Harahan Big River Crossing in Arkansas with a sunrise as a background

What’s a NOMADasaurus?

First things first: What’s a NOMADasaurus? Not a newly discovered species; rather, NOMADasaurus is an award-winning adventure blog that has built a loyal, engaged following over the last decade.  While founders Alesha Bradford and Jarryd Salem lead a team of writers and photographers to inspire travel around the world, operating from a homebase in Australia ensures they are particularly positioned to connect with highly motivated Aussie and Kiwi travelers (more on that travel segment later).

NOMADasaurus, then, was a natural choice when Travel South approached Tori Goddard, Director of PR and Content for Sydney-based Gate 7, to build on our Vacaay initiative. (You’ve read about that initiative here before – as a refresher, it launched in October 2021, combining inspirational content from 10 Southern states with innovative, performance-based digital marketing to capitalize on the Aussie return to international travel.)

Gate 7’s vision for extending Vacaay’s impact through NOMADasaurus was strategic and curated:

  • Identifying three states of focus for optimal audience alignment: Considering NOMADasaurus’ authority among adventure travelers, Arkansas, Louisiana and West Virginia were tapped as the campaign focus, and blog founders Alesha and Jarryd were personally deployed to travel and document the experience.
  • Integrating Vacaay and NOMADasaurus content seamlessly: All content created by NOMADasaurus – including video and photography for social media promotion, two blog posts and one YouTube video per state – featured mentions, tags and messaging cross-promoting the inspirational content created through our Vacaay initiative.
  • Building a long-tail effect: As NOMADasaurus content continues to land after its creators have returned to Australia, its longevity and impact will extend far beyond May/June 2022, building opportunity for ongoing inspiration and bookings.  

Having worked successfully with NOMADasaurus on separate initiatives, Tori connected the creators with Travel South based on their “passion” and “professionalism,” as well as her own experience and research: “In Australia, having journalists and content creators actually explore the South derives the best quality coverage,” Tori shared. Related, she is hyper-aware of research underscoring the resonance of experiential travel, saying, “We see ‘experience culture’ as a huge opportunity for the South; one that the region is well-versed in and best positioned to offer Aussie and Kiwi travelers.”   

And it’s all there in NOMADasaurus’ work. Tori reflects, “Having not visited the South before, it was clear from Jarryd and Alesha’s pieces that this is a unique and incredible region of the U.S. They naturally built in social interviews with locals showing their followers the Southern way – with experiences such as how to eat Louisiana crawfish! – highlighting just one of the many unique things that we can’t experience in our country. This made for incredible content as well as piqued our interest to visit.”  

This is key, considering current trends among Aussie travelers:

  • According to Luxury Escapes, 62% of Aussies revealed they have been saving for an overseas trip while being restricted by border closures. Airlift and new routes from Australia and New Zealand to the U.S. continue to increase rapidly, making access to the South easier than ever.
  • A Travel Index compiled by Tripadvisor has shown outdoor adventure trips are increasing in interest from Aussies.

Already, the Travel South/NOMADasaurus partnership is generating excitement and engagement among NOMADasaurus’ audience, evidence, Tori says, of “how hard their content works in inspiring and exciting Australian travelers for visiting the South.” And naturally, she says, “The high volume of Stories, Reels and posts provided much excitement for accommodation and activity partners taking part, as well as the state and city DMOs.” Participating states may also purchase NOMADasaurus photography for use moving forward. Enjoy a sampling of assets created through the Travel South/NOMADasaurus partnership at these links:

NOMADasaurus Instagram

NOMADasaurus YouTube channel

NOMADasaurus Lafayette, LA blog

NOMADasaurus Louisiana Instagram Reel

NOMADasaurus Arkansas Instagram Reel

NOMADasaurus West Virginia Instagram Reel