Why is SA Tourism wasting this opportunity?

“Hello ma boy! Hallo ma boy!” Such a uniquely South African expression. The fact that we’re watching a man lovingly telling this to an enormous male lion that could kill him in seconds if he felt like it — well, that’s just part of life in amazing (as opposed to poor, benighted) Africa.

Now, while the thought of impressionable overseas visitors attempting this sort of thing themselves is somewhat worrying (the Taiwanese student who was killed at the Lion Park back in the 80s was something I’ll never forget), I have little doubt that South African Tourism owes Kevin Richardson — “The Lion Whisperer” and a favourite of the media for a couple of years now — a debt of gratitude.

This latest video, which has featured on Sky News as well as news websites and blogs around the world, is the kind of PR that cannot be bought. At a time when so much of the news that comes out of South Africa is less than positive, videos of nice looking thirty-something man rolling about with fully grown lions offer an opportunity for South Africa to be positioned as a land of adventurers, offering the kind of experiences you won’t find anywhere else in the world.

I am surprised that SA Tourism has not taken more advantage of the very obvious communication opportunities offered by this kind of footage. In a world where it is harder than ever for messages to hit home, where long-haul tourism will come under even more intense pressure as the global recession bites, every opportunity for compelling communication matters. Ad campaigns about how “it’s possible” (what? It’s possible to get on a plane and fly to Jo’burg? Yeah, well, whatever) don’t cut it anymore. The South African tourism website is nice enough, professional, but it’s also oddly cold and unengaging. It screams “corporate” at a time when consumers don’t trust clean, official, crafted messages.

The famous Battle at Kruger YouTube clip is probably the best example of the possibilities of a new kind of communication. It currently rates at more than 42-million views — and very few of those exposures to the video would have been wasted. In fact, there’s a good chance that every single one of those viewers was fully engaged with that clip; many probably watched it several times.

While doing so, they will have been exposed to South African accents, and hopefully noticed that this remarkable event took place in the Kruger National Park. (My favourite moment in the video: when the woman in the background says “There’s a crocodile!” and sounds like the woman in the Buffalo herbs and spices ad.)

That kind of engagement is priceless. I’ve shown that video to several Australian colleagues and all of them watched, entranced. It’s the kind of impact that advertising simply cannot buy.

All of which leads me to ask why South African Tourism (or perhaps SANParks) don’t get their act together and launch a channel on YouTube? Perhaps a blog with, you know, links? So much material is already out there, and if they need to source more — well, Veldfokus and 50/50 have a huge supply of the kind of footage that would fascinate viewers the world over. All you’d need to do is make sure that the words “South Africa” are strongly linked to what people are watching; today’s consumers are smart enough to research the rest for themselves.

A dedicated online channel for short videos from South Africa — particularly wildlife, because the subject matter is unusual enough to lend itself to viral distribution via low quality video — is so obvious that I am astonished that the powers that be have failed to organise one. It’s low cost and yet reaches millions; it’s also incredibly targeted because people actively look for what appeals to them and then distribute it to their friends.

Importantly, this kind of content and strategy appeals to a new generation of travelers, often the very people who don’t have mortgages yet and have escaped the worst of the global financial crisis. And because so many people will be seeking escape from depressing headlines, now is a great time to plant and start building build the desire to visit South Africa, even if it’s only years from now.

Kevin Richardson could be so much more of an ambassador for South African tourism and wildlife than he already is. A content distribution strategy that takes into account this new media universe would be a superb investment in international tourism now and into the future. In tough times, South Africa needs whatever tourism dollars and pounds, euros and yen it can get. There’s no reason not to do it, and do it now.