Hemsworth is one of the most recognisable faces on the planet with his social media accounts reaching millions of followers. He used his "socials" to announce to the world he would visit the town after completing his current film commitments.

The commitment came after release of the #GetChrisToCowra campaign which involved release of a humorous video showcasing the sites and tourist draws of Cowra featuring cameos from familiar faces.

Residents were invited to get involved by sharing the hashtag #GetChrisToCowra, visit the website at www.getchristocowra.com.au or check out the Facebook page - www.facebook.com/GetChrisToCowra/

The Cowra Guardian caught up with Glenn Daley to find out how the campaign was conceived and the steps taken along the way to produce the accompanying video which created an international media audience across multiple platforms.

We also asked Glenn to share a few things that Cowra residents probably don't know about the man now credited with the marketing campaign which was put together on a relatively small budget.

How did you come up with the idea?

I can't remember if I was here (at the Cowra Visitors' Centre) or at home. I was reading news online and saw Hemsworth was at Lord Howe Island as tourism ambassador and one of his photos had so many million likes. I jumped onto his Instagram page which had something like two and a half million likes and I thought gee that gets a lot of interest. I must have gone to bed thinking, half jokingly, wouldn't it be great if we could get him to Cowra. I slept on it and as your mind does, it processed a few things and I woke up thinking it was a quirky idea - a town like Cowra attracting a major celebrity. I came to work the next day and had a chat to assistant manager Kurt (Overzet). He's pretty level headed and would have let me know if it wasn't a good idea. It went pretty much like it does on the video. That's where it stemmed from.

What was the next step, it's obviously a professional video?

I came up with a proposal, a concept. First of all I contacted a number of production companies to get an idea of what it would cost. They came back with their fees and I put a proposal together and then had to explain what viral marketing was to the (Cowra Tourism) Board because I needed to get approval for a budget. Luckily the Board approved it and from there we engaged a company in Sydney to write a script and do all of the production.

The scripts they kept coming up weren't up to speed. It was the kind of humour used in some car ads that is meant to be funny but are kind of goofy. We went back and forwards a few times and it got to the point that I sat down and wrote a script, gave it to them and said - this is the path I want to go down. They gave it a couple of nice little tweaks and after that it was getting the actors and the production company up here to film.

Did you have an input in selection of the actors?

Yes, they gave us a list of profiles which we went through. The first couple, no one jumped out. They were either side of what I wanted. They were models, catwalk or blokes who'd appear on a suit ad, they just weren't the right fit, they weren't down to earth enough. When I saw Cassie who plays the lead lady, I thought, she's what I want. With Bernard I took a gamble, he looked a bit bushy but his facial expressions won us over.

When they came up the production company didn't send a producer or anything, so we ended up doing most of the direction with one of the camera guys who came from Bathurst. It was very home grown.

Did you have to go to Cowra Shire Council for extra funding?

No, just the Board. We probably wouldn't spend as much in a year as we did on the campaign but it wasn't a huge amount and I did have to go back for a secondary request. For what came out of it, it was good value for money.

Was the aim to attract any particular age group or market?

No, we were trying to appeal to a mass market. The thought process was the video would appeal to the younger market, the visual and humour would appeal to most people, particularly the older market. Kurt came up with all of the ideas for the online marketing. The hero piece is the video but all of the supporting stuff, the petition and getting your photo taken with Chris, he came up with all of that, which is just as important as the video.

Have you had any direct contact from Chris Hemsworth or his people?

Before the campaign I tried to get in contact just to let them know it was coming and I just couldn't get a foot in the door anywhere. I found people with second degree of separation but that's all. I'm in contact with someone who knows him very well socially now. I don't expect any contact for a month or two yet. And maybe he'll just turn up. I'm lead to believe he jumps in the camper van and rocks up at different places. Given this has such a high profile I hope he reaches out first and we can take into account what he'd like to do?

Where would you like to take him in the Cowra Shire and what time of the year would you like him to visit?

We'll be dictated by his schedule but I think Spring and Autumn are the best time to visit Cowra. As to where we'd take him it depends on him. I don't want him to come and feel like he has to work and get lots of photos taken. He's done his part by saying he'll come and posting it on Instagram with his millions of followers. As far as I'm concerned he's done more than enough already. It'll depend on how much time he has but it would be great to get him out to Wyangala Dam and have a surf (wake board style). I think that'd be something a bit quirky. Obviously the Japanese Garden and a few other touristy things. Otherwise we could just go and sit in a pub and have a feed and a beer.

Like a lot of small towns Cowra is a hard place to keep a secret. How did you keep the campaign so quiet?

I don't think anyone believed it. I told a couple or people and they were like, 'yeah whatever'. People either didn't believe we were going to do it or realise the impact of it. I showed a couple of people as a bit of a market test but we did keep it quiet on purpose. We were good to go in June but then places went in to lockdown and we couldn't release it until people could travel again. I've been busting since June to get it out there. I don't think anyone expected it to go so well. I don't think any of us understood its mass market appeal. It's kinda like when you have a party and in the first half hour you wonder if anyone is going to show up.

The campaign has been so successful, it has raised your own profile as well as Cowra's. Is there anything about Glenn Daly that Cowra residents might be surprised to hear about?

That's a tough one.

I had breakfast with Princess Mary (of Denmark) before she was a princess. It was in Paddington, she was living in a share house and I met her through a friend who was also living there.

I was in the military for 10 years. When I left Cowra I went straight to Duntroon (Military College) and my first posting was to a water transport unit in Sydney and they used to support the summer re-supply of the Antarctic bases. It was incredible.

I've also flown an air force jet. A good mate of mine took me up and let me do a few manoeuvres under his guidance, that was pretty cool.

I've had a lot of cool and unique experiences just through chance. I took a year off and went back-packing in 1997 and a mate and I went hitch hiking through Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Turkey and Israel and stayed in local houses.

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