TLDR
Contiki has launched GO WANDER, which it calls a reinvention of the brand, with Publicis Australia and Havas Media. It adds 76 new or reimagined trips across eight 'Travel Worlds' and leads with On Contiki, a vertical micro-drama set in Costa Rica and directed by Australian filmmaker Gracie Otto.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
A new shape for the trips
Contiki, the youth travel brand started in 1962 by a young New Zealander, has launched GO WANDER with Publicis Australia and Havas Media. The overhaul regroups its trips into eight 'Travel Worlds' (Local, Outdoors, Lite, Originals, Highlights, Islands, Festivals and Luxe) and adds 76 new or reimagined trips, with new destinations including Fiji and the Maldives, new pricing and a new digital experience.[1] The GO WANDER platform now runs on Contiki's own Australian site.[2]
"GO WANDER is a reinvention of Contiki," said Toni Ambler, managing director of The Travel Corporation Oceania and chief customer officer at Contiki.[1]
A micro-drama instead of a hero ad
The campaign is led by On Contiki, an original vertical micro-drama series that follows four young travellers through Costa Rica. It was directed by Gracie Otto and produced by DIVISION.[1] Otto directed seven episodes of Netflix's Heartbreak High and won the 2025 AACTA Award for best feature-length documentary for Otto by Otto.[3]
The choice of format is the interesting part. Micro-dramas, short serialised episodes shot to be watched on a phone, have grown into a business of their own on short-video apps, and Contiki is borrowing the form to sell trips rather than buying a single hero spot. Havas Media is running the global media strategy, which includes partnerships with TikTok and Google.[1]
Who else worked on it
A creator program is being run with Influential, and HERD MSL is handling earned-first communications.[1] "GO WANDER is an example of what can happen when business and brand strategy are developed hand in hand," said Simone Waugh, managing director of Publicis Australia. Kate O'Ryan-Roeder, chief executive of Havas Media ANZ, said: "A transformation of this scale requires a deliberately different approach to how a brand shows up in culture."[1]
The audience
Contiki's own research says nearly six in 10 young Australians have travelled overseas in the past two years and are already planning their next trip, the group the new trips and the series are built for.[1]
SOURCES & CITATIONS
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
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James Dore is founder and editor of Prompt the Market and Strategy Director at Bushnote, a Sydney strategy, SEO and AI search agency. He has a background in strategy, media and financial services, and led consumer product marketing at MONEYME. He writes on AI search, answer engines, technology policy and media economics.
