S. Africa Tourism launches URL shortener for World Cup marketing

S. Africa Tourism launches URL shortener for World Cup marketing

mzan.si website

As part of the marketing around the upcoming 2010 FIFA World Cup, the South African Tourism authority has launched a new branded url shortening service at http://mzan.si. Developed for the government agency by Quirk eMarketing, the Mzan.si service is so named  for the word Mzansi (m-zun-zee), a popular word used to refer to South Africa. The marketing effort is an attempt to brand South Africa as “a country teeming with exquisite sights, natural splendours, adventure attractions and culture”.

Because URL shorteners are easier to remember, faster to type and less likely to break when they are shared, this shortening craze might just become a new kind of language for all internet users….Not only is http://mzan.si designed to shorten long cumbersome URLs, but it also allows South African Tourism to market South Africa as a destination through unobtrusive, geo-targeted advertising within the shortener itself. All URLs that have been shortened using the http://mzan.si will start with mzan.si making them instantly recognisable. The objective of the URL shortener is to reach people in an alternative way to educate and entice them into visiting South Africa hence the name msansi which means South Africa. It is also aimed at enabling all South African’s to ‘fly the flag’ and acknowledge their homeland online with every link they create.

More info here