpassed. All months tracking above targets for the calendar year. Next steps include building on existing partnerships and evolving the project to meet the needs of different markets.
Explore over 350 finalists’ and winners’ case studies from the last five years of the City Nation Place Awards on the Place Brand Portfolio – each one has earned industry-wide recognition and contains nuggets of inspiration for building your place brand, engaging your citizens, attracting tourism, talent, or investment. If you’re looking for ideas or to track the approaches of other places around the world, the Portfolio provides the perfect tool.
