New approach, new brand name unveiled for regional tourism

28 June 2018

Tourism marketing in the Orange region is off to a fresh start with the launch of a new brand to badge the efforts of the new joint council marketing wing, Orange Regional Tourism.

Orange Region Tourism day launched its new brand and will now be operating as Orange 360.

Orange Deputy Mayor Joanne McRae said she’s excited by the new cooperative approach to marketing the region.

“The new tourism organisation and the launch of the new brand is the latest step in the growing cooperation between local councils and tourism businesses,” Cr Joanne McRae said “It signals a fresh start and has a new brand name, Orange 360.”

“For me the new brand name is all about a place where visitors can come to get a 360 degree view of the Orange region. It’s a place where they can look in every direction and discover that there’s so much more to Orange.”

“Yes, Orange is about food and wine, but a 360 degree viewpoint shows you that it’s also about the villages, open countryside, country towns of Blayney and Cabonne. It’s about sports tourism, bike travellers and bushwalking.”

General Manager of Orange 360, Caddie Marshall, said that the new brand will mean a united, all-year-round approach to tourism.

“Orange 360, for the first time, is a collaboration between Orange, Cabonne and Blayney councils and surrounding villages,” Caddie Marshall said.

“Orange 360 is focused on driving increased visitor numbers and economic benefits across the entire region. Over 1 million visitors already explore our region every year and the purpose of our new brand is to invite these peoples to discover even more of the wonders and gems that are unique to us - our people, our places and our produce.

“As we developed the new tourism brand, we actively spoke with members of our community to learn how we defined ourselves and our landscapes. We also developed a brand reference group representative of the businesses across the Orange region, made up of the wine, retail, food, arts, and indigenous sectors who provided local feedback.

“I believe this conversation has resulted in a brand we can all work with, something that proudly promotes our foundation of gold and farming and landscapes. We are deeply proud of our history, our villages and we love to show off our four distinct seasons.

“With such a diverse choice of activities, attractions and events across our region a new website is under construction that will make it easy for visitors to navigate the full spectrum of experiences on offer. Whether they are coming to enjoy one of the region’s marquee food and wine events, to experience our historic villages and authentic country lifestyle or to simply relax and unwind, it can all be found at their fingertips.

“Destination marketing will now take a seasonal approach providing potential visitors four glorious seasonal reasons to come and check out our region for themselves. Orange 360 is about promoting our region and its offerings all year round.

Orange360 together with Blayney Shire Council is also developing a Village Viability Strategy to support each Village Association to market and encourage visitation.

The new Orange 360 website will be ready in time to promote regional Spring offerings.