The Off Season

Read the campaign story

Tourism Tasmania launched The Off Season in 2021 by treating winter as a reason to visit rather than an inconvenience to overcome. April launch coverage describes an immersive Sydney event featuring Tasmanian producers and performers. Subsequent campaign reporting identifies BMF and a mix of television, outdoor, radio, press and digital activity. The idea sat within the destination's broader Come Down for Air positioning but supplied a distinctive seasonal proposition.

The campaign foregrounded experiences associated with colder, darker months, including food, festivals, warmth and the island's landscape. It did not need to pretend Tasmania had a tropical winter. Instead, it invited visitors to reconsider what they wanted from that period of the year. The name transformed an industry description of lower demand into a consumer-facing invitation with its own mood and possibilities.

The strategic mechanism was to change the comparison. A destination can compete unsuccessfully by promising to resemble a sunnier alternative, or it can identify people who might value a different experience. The Off Season made the second choice. Specific activities gave the positioning substance, while the launch event let people encounter a sample of the atmosphere before planning a trip. The creative relied on genuine seasonal assets rather than verbal inversion alone.

A small venue could apply this approach by examining what its quiet period uniquely enables. A garden might offer winter structure and guided observation, while a café could host a calmer evening format. The offer should be designed around real capacity and customer needs, not simply relabel an empty calendar. Access, weather suitability, opening hours and cancellation conditions remain important even when the advertising celebrates spontaneity.

The opened sources establish the launch, creative framing and channels, not a causal increase in winter visitation or a guarantee that every advertised experience is currently available. A responsible adaptation would test a specific seasonal offer and compare participation with realistic capacity. Feedback should ask what visitors valued and what prevented attendance. The lesson is to discover the genuine advantage of a quieter season, rather than assume that clever naming can remove operational barriers or create demand on its own.

Change the comparison

Compete on a real seasonal advantage rather than imitate another destination.

Give the name substance

Specific experiences must support the positioning.

Keep practical conditions visible

Weather, access and availability still shape the visitor decision.

A small test for another brief

Test one distinctive quiet-season experience at a local venue.

Measure attendance, capacity fit and reasons for declining.

Stop if the seasonal promise depends on unavailable activities or unsafe conditions.

• Identify a benefit that genuinely exists in that season.
• Design a limited offer with clear access and cancellation terms.
• Invite feedback from a small adult audience.