Tourism Marketing Consultant — Campaign Planning & Media Management

About the Opportunity

Samoa Tourism Authority is looking to reverse a recent decline in Australian visitor arrivals following a funding gap that paused all marketing activity for several months. Australia is Samoa's second-largest source market, and the Authority is moving to supplement its existing wholesale partnerships (Flight Centre, Hello World) with a more direct, consumer-facing media approach.

This engagement covers Stage 1 of a two-stage plan: building the campaign strategy and managing media planning across channels, ahead of a separate implementation phase. The Authority wants one person holding the whole plan together — rather than individual channel vendors each pushing their own platform — so the role is genuinely channel-agnostic.

Key Responsibilities (Stage 1 Scope)

• Develop a direct-to-consumer media and campaign strategy for the Australian market, targeting key niches: families, adventurers, and weddings
• Plan and recommend media mix across Meta, Google, cinema, and transit (bus) advertising, balancing reach, cost and measurability
• Liaise with existing cinema and transit advertising agencies already in negotiation, to fold their activity into a single coherent plan
• Set indicative budgets and timelines for each channel, including realistic minimum commitments where channels (such as cinema) require a sustained spend over a set period
• Build the bridge between paid media and the samoa.travel website, ensuring traffic is directed effectively to wholesaler deals and direct property bookings
• Recommend how the campaign plan should coordinate with Samoa's existing in-country social media team, who do not currently target Australia specifically
• Present the finalised strategy and media plan back to the Authority's Australian representative for budget sign-off

About You

• Demonstrated experience in tourism marketing, ideally with destination marketing organisations, wholesalers, or travel brands
• Strong cross-channel media planning background — comfortable across digital (Meta, Google) and traditional/out-of-home (cinema, transit)
• Confident managing multiple agency relationships and holding them to a single strategic plan, rather than working channel-by-channel in isolation
• Commercially minded — able to set sensible budgets and flag poor-ROI activity (e.g. high spend for low passenger conversion)
• Based in Sydney, with availability to meet face-to-face in Liverpool, NSW
• Comfortable working with an overseas government tourism body and navigating budget approval cycles

Engagement Details

• Stage 1 only: strategy and media planning — implementation (campaign execution) will be a separate, subsequent engagement
• Fractional/contract basis, scope and hours to be confirmed once budget is approved
• Budget approval expected shortly, with the Authority's Australian representative aiming to move quickly once confirmed
• Initial meeting to take place face-to-face in Liverpool, NSW