Domžale is one of the fifteen largest Slovenian cities and one of the most entrepreneurial areas in the country. The city is an important centre for business, sports, innovation and culture, living in perfect harmony with the nature that surrounds it.
Recently, the destination adopted the video as part of its marketing strategy, to present its beautiful attractions and stimulate visitants’ desire. Nowadays, the travel video is considered an essential tool for tourism brands to raise awareness, increase their reach and build an emotional bond with the audience.
92% of video marketers consider video an important part of their marketing strategy (Wyzowl, 2020)
85% of consumers want to see more video content from brands (HubSpot).
Through colourful and captivating images, the travel video “The Place of Cheerful People” shows the unique atmosphere of Domžale. The video highlights the beauty of the place and the joy of the local community and its love for sports, nature, traditions, gastronomy, and celebrating life.
As can be seen, the cosy Domžale is a perfect destination not only for tourism but for all those who want to enjoy an excellent quality of life. “The Place of Cheerful People” is even dedicated to its residents to create a sense of belonging and the desire to discover new places and attractions in their own region.
“The residents of our municipality were also pleasantly surprised because some of them have only realized how beautiful the town they live in really is with the help of this film, which also led them to discover many corners of the municipality still unknown to them. This is something we also consider a great success.” said Mira Becan, representative of the Municipality Domzale.
The video has been recognized in international festivals. In the Grand Prix CIFFT Circuit 2020, a competition that brings together the World’s Best Tourism Film Festivals from 4 continents, “The Place of Cheerful People” received two significant awards at The Golden City Gate (Germany) and US International Film & Video Festival (USA).
To know more about the creative process behind the video, we spoke with Mira Becan, representative of the Municipality Domzale and also Ales Petric, film director.
Watch now “The Place of Cheerful People”
The creative process behind “The Place of Cheerful People”
Interview with Mira Becan, representative of the Municipality Domzale
- What is the purpose of the video?
The purpose of the video was first and foremost to introduce our hometown and the hidden areas of Domžale to its residents. We also wanted to present the town of Domžale and all the possibilities for exploring its green surroundings to inhabitants of other parts of Slovenia, as well as foreign tourists, and to attract more visitors to our part of the world. The town of Domžale has always had an extremely rich straw hat making tradition. However, in the last few years, it has also begun to focus on tourism.
- Who is your target audience?
Families, Visitors who would like an active holiday and Visitors who would like to explore the history of Domžale.
- What is the key message of The Place of Cheerful People?
Welcome to the place where cheerful people live, where there is always something going on and where you will never be bored. Something for every generation!
- What emotions are we trying to evoke?
Happiness, joy, cheerfulness.
- In your opinion, how important is storytelling in Travel Video Marketing?
Storytelling is an important tool we can use to attract tourists. The stories are always compelling and they make it easier for visitors to identify with the place and the people.
Interview with Ales Petric, film director and founder of the SVF Ales Petric s.p.
- How was the production process of The Place of Cheerful People?
The pre-production process took several months, it was necessary namely to hold numerous meetings with the client, coordinate more than 60 selected filming locations and arrange their viewings, carefully prepare the script, determine the actors of different age groups, as many as 150 and prepare filming schedules. Filming days were performed on warm spring and sunny summer days. The post-production process in the editing studio took several months, but every hour of hard work paid off, as the film is more than excellent!
- What is the purpose of the video?
The purpose of the film is to bring the town of Domžale and its surroundings closer with its varied events and rich cultural treasury, both for foreign and domestic guests. We would also like to inspire visitors with a little research spirit to see the natural sights of a larger Slovenian town and meet friendly locals.
- What were the main challenges during the film production?
The biggest challenge was certainly the coordination of filming schedules of actors at individual locations, and we were often tempted by the weather. But in the end, everything turned out more than great.
- What were the goals for The Place of Cheerful People? In your opinion, did you reach them?
We absolutely reached the main goal for tourism film The Place of Cheerful People and present remarkable Slovenian city Domzale with amazing natural surroundings, a rich cultural treasury, numerous sports activities and, most importantly, to feel the kindness of the cheerful locals.
- Video is a powerful tool to promote tourism destinations. Technically speaking, what is a good tourism video?
Nowadays, video promotion is certainly one of the most important tools, the purpose of which is to present and show a tourist location as an experience in all its specialties, of course with a touch of cultural heritage, folk tradition and active leisure.
