Imagine being Nick Baker, Tourism Australia's marketing boss; your job is to package an image of Australia, and sell it to the world.

You must also convince Australians, who are paying for your work through their tax dollars, that you're doing the right thing. Everyone's got an opinion.

Last month, Mr Baker took to the stage at Mumbrella 360 to face his toughest critics – the advertising industry. Addressing an audience of his peers, Mr Baker accounted himself pretty well, convincing the audience that phase 2 of 'Nothing Like Australia' (a tagline he called a 'brand truth) was a winner, or at least has some merit.

He acknowledged that while many would like to see a more sophisticated image, it was the land itself that had to be the hero.

"We viewed the land as a character in this," he said. Hence the focus on iconic Aussie scenery in the campaign's bedrock – the 'Nothing Like Australia' TV ad which cost an astonishing $4 million to produce.

Some in the audience viewed as a massive amount of money for what is a nice piece of film and music, but certainly not ground breaking.

However, Mr Baker said it was necessary to spend that kind of money just on the film alone – "these things aren't cheap to make" – because AV is now also a huge part of the online experience: YouTube, Facebook and the rest.

He also highlighted the logistical difficulties of just being in the right place at the right time to get the best vision. By way of illustration, Mr Baker said a shoot had been booked for Hamilton Island but with two cyclones sitting off the coast the plane had to turn around and try somewhere else where it was sunny.

Full story:

www.traveltrends.biz/ttn555-selling-a-country-harder-than-you-think