Young Brazilian “Nerds” Tour New Zealand

Young Brazilian “Nerds” Tour New Zealand

A crew from one of the most influential entertainment media channels in Brazil arrives tomorrow for a two-week tour of New Zealand, during which they will blog about their experiences of New Zealand’s culture and attractions, and promote New Zealand as an English language destination to their large youth audience.

The Jovem Nerd crew – two presenters, two camera people, a sound technician and a producer – are being brought here by Education New Zealand (ENZ), the crown entity responsible for international education, with the help of Conversa, an education social media consultancy agency.

“Around 2,500 Brazilian students study in New Zealand annually, but there’s plenty of opportunity for expansion. We see social media as a way of extending our reach into the Brazilian market to capture the attention of young people who want to learn English and have an adventure. New Zealand offers both”, says Kathryn McCarrison, ENZ’s General Manager, Marketing and Channel Development.

As its name suggests – ‘jovem’ being the Portuguese word for ‘young’ – Jovem Nerd is especially popular with 15-35 year olds, and their podcasts have among the highest audience numbers in Brazil.

The crew are all huge fans of the Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit movies who are especially interested in visiting ‘Middle-earth’. “To be a Nerd is to want to know about things”, says Jovem Nerd producer, Guga Mafra. “A Nerd Tour not only educates, but it also gives our audience real insight in to our experience of a place. A Middle-earth experience is an exciting adventure for our audience”.

A range of English language schools will host the Jovem Nerd crew as they travel around the country. “We’re thrilled to be hosting Jovem Nerd at our schools.  They have a huge following in Brazil, and the Nerd Tour is likely to generate a lot of buzz about New Zealand as a study destination. The last celebrity blogger tour that ENZ organised provided a real boost to our schools’ online marketing efforts”, says Hannah Robinson, Digital Marketing Manager, Languages International.

New Zealand Maori Tourism (NZMT), which represents over 200 Maori tourism operators, has created an exciting itinerary for the Jovem Nerd crew. “We welcome the opportunity to be involved in this tour and for the chance to share with the people of Brazil the richness of our landscapes, our culture and our people. Both Maori and mainstream tourism operators are looking forward to hosting the Nerds on what will be in itself be an epic adventure, worthy of a Rings novel,” says Butch Bradley, Director of Regions and Operations at NZMT.

The Jovem Nerd crew will be in New Zealand from 14 – 30 May.

ENDS

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