Established in 1983, it has been decided that it is fitting to celebrate the 34th Anniversary of the Knysna Oyster Festival by introducing a new look and feel for the event.
“As Visit Knysna is tasked with event promotion on behalf of Knysna Municipality, we felt that the time was right to re-energise the Knysna Oyster Festival look and feel and share it with the local tourism industry. A new identity allows for everyone to feel a part of something new,” commented Colleen Durant, General Manager of Visit Knysna who boasts 18 years of tourism industry experience.
“A key drive for us will be to promote the many tourism experiences on offer in the greater Knysna area, creating awareness for festival goers on what is available to do in the five day gap between the cycling and running races,” said Durant.
To encapsulate the multi-faceted nature of the festival, the logo has been re-imagined to capture the plethora of experiences on offer at the event. Sticking to the theme and celebrating the key protagonist – the oyster – a multi-coloured, oyster shaped logo has been created, with a colour designated to each experience on offer. This provides for further marketing collateral to be developed around a particular event experience, which will be identifiable by the colour.
Continuing the look and feel will be a dedicated Knysna Oyster Festival website, which will contain all relevant event information and partner details and experiences on offer in the greater Knysna area. To drive support and create pre-event hype, a traditional media, social media and digital campaign will be launched – driving audiences to the new website. A marketing campaign will also be created to support the overall awareness of the festival.
“The new creative direction will assist in re-positioning the festival in the hearts and minds of locals and potential visitors. We are pleased to see the work that Visit Knysna is already doing to move ownership of the festival back to the community, highlighting the variety of experiences on offer in the greater Knysna area. We look forward to seeing the roll-out of the marketing initiatives and hope to see re-newed interest from a diverse range of visitors at the 2019 event,” said Wesgro CEO Tim Harris.
Minister of Economic Opportunities, Beverley Schäfer, commented: “The annual Knysna Oyster Festival is an important fixture on the Western Cape and the Garden Route’s events calendar, providing a major boost the economy and job creation in the area. A new look and feel for the event will not only make it easier for visitors to access information about the many activities on offer, but will also assist in marketing the festival to new visitors, boosting the tourism sector.”
Visit Knysna, a division of the Wesgro’s Destination Marketing Unit, has been mandated by Knysna Municipality to assist with local tourism promotion and visitor services for the Greater Knysna area. Visit Knysna is based on 40 Main Road, Knysna.