Time is getting close when US megastar talk show host Oprah Winfrey will be sharing the message with tens of millions of her viewers across over 150 countries world wide that "There’s nothing like Australia".

Tourism Australia (TA) have confirmed that the US chat show queen is heading down under with 300 of her audience members and 150 crew as a spectacular part of the last year of her long running series. 

The news has generated headlines around the world and delivered Tourism Australia a publicity coup that many commentators have agreed has already paid for itself.

TA executive general manager of marketing, Nick Baker says the deal was a long time in the making and is the brainchild of the organisation’s US-based public relations agency Fleishman-Hillard.

Apparently codenamed ‘Chicago', after the city where Oprah broadcasts her show, the idea was pitched by the PR agency to Tourism Australia over a year ago, but it wasn’t until April this year that TA and Oprah started to take it a little more seriously. It took from mid May until August 14 to gain Oprah’s eager approval.

Nick Baker said, “We pitched a really big idea and had to consider that she has never been here or taken her show outside of the US before. We really had to rally together to make it as big as it could be and certainly worthwhile for Oprah.”

Andrea Kerekes, managing partner at Access PR, has previously worked with TA while at M&C Saatchi on the problem beset, ‘Where the bloody hell are you?’ campaign.

Andrea commented, “Oprah Winfrey is one of the most influential people in the world and to have someone with her credibility associated with Australia sends a very strong message.”

Baker agreed, “The whole idea is to show Oprah’s global audience why ‘There is nothing like Australia’.

Tourism Australia has invested $1.5m into bringing Oprah to Australian shores and while it, and its partners, are still working on opportunities leading up to the show which will include a social media campaign. 

The US audience alone for the show is expected to be seen by 40 million viewers but it would be expected to double from around the rest of the world when fully distributed.

“We’ve got our partners on board – Qantas, The Opera House, Queensland Tourism, NSW Tourism and Tourism Victoria – to really make sure we show off the best of what Australia has to offer from every angle,” explains Baker.

To organise her itinerary while she is in Australia, the State tourism boards have been asked to submit their ideas but with the NSW Government putting between $1 to 2m into the hat, Tourism Victoria $500,000 and Tourism Queensland only $400,000 it may be that money could talk very loudly as to where she visits. 

Let's hope that the Queensland contribution is enough to get her to come to Port Douglas to enjoy our twin World Heritage attractions of the Great Barrier Reef and the Daintree Rainforest.

Qantas is flying the 450 audience and crew free of charge and Sydney’s Opera House will be renamed ‘Oprah House’ for the duration of Oprah’s stay.

Kerekes says: “International visitors love Australia for its iconic landmarks such as the Opera House, Uluru and the Great Barrier Reef. Oprah will cover off those main sites, so in some sense it’s a very mainstream campaign in terms of cementing what is most attractive to tourists.”

But not everyone is convinced that the idea has any value. Joseph Meseha, managing director of the creative shop 10 Feet Tall says: “Oprah’s visit will certainly boost our global profile. However, the campaign is slightly disingenuous in that she can never be a brand ambassador for Australia – we really need an Australian for that.”  (Ed comment:  I disgree entirely, what's the point of an Australian telling the world how wonderful Australia is?  It's a far stronger recommendation to have an independent third party tell the world how wonderful Australia is.  Afterall you would expect any resident of any country to tell you how wonderful their own country is, wouldn't you.  It doesn't mean you would believe them!).

Nick Baker, however, remains confident. “Oprah is the biggest celebrity in the world, and her ultimate view can influence a lot of people. We wanted her, and only her, for this campaign – she is the only possible person in the world who can pull something like this off.  Our main aim is to really entice US visitors and we’ve seen many Oprah fans wanting to visit while she is here, so already the campaign is paying off.”

Andrea Kerekes adds, “As a single big idea, this has a lot of depth and a lot of opportunity for ongoing PR and content. What’s really clever is that her 300 audience will also be acting as influencers. They’ll be sending home pictures, talking to their friends and even their local media will want to get involved and document this once in a lifetime opportunity.”

Kerekes believes that the campaign will easily translate into at least 12 months of media coverage and says that the campaign is likely to take on a life of its own.  “It’s already paid for itself in terms of the amount of column inches it has already generated here and in the international press. Everyone is drawn to the excitement of the idea,” she explains.

Baker concludes: “We wanted to do something that would have momentum, that wouldn’t just be another campaign.  The audience potential for the entire campaign is massive – our job now is to activate this campaign and get as much leverage as we can to entice more visitors to Australia.”