Millions of people arrive every year with money to spend and no local reference. Video in their language is the shortcut.
You are not building an audience
Three differences from a classic campaign.
The audience changes constantly: nobody will come back next week, so loyalty does not apply.
The decision is immediate: the video is seen a few streets from the place, sometimes a few minutes before.
And repetition is useless: what counts is being found at the right moment, not being remembered.
One budget consequence: favour short, regular geotargeted distribution over long campaigns. The same budget works continuously on an audience that renews itself.
Their real fear is not the price
Four worries ranked by frequency.
Choosing the wrong place: paying for an experience made for visitors rather than for residents.
Not understanding what they are ordering.
Ending up in an awkward situation: wrong queue, wrong time, wrong clothes.
And losing time: the day is counted, a mistake costs two hours.
A video dealing with those four points sells more than a video showing the product at its best.
In the visitor's language
Three rules.
A native voice, not subtitles: the subtitle informs, the voice reassures.
One single language per video: mixing two languages in one piece weakens both.
And one shoot for several languages: the same setting, the same shots, two or three different creators on the same day.
One casting note: the person speaking can be a visitor, which is often even preferable. They phrase the questions in the right order, because they asked them themselves the day before.
What to show that nobody shows
Five shots, all concrete.
The way from a known landmark, in one continuous shot.
The entrance and the first move: where you stand, who you speak to.
What you order, with the name pronounced slowly.
The moment of payment, and the means accepted.
And the real hour: what the place looks like at the time the video will be seen.
One shot to avoid: the aerial view of the city. It is beautiful, it is everywhere, and it helps nobody push a door open.
The calendar is not yours
Three shifts to build in.
Your visitors' season does not follow the local season: quiet months for the town can be full months for certain nationalities.
The days of the week move: arrivals concentrate on certain days, and the video has to come out the day before.
And the day itself is shifted: an audience used to dining two hours earlier does not behave like local customers.
One practical consequence: produce different versions per main nationality, not one universal version. The marginal cost is low, the difference in results large.
What a visitor wants to know before entering
| Doubt | The shot that answers it | Where it serves |
|---|---|---|
| Where exactly it is | The street and the storefront | Local networks |
| What you find there | The aisle, with no faces | Business listing |
| Whether their language is spoken | A welcome line in two languages | Everywhere |
What is shot in two versions
The same video, two soundtracks or two sets of subtitles. A visitor who hears their own language walks in more readily, and it takes no second shoot.
What is checked before publishing
The real opening hours, the seasonal closing days and the payment methods accepted. A tourist let down by wrong hours tells that story louder than a good visit.
What not to promise
Four points of caution, to check with a lawyer depending on the activity.
Prices: they are stated with the date, or not stated.
Availability: never guarantee there will be room.
The mandatory statements specific to certain categories, notably accommodation, catering and regulated activities.
And filming permissions: filming in certain public places, monuments or transport requires prior agreement.
One last marker, valid for this whole clientele: the most profitable video praises nothing. It explains how to do it, in the person's language, at the hour they decide, and that is exactly what no brochure does.
