Gumbuya World, one of Victoria’s leading theme parks, wanted to cut through the crowded summer holiday market and drive visitation from local families. They partnered with Social Soup to deliver a hyper-targeted influencer campaign, and the results speak for themselves.
A 30% year-on-year increase in park visitation.
Here’s how micro and nano influencers made it happen.
The Challenge:
With families planning staycations and day trips across Victoria, Gumbuya World needed to be top of mind during the decision-making window. But time-poor parents weren’t looking for polished promotions, they wanted trustworthy, relatable recommendations.
The objective was clear: reach local families, build trust, and drive ticket sales. Not through mass coverage, but through relevance and resonance.
The Strategy:
Social Soup designed a campaign built around creators who looked just like Gumbuya World’s ideal guests:
- Parents of school-aged kids
- Living in key areas across Melbourne and regional Victoria
- Sharing real, useful family content
We engaged 71 creators (21 micro and 50 nano influencers) to visit the park, experience it with their families, and share authentic, first-hand content across Instagram and TikTok. From wildlife to water rides, the content gave families a true sense of the experience.
It wasn’t curated. It was candid. And that’s what worked.
The Results
On a modest budget (plus gifted passes), the campaign delivered:
- 113 pieces of content
- 319,370+ organic impressions
- 10,925 engagements
- 1,657 saves (a powerful planning signal for parents)
- 9.71% average engagement rate
- 314 content shares, driving peer-to-peer recommendations
- Most importantly: Gumbuya World reported a 30% YOY uplift in visitation during the campaign period
Post Campaign Survey Results
And the post-campaign survey reinforced this impact:
- 87.7% intended to purchase tickets in future
- 10.2% had already repurchased
- NPS jumped by 15 points, showing increased brand advocacy
- 42.6% said they didn’t get to see it all, they wanted to come back
Why It Worked
This campaign proved the power of smaller creators with strong audience trust. Micro influencers delivered:
- More targeted reach
- Stronger engagement
- Authentic storytelling that answered real parent questions
“Shifting our influencer strategy in the 24/25 summer season and working with Social Soup was one of the contributing factors towards our record-breaking summer and 30% uplift YOY.”
— Kirsty Balthazaar-Proctor, Head of Marketing, Gumbuya World
What This Means for Brands
Big reach is no longer the goal, real reach is. And real reach comes from creators who feel trustworthy, timely, and just like your target customer.
This campaign is proof that with the right strategy, micro and nano influencers can outperform mega campaigns, in both results and ROI.