Great Ocean Walk: The Art of Walking

Tourism Victoria's newest nature experience, The Great Ocean Walk, has just been released to the world via an integrated communications campaign by Publicis Mojo, Melbourne.

The centerpiece of the campaign is a feature length documentary film, The Art of Walking, conceived by Publicis Mojo and produced by @radical.media. The 48-minute film follows the footsteps of three extraordinary people - environmentalist and 'Planetwalker' John Francis, legendary German ice-skater Katarina Witt, and Michael Milton, Australias most successful Paralympian and fastest-ever downhill skier. The three tell their own awe-inspiring walking stories as they embark on the 104km journey along Australias most spectacular coastline.

The journey is depicted at www.theartofwalking.com.au - a Mojo-made site that launched on Friday to support the campaign. The site allows visitors to watch The Art of Walking in bite-sized chunks, to view nine exclusive webisodes, and to follow the Great Ocean Walk using Google maps.

Distribution strategy for The Art of Walking documentary was modeled on the marketing of an independent film. It was offered to a range of major media and entertainment partners, and was immediately picked up for release both nationally and internationally.

Fairfax Media Limited distributed 400,000 copies of the documentary via DVD to readers of The Sunday Age on 27 March and The Sydney Morning Herald on 10 April, and advertised the promotion to its readers through 30sec TV spots, radio and online banners.

National Geographic Channel will broadcast The Art of Walking in Australia on Sunday May 2 at 7.30pm, and also in Asia, Germany, Italy, New Zealand and the UK.

Virgin Blue, based on a partnership with Tourism Victoria, will soon begin to screen the 60-second movie trailer on flights within Australia, and is considering scheduling the film for its international flights as well.

Dave Varney, lead creative on the project at Publicis Mojo said, ╘his has been a truly amazing experience made possible by the sheer guts and forward thinking of Tourism Victoria. It is inspiring to work with a client who has seen the rich possibilities in authentic storytelling - and who has had the faith to stand behind this approach to create a piece of communication that truly connects with people.

Experience The Art of Walking at www.theartofwalking.com.au