Catalonia is committed to a tourism model with greater added value, sustainable and balanced and to achieve this it has focused on culture in its new tourism promotion campaign. “Sent la nostra cultura. Viu Catalunya” (Feel our culture. Live Catalonia), created by the Normmal agency, presents the region to the world by highlighting the unique aspects of its culture, such as heritage, music, dance, theatre, popular festivals and language, to reinforce its position as a leading international destination.
The region promotes itself by highlighting culture as its great differential element
The campaign is part of the “(+) Catalonia, better tourism” strategy of the Catalan Tourism Agency, belonging to the Department of Business and Labor; and is aimed at both Spanish residents and visitors from European, Asian and American markets. Its intention is to promote Catalonia as a destination, highlighting culture as its great differentiating element compared to other options, thereby seeking to raise the profile of visitors to one interested in authentic and quality experiences.
As explained by the Catalan Tourism Agency, the campaign is articulated around four main ideas: the identity of Catalan culture based on tradition and the avant-garde; a culture that is lived in the streets; creativity as a distinctive feature of the country and the role of great cultural icons as gateways to discover the prolific emerging talent of Catalonia.
All of them are captured in an artistic spot, with overflowing energy, that puts culture directly in front of the camera. Combining tradition and avant-garde, the piece evokes a way of being and understanding the world that can be experienced on the street, in customs and in new ways of creating. It gives space to the great Catalan icons that have shaped the culture of the region, as well as the one that is making it evolve today.
“Catalan culture is not only explained: it is lived and felt. Catalonia not only invites you to visit monuments, museums or festivals; invites you to feel a way of living, creating and sharing“, commented Miquel Sàmper, Minister of Business and Labor, in a statement. “The campaign expresses very well this Catalonia that is tradition and avant-garde at the same time. Culture is a pillar of the tourism model that we want”.
As explained by the Catalan Tourism Agency, the story of the campaign has been worked out through a process of reflection in which more than twenty international references of Catalan culture from different spheres have participated. Among them. Izaro Bo, the visual artist and multidisciplinary creator; Judith Colell, film director and President of the Catalan Film Academy; Jordi Labanda, illustrator and designer; or Jaume Ripoll, Co-Founder and Editorial Director of Filmin.
“When we considered how to explain Catalan culture in the world, we decided to move away from the usual codes of tourist communication. Instead of telling it, we wanted the culture itself to speak”; they have pointed out from Normmal through LinkedIn. “A piece without words, where music, beauty, movement and art become a universal language capable of crossing any border.
A campaign created from Catalan culture itself, with artists and creators who today continue to shape a living cultural identity. Because the best way to experience Catalonia is to feel its culture“.
The piece, produced by Colmado, has also featured what the Agency describes as a new generation of Catalan creators: the director Max Larruy, the sculptor Berta-Blanca T. Ivanow; the visual artist Eva Fàbregas, the RCR Arquitectes studio, the musical duet Nil Ciuró or the fashion designer Flor Violeta.
Furthermore, the advertisement was filmed in eleven emblematic locations that reflect the cultural and artistic wealth of the provinces of Catalonia. In Barcelona, the Crypt of Colonia Güell, the Palace of Catalan Music, or the Sagrada Família; in Terres de l’Ebre, Trabucador beach; in Tarragona, its Roman amphitheater; in Lleida, the Mitjana and Seu Vella Park; and in Girona, the Cala Canyers in Palamós and the Barri Vell in Girona.
The campaign has a budget of 5 million euros for dissemination, which makes it one of the most ambitious promoted by the Catalan Tourism Agency. It will be executed in Catalonia, the rest of Spain, France and the United States and in other selected international markets.
