As part of its new Conservation Destination online marketing campaign, the Namibia Tourism Board is taking the unusual step of of syndicating a co-branded and customizable Facebook app for tour operators.
Just look at the Facebook Timeline of Immersion Journeys, with offices in New York, New Delhi and Dar-Es-Salaam, Tanzania, and you'll see the Namibia Tourism Board's Conservation Destination app.
The "Namibia" app, as the tourism board also calls it, describes the southern Africa country as a conservation-oriented destination; redirects to a Namibia Tourism Board slideshow about its "conservation ambassadors" (Dara the Damara Tern, Chase the Cheetah, Roger the Rhino and Holden the Golden Mole), each of whom are paired with conservation organizations in the country; offers a contest to win a trip for two to Namibia, and then presents an almost 10-minute video on exploring Namibia.
Importantly, from the tour operator's perspective, the Namibia Tourism Board's app also has a customizable section where the tour operator can showcase its own Namibia itineraries, as Immersion Journeys does here.
Syndication of the Namibia Facebook app is a clever way for the Namibia Tourism Board to boost distribution of its online marketing campaign, and it gives tour operators social content in app form to increase awareness of their brands.
The Namibia Tourism Board's Conservation Destination marketing campaign is its first in North America, and it comes with this syndicated, business to business twist.
In the past, the board has carried out direct-to-consumer online marketing campaigns in the UK, Germany and South Africa.