Tourism NZ's 'If You Seek' went barefoot to push travel in the March-November off-peak

'IF YOU SEEK' launched in 2022 to rebuild post-COVID visits and drove some of the highest destination preference New Zealand has ever recorded. The 2024 evolution, via the Takitoru platform, needed to spread demand across the year and highlight year-round experiences rather than peak-season highlights.

Make going barefoot the campaign device: 'leave your shoes at the door', follow in the footsteps of ancestors, and discover what Aotearoa offers outside peak season.

DDB Group Aotearoa's evolution urges manuhiri (visitors) to follow in the footsteps of ancestors and ground themselves in the home — barefoot, as Kiwis go. Shot in New Zealand's backyard, it showcases off-peak experiences: cultural connections at Manea Footprints of Kupe in Northland, Cloudy Bay wine in Marlborough, and stargazing from a private bathtub at Skylark Cabin in Mackenzie. Tourism NZ is updating its website and trade channels with off-peak content and building resources to teach trade partners to sell a March-November New Zealand holiday.

The refreshed platform repositioned a summer-height campaign for year-round demand, with the trade resources to match; it builds on two years in which 'If You Seek' drove record preference levels. The source reports no new preference figures.

'IF YOU SEEK' launched in 2022 as Tourism New Zealand's first global campaign in two years and, by 2024, had driven some of the highest levels of destination preference the country had ever recorded. Rather than retire it, Tourism New Zealand evolved the platform with a new purpose: getting visitors to come in the March-November off-peak season.

The creative device is disarmingly domestic: leave your shoes at the door. Creative director Veronica Copestake framed it as following in the footsteps of ancestors, grounding yourself in the home — 'plus, it's a very Kiwi thing to go around barefoot.' The work was shot in New Zealand's backyard, showcasing what the country offers when it is not peak season: cultural connections at Manea Footprints of Kupe in Northland, wine at Cloudy Bay in Marlborough, and stargazing from a private bathtub at Skylark Cabin in Mackenzie.

Tourism New Zealand chief executive René de Monchy said the refreshed campaign keeps the global brand activity 'fit-for-the-future'. Beyond the films, the organisation is updating its website and trade channels with off-peak content and developing resources to educate travel partners on selling a New Zealand holiday between March and November.

Barefoot is a culturally grounded device — manaakitanga and grounding in the whenua — that also literally signals slowing down, the off-peak mindset.

The 2022 platform had proven reach; evolving it preserved two years of brand equity instead of starting over.

Specific off-peak experiences gave trade partners something concrete to sell in the quiet months.

Smoothing demand across the year addresses tourism's real operational problem — peak crush and shoulder-season emptiness — with marketing.

A proven platform stays alive by changing what it asks for: same curiosity idea, new behaviour requested — travel in the quiet months, shoes off.

The refreshed 'IF YOU SEEK' rolled out globally from July 2024, with website and trade-channel updates following. Tourism New Zealand had already extended the platform into gaming the previous year as the first playable country in Minecraft. The source reports no new preference or booking figures.