As part of its international strategy to attract new business and tourism, the Colombia Country Brand, a competitive tool of the National Government, is taking country branding to the social mediascape to show the world the positive change Colombia is experiencing. The country is in a process of renovation, in a growing economy with ample possibilities of business, travel and investment.
Since April 18th at 3 p.m. EST, Colombians have been the talk of town across the world thanks to the auctions of six unique experiences that Colombia country brand brought to the world, an activity that shows the world why the Answer is Colombia.
The inauguration event took place in Times Square, where New York inhabitants and tourists alike had the chance to appreciate the cultural, touristic and musical richness of the South American country. An impromptu concert by Fonseca and the appearance of both coffee legend mascot Juan Valdez and the queen of this year’s Barranquilla Carnival, helped kick start the event that drew people from all continents.
Between April 18 and May 28, the event Auction was highlighted with an event on the ground at Times Square where people could have their picture taken along with the country brand’s auctioneer, get directions on how to participate in the auction, or even have a Twitter account created for them so they could participate. And from then on the auction has continued through Twitter, where the followers of the Colombia country brand English language profile, @BrandColombia, have had a significant impact in the social network, making the #ColombiaTimesSquare hashtag a Trending Topic not only in Colombia, where it is to be expected, but also in countries as far away as Spain.
Tweet for a Unique Experience
Through the Auction of Unique Colombian Experiences, people from countries all over the world have the chance to win an all-expense paid experience in Colombia.
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The experience can be chosen from one of the following six options: being witness to the rearing of a whale calf in the Pacific, having a smooth cup of coffee while breathing in the cafetero atmosphere and landscape, living the magic of the biggest theater festival in the world, taking a marvelous stroll in the walled city of Cartagena, feeling the welcoming ways and perfect spring-like weather of the people of the most innovative city in the world or discover the secrets of San AgustÃn.
The mechanics of this auction are very simple, there are two ways to participate, one for Colombians, who already know and love their country and one for foreigners who despite many having come visited the country in the past, can still learn a lot about it; Colombians must make a one minute video telling the world why “The Answer is Colombia†(the tagline for the country brand’s campaign), and upload it to YouTube, where a jury will review it and select the best one.
As for foreigners, all they have to do is follow @BrandColombia on Twitter, write one or more tweets using the tag #TheAnswerisCOlombia and then go bug their friends, family, followers and even annoying stalkers in order to get the most retweets. They have until May 5th at noon Colombian time (1 p.m. EST) to be the loudest Tweep out there.
The 20 people with Twitter accounts who get the most retweets overall can pick one of the six experiences auctioned, and then live their pick, and visit Colombia. People from all parts of the world are already tweeting and asking for their friends’ support to be part of the list of winners.
What has been achieved?
In terms of activity, there has been a remarkable interest of more than 180 foreign citizens from countries like France, England, Finland, South Korea, India, among many others, and many are already packing their bags to embark on an adventure that only Colombia can provide.
The auction accounts for more than 300 participants and some of them have already reached the 200-retweet mark; the final ranking will be available on May 9th, after all the tweets and retweets have been duly tallied and counted.
So fart the Twitosphere has gotten to know Colombia’s best: On April 18th the hashtag #ColombiaTimesSquare became a Trending Topic in Colombia, Latin America and Spain.
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If Colombia was invisible to foreigners in the past, this event managed to put the country in the map of many travelers who seek adventures they won’t forget.
Via EPR Network
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