Destinations Council Destiny Awards > International Marketing

"Wie is de Mol?" Stumptown Project

About This Entry:

The Dutch market has long been identified by Travel Portland as a primary market, since Amsterdam has been Portland’s only gateway for year-round non-stop service to Europe since 2009. Travel trade and media strategies there between 2007 and 2016 were successful, and as productive as they could be. Travel Portland recognized that only a heightened consumer-awareness campaign would bring more visitors to Portland and Oregon. With this strategy in mind, the challenge was to find the perfect project.

The genesis of that “perfect project” was an idea to invite executives of one of the most-watched shows on Dutch television, reality show ‘Wie is de Mol?’ (Who is The Mole? aka #WIDM), to film the 2017 season in Portland and surrounding region. ‘Wie is de Mol?’ draws an average of 2.3 million views per episode, and pits ten Dutch celebrities against each other with one “Mole” trying to sabotage the others. By ensuring maximum positive publicity and public outreach, this project had the singular goal and opportunity to transform Dutch viewers, into visitors. If the show’s director and producers agreed, this would also be the first time in its 17-year history that the show would film in the United States.

After two robust research trips, the director and producers selected Portland and elsewhere in Oregon as the overall location for their 17th season – culminating in ten hour-long episodes shown on primetime Dutch TV, from January through March 2017. Nine episodes were filmed in the Portland, Mt. Hood/Columbia River Gorge, Coast, Eastern and Central Oregon regions, with the final episode presented in front of a live audience where the “Mole” was revealed.

#WIDM was meaningful not only for Portland but all of Oregon. Strategically, the Netherlands was a right-sized market with a population of 17 million where it was really possible to move the needle. U.S. competition in the market was manageable to low, and Travel Portland’s relationships with Dutch travel trade and media was strong. These facts, coupled with the popularity of ‘‘Wie is de Mol?’’ , made the show the perfect way to raise consumer awareness and generate demand.

Campaign Strategy:

Digital, print, and in-market events in the Netherlands were tactics employed to maximize interest in the destination because of the 2017 season of ‘‘Wie is de Mol?’’.

In November 2016, a Travel Portland team (including the CEO and President) traveled to Amsterdam for AVROTROS (the show’s broadcaster) Press Day for the launch of the ‘‘Wie is de Mol?’’ “teaser” video and the official “reveal” of Oregon as the filming location for the 2017 series. This event generated exposure with a live stream audience of 450,000; a Facebook reach of 1.1 million; and 1.8 million online video views of the show’s preview.

In January 2017, Travel Portland participated in the Vakantiebeurs Travel Trade & Consumer Show, the largest tourism shows in the Netherlands. Representatives talked to an estimated 1,000 people at the booth, about three times the amount from previous years. Approximately 350 people participated in the “Put Yourself in Oregon” green–screen photo booth where attendees could have their photo taken with Portland and Oregon scenes.

One week after the show’s final airing (and reveal of the “Mole”), on March 18, 2017, the show’s producers held a ‘‘Wie is de Mol?’’ Fan Day where people could meet and greet the celebrity contestants. An estimated 2,000 attended the event, which had a Portland/Oregon theme. Several circus performers from Portland were brought to the event for entertainment, including the Unipiper (bagpipes-playing, Darth Vader-masked, kilt-wearing unicyclist), stilt walkers, a juggler, and a human rendition of Portland’s “Umbrella Man” statue (which played a pivotal part in Episode I).

Online ‘‘Wie is de Mol?’’ Episode Guides and printed #WIDM Fan Guide to Portland booklets were created, inviting visitors to follow in the contestants’ footsteps to experience the food, drink and activities they had enjoyed, as well as things they missed, while completing their assignments. Locations around the Portland region, Mt. Hood, the Oregon Coast, and elsewhere were highlighted. For IPW 2017, a full-size #WIDM Locations Guide was produced. This four-color resource piece included travel trade contacts and a map of Oregon with color-coded areas to find the locations featured in each of the episodes.

Results:

Overnight visitors to Portland from Benelux grew 4.9 percent from 2016 to 2017 versus national growth of 2.3 percent. Additionally, day and overnight visitation growth YOY is 8.7 percent and spending growth is 8.4 percent, according to Tourism Economics. Additional growth is expected in 2018 due to the ongoing impacts of the TV show.

Anticipated viewership – at an average of 2.3 million views per episode – was 23.3 million overall. However, an additional outcome of ‘Wie is de Mol?’ was the substantial number of viewers who watched the episodes online after they aired on TV. Total broadcast and online viewership for all ten episodes was 31 million; the accompanying ten “Mol Talk” talk shows which aired immediately after the broadcast generated an additional 10 million views, for a combined total of more than 41 million enticing views of Portland and Oregon.

Prior to the premiere episode, AVROTROS aired a “teaser” video, which featured Oregon locations, on TV and online. During the show’s on-air season, Travel Portland produced Dutch and English content for TravelPortland.NL and TravelPortland.com. These showcases sparked an uptick of Dutch traffic to Travel Portland’s websites by 900 percent YOY.

For two weeks in February 2018, Delta Air Lines’ Dutch partner, KLM, executed an online campaign based on ‘Wie is de Mol?’ Flights to PDX were featured in the “offers block” of KLM.nl, promoting a discounted fare for fans. As a result, KLM reported a steep increase in bookings, with 213 tickets sold.

‘Wie is de Mol?’ spawned significant coverage in Dutch media, with roughly 50 newspapers, magazines and websites featuring articles that included Portland and Oregon. Current statistics show that this coverage created 1,503,139 impressions with more expected.

Several Dutch tour operators and travel websites promoted travel to Portland and Oregon because of WIDM. Large travel agency Disma Reizen added several new trips, inviting visitors to “Experience the trip of the ‘Wie is de Mol?’ candidates.” and many Benelux tour operators, including Jan Doets, deJong Intravakanties, Travel Trend, Tioga Tours, Travelhome, Go America, FOX Reizen, American Vacation, and others expanded their product offerings to feature WIDM locations.

Why This Is A Finalist: 

The game show concept is a big phenomenon in the Benelux countries—Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg. A partnership with this program is an original and highly effective PR mechanism to reach a niche market that has a high travel spend but is often overlooked due to its small size. The program used a variety of media outlets and events, and when combined with celebrity star power, makes for an innovative program with a range of well-defined program partners. The project resulted in a growth of overnight visitors to Portland from the Benelux by 4.9 percent. Seeing Portland is a long-haul destination for the Benelux, it may have inspired many to plan a vacation in Portland in the coming years, adding to the long-term outcomes of the campaign.