VisitOSLO Wins ICCA Best Marketing Award 2024

The ICCA Best Marketing Award 2024 (sponsored by The Meetings Show) was awarded to VisitOSLO on October 23, the last day of the 63rd ICCA Congress in Abu Dhabi.

VisitOSLO competed with finalists Business Events Australia and Tourism Winnipeg with a campaign promoting Oslo in an ironic, humorous way that poked fun of their city while highlighting the unique qualities that make it an attractive destination.

The campaign shows how creativity, heart and storytelling can weave captivating and emotive campaigns that tell a story. The theme for the Best Marketing Awards 2024 was "Once Upon a Time," encouraging participants to craft a narrative that communicates a captivating tale about their destination. After presentations during the 63rd ICCA Congress in Abu Dhabi, judges and delegates voted on the winner.

"We don't really know why we won this award. We're just letting Halfdan say it as it is," said Kristin Guttormsen Overvaag, director of conventions and events at VisitOSLO. "However, we're thrilled that our campaign, 'Is it Even a City?' resonates so well with the ICCA community, showing that good storytelling with a touch of humour can capture Oslo’s unique character for both the professional audiences and tourists alike. Winning the ICCA Best Marketing Award means a lot to VisitOSLO, and we’re grateful for the recognition!"

This year, ICCA received countless amazing entries and narrowed down the finalists to three incredible organisations, all of which featured humour and a sense of whimsy in their entries. Winnipeg’s tongue-in-cheek campaign turned their city’s landing page into a cheeky, satirical “streaming service” that poked fun at some of the most popular shows on television. Business Events Australia’s colourful, scenic imagery with an ironic, dry delivery encourages the viewer to see how special the country is.

“The Best Marketing Award is always a highlight of Congress, and we’re so excited to present this year’s honours to VisitOSLO,” said Senthil Gopinath, CEO of ICCA. “VisitOSLO’s original and creative idea to downplay the best parts of the destination in a funny way went above and beyond and showed the true spirit and ingenuity of the meetings and events industry, underscoring the incredible talent we are so lucky to have in our community. On behalf of ICCA I’m so pleased to extend my congratulations to VisitOSLO and to the BMA finalists for their amazing work.”