Advertising campaign abroad: Vilnius is undiscovered treasure which is amazing when you find it

Vilnius is an undiscovered European treasure that is good to find. This is the main idea marketed by the new Vilnius international advertising campaign. The campaign is geared to increase the visibility of Vilnius in the targeted incoming tourism markets – in the United Kingdom and Germany.

The internet advertising to be launched on 9 August in London and Berlin ‘Vilnius is the G spot of Europe. Nobody knows where it is, but when you find it, it’s amazing’ aims to provoke and attract the so called millenniums (18-35 year-olds) to the city of Vilnius.

Advertising banners and videos on the Internet will lead to a specially designed website, hosting a quiz to keep visitors’ attention and inviting them to get to know Vilnius. Just a few questions, and you get a personalised map of the city. The interactive map includes places of interest specific to individuals’ responses, including leisure, shopping, eating out, doing sports, cultural events, beautiful city panoramas, etc.

The idea was generated by Atomic Garden Advertising School students Jurgis Ramanauskas, Skaistė Kaurynaitė and Ugnius Mikšta. ‘The basic idea of the campaign is that nobody knows where Vilnius really is, but once they find it, they fall in love with it. This insight came from conversations with foreigners, including our lecturer. So, when we realized that it is an undiscovered spot which brings pleasure to people when they discover it, the analogy came about naturally’, said Jurgis Ramanauskas.

The witty piece by young students from advertising school has gone viral as Vilnius celebrates its 695th birthday. It has been shared not only by Lithuanians but also by foreigners through social networks, later gaining wide coverage in Lithuanian and foreign media.

‘I see and talk with many foreigners coming to Vilnius – investors, journalists, representatives of official delegations. Most of them say that when they first arrive in the capital of Lithuania, their impressions far outstrip their expectations, so they fall in love with Vilnius. They do not expect it, so the excitement is ever greater. On the one hand, it is nice to hear, but on the other hand, it shows that the city has insufficient awareness in the world’, says Vilnius Mayor Remigijus Šimašius.

Inga Romanovskienė, Director of the Vilnius Tourism and Business Development Agency Go Vilnius, believes that the witty campaign tagline will help Vilnius to stand out in the background of informational noise and will attract the potential visitors to Vilnius, and then discover all that is on offer in our proud capital – cultural heritage, high-quality events, active entertainment and the natural spots in the middle of the city.

‘As regards boosting tourism, we are in for a tough competition. Cities and countries are investing a great deal to attract tourists to their city or country. Vilnius does not have enough traditional marketing tools. To stand out, we need bold and unconventional actions. We are happy that the young creators have come up with an idea that has caused discussion, debate and finally the actual interest in the city’, says Romanovskienė, Head of Go Vilnius.

Vilnius has attracted a lot of attention from foreign media this year. The capital of Lithuania was recommended as a tourist destination by The New York Times, the prominent British portals The Guardian, The Independent, French, German and Finnish media. Most of the publications abroad brand our capital as undiscovered as yet. The fact that Vilnius is not exploiting its full potential is also confirmed by such an authoritative travel expert as Lonely Planet, who calls Vilnius an undiscovered European diamond and has listed the capital of Lithuania among the 10 Europe’s hottest travel destinations. According to the world’s largest travel guide, there has never been a better time to discover Vilnius, which is ‘criminally’ underrated capital of Europe.