x The Travel Mentors
The challenge
With annual visitation of about 143,000 travelers, the Cook Islands rely heavily on tourism to sustain local livelihoods.
We partnered with Cook Islands Tourism Board to design a campaign that would spotlight the islands’ natural beauty, community stories, and visitor experiences in a way that felt cinematic, authentic, and compelling enough to inspire action.
Our approach
While the turquoise waters are stunning, we knew this campaign had to do more than show pretty beaches to cut through the noise. So, we leaned into three pillars:
Cinematic Storytelling
Instead of generic tourism ads, we built the narrative around authentic, grounded characters, like Captain Ted, a local voice who embodies the culture and daily life of Aitutaki’s lagoon. This demonstrated the significant culture and human connection on the islands.Creator-Led Distribution
Leveraging our highly engaged audience and global platforms, we expanded the reach well beyond what traditional advertising could achieve. Creator content builds trust. Audiences see lived experiences, not staged ads.Data-Backed ROI
We aligned our campaign with analytics from the International Visitor Survey (IVS), which tracks metrics like average stay (9.1 nights) and average spend per visitor (NZD 2,583). That meant we could show not just views, but dollars.
1 campaign
50 years of awareness
$4M projected impact
The results
Our campaign reached 7.7 million viewers around the globe. That’s equal to 50 years of visitation from a single campaign.
Let’s say 0.1% (a conservative conversion rate) of those viewers decide to visit Cook Islands. That’s 7,700 new visitors each spending NZD 2,583 on average and 40% retained in the local economy (NZD 1,033 per visitor). Bringing the total projected impact to ~$4 million USD (NZD 7.96 million).
Key Takeaways:
Global reach drives real ROI: millions in new dollars from modest conversion rates
Authentic, creator-led storytelling works it resonates and converts
One campaign delivered the equivalent of decades of traditional tourism awareness
