#iamAUT

An initiative by Österreich Werbung and WIEN NORD Serviceplan is successfully promoting real offline holidays together with well-known influencers.

Just in time for the start of the summer season, Österreich Werbung launched a cooperation with well-known influencers from all over Europe. However, they were not - as is usually the case - engaged for their content production. As part of the #iamAUT initiative, they treated themselves to a "real" holiday without any social media obligations or content plan and handed over their high-reach accounts to "normal" Austrians - so-called AUTfluencers. The influencers should set a good example with the initiative and put their mobile phones away while on holiday. This should motivate others to do the same.

German lifestyle influencer xLaeta kicked things off in June: she started in the Mozart city of Salzburg and used her offline time for a relaxing holiday - without a smartphone. Meanwhile, her account was taken over by AUTfluencer Lieselotte, who showed that the Austrian way of life also goes through the stomach. Successful Italian influencer Giulia Lamarca has already enjoyed an offline holiday in Schladming, while Polina Burashnikova from the Netherlands enjoyed a break from the duties of a social media personality in Seefeld in Tyrol and Jitka Novackova from the Czech Republic enjoyed a break at Lake Traunsee. Meanwhile, their accounts were managed by locals who gave over 4.1 million followers authentic insights into everyday life and culture in Austria, allowing the influencers time to discover the local way of life.

Offline holidays in Austria

"Our aim was to focus attention on the socially important issue of social media pressure. Many people are overwhelmed and urgently need a break from it. On the other hand, we wanted to present Austria's diverse regions as perfect hideaways for a complete break. And our AUTfluencers did this in an incredibly authentic and humorous way," says Sandra Stichauner, CMO of Austrian National Tourist Office.

The fact that the initiative is very popular is shown by the success figures on its own channels: 25 million views and applications from over 100 influencers with over 2.3 million followers from 15 countries. Christian Hellinger, Creative Director Vienna North Serviceplan: "The #iamAUT initiative shows in a refreshing way how cooperation with influencers can be rethought in tourism. Can you really savour the Austrian lifestyle in a completely individual way if the unforgettable moments have to be processed later as "content"? The initiative simply outsources content generation in order to really take the pressure off social media for the duration of the stay - in an entertaining, authentic way that conveys more local charm than a conventional post ever could."

AUTfluencer service: applications possible until the end of July

Further influencers can apply for an offline holiday to be represented by AUTfluencer:innen during their social media time-out until the end of July. All information about the initiative and insights are available at iamaut.at.