International celebrities and journalists were among more than a thousand high profile guests to see footage of a Wollongong tourist attraction in Los Angeles last week.
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It happened when Symbio Wildlife Park’s Matt Radnidge and Kevin Fallon were invited to attend the G’Day USA Australia Day function in LA after being recognised by Tourism Australia for the best overall Aussie post on social media in 2016. The footage of a butterfly landing on a koala’s nose during a photo shoot went so viral it has been seen by more than 40 million people globally.
Not only was their winning video introduced and played during a presentation by Tourism Australia at the important event but other footage filmed around the family run Helensburgh zoo was shown on large screens scattered around the event space throughout the function.
Mr Radnidge said it was great global exposure.
“The fact that little old Symbio was being featured so prominently in front of the likes of John Travolta, Nicole Kidman, Baz Luhrmann, Buzz Aldrin and Keith Urban was pretty surreal,” he said.
“To think we have come such a long way over 16 years and in particular the last two years and are really gaining some momentum in the marketing space and social media space.”
Mr Radnidge said the reason Symbio was there was because of the exceptional work Mr Fallon has done promoting the wildlife park internationally on social media.
“A lot of people want what other people have and want to get the same result. But often people won’t give the same effort as those who are succeeding. I know that Kevin does so many hours outside of work. He is fully committed and goes well above and beyond. The reward for that are the results he has managed to come by,” he said.
What has followed is an all expenses paid trip to a high profile international event celebrity and media event.
“We were just happy to be there,” Mr Radnidge said.
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Greg Ellis
Almost four decades in electronic, print and digital media. A writer, presenter, emcee, photographer and videographer with degrees in business management, marketing and human resources and tertiary qualifications in photography.
Almost four decades in electronic, print and digital media. A writer, presenter, emcee, photographer and videographer with degrees in business management, marketing and human resources and tertiary qualifications in photography.
