Despite offering a very targeted and efficient way to reach target consumers, by and large, most brands serve up very mediocre campaigns which miss the point or fail completely in the channel choosen.

It was therefore refreshing to see this advertisement from Visit Austria served up in my Instagram stories on Thursday.

It was effective for a number of reasons;

(1) ON TARGET - I prefer mountains to beaches, I visit Switzerland all the time but not Austria. They have correctly identified me as a credible prospect.

(2) PLAYFUL VISUAL - As my Instagram stories automatically played when this appeared I did think it was an actual call coming in and reached for the phone which was sitting on my desk. It caught my attention and made me stop.

(3) TIMING - Timing was everything and this appeared at lunchtime when it was likely I might be catching up on stories.

(4) SIMPLE MESSAGE - A message which is pure to the proposition but nonetheless firm. It encourages a response from the consumer.

Everything about the campaign is relevant and I would love to see the metrics behind it because I guess it is proving successful.

It's a good benchmark when considering your next campaign.