CMOs To Watch: Peter Chapman On Driving Reflections Holidays' Brand Transformation & Reimagining Camping

Peter Chapman, chief marketing officer at Reflections Holidays, is at the forefront of transforming outdoor hospitality in New South Wales. With a background in leading top creative agencies, Chapman has brought his strategic vision to Reflections, driving significant growth in brand awareness, revenue, and customer loyalty. His leadership is redefining camping, turning Reflections into a purpose-driven brand that offers unique experiences in nature.

Chapman sat down with B&T to discuss the exciting journey of repositioning Reflections, the challenges of changing perceptions in the holiday park industry, and his passion for connecting people with the great outdoors.

B&T: What three things would you take to a desert island?

Chapman: What and who I’d take would depend entirely on how long I was going but let’s assume it’s a relatively short trip and there’s no need for family. Or imaginary friends made of a volleyball with grass for hair and blood for facial features. I’d take:

My swag. if there is one thing I have learnt in all my years getting off the beaten track it’s that you need to be comfortable at night. And it’s crazy how safe a wall of 1mm canvas can make you feel when the world around you starts howling at 3am. 

An iPhone enabled with Spotify, a camera and notes. I’m not hugely into technology but my mind moves very fast and I’m not much for sitting around staring at the skies. So my go-to playlists and podcasts would be welcome ear candy while exploring and I do love to take pictures and write about things I uncover. 

My Leatherman multitool. For those of you more au fait with the urban jungle, a multitool is basically a pocket knife with a bunch of other functions added, notably a set of pliers. I’ve had my Leatherman for years. It’s a thing of beauty and still surprises me with what it can enable. 

B&T: Favourite album, movie and book?

Chapman: Wow, how to choose one. My favourite album is Blood Sugar Sex Magik by the Red Hot Chili Peppers. It was my very first own cassette. I got it for Christmas when I was seven and the 11th song on it, Under the Bridge, is a classic banger. Favourite movie is Shawshank Redemption, a great demonstration of playing the long game and reminder that good guys finish first in the end. Fave book is Legacy by James Kerr. It’s short, simple and a brilliant guide to leadership and life.   

B&T: What is your passion outside of work? (Think hobbies, sports, etc) and please send us a photo of you doing it!

Chapman: It hopefully comes as no great surprise that I love the outdoors. I also love spending time with my family. We have three legendary kids that are old enough to paddle their own canoe but young enough to still think my wife Nat and I are awesome. So my great passion is getting off the beaten track with them and getting involved with their sports. I also love socialising with Nat and our great friends, organising and attending the book club my mates and I created in which we’re yet to read an actual book but have read a lot of wine labels, and finally, my early morning workout/ocean swim/coffee combo with a group of likeminded blokes.

B&T: If you weren’t a CMO, what would you be doing?

Chapman: I’d bug the guys at Tom’s Outdoors to open a store in Newy and I’d work there.

B&T: What was your favourite campaign of all time?

Chapman: I thought Obama’s ’HOPE’ campaign was about as good as it gets in using creativity, insight, strategy and market context to literally change the world. 

… Now let’s talk shop.

B&T: What is your brand’s top priority for the next 12 months? 

Chapman: Reflections Holidays’ top priority this year is the same as it is every year – to get more people out in nature’s playground. More specifically, we have just repositioned and relaunched the brand to better represent who Reflections is and who the brand is for, so this year we’re really focused on telling that story. And while growing market share is important to us, we’re also really focused on growing the total holiday market by attracting new audiences, or audiences who haven’t engaged with camping in their adult life. We’re also creating some really fresh product like our six new precincts of tiny homes across the state and a luxury camp in country NSW centred around big sky storytelling and the mythology of Indigenous and western astronomy. This all sits squarely under our mission to ’reimagine camping’ and taking this to market is a key part of our plans.   

B&T: What channel is exciting you the most and how do you split your marketing budgets between long/short and channels mix?

Chapman: I’m a huge fan of growing Reflections by growing brand equity and building future demand so I prefer channels that help us do that. When I took the reins at Reflections we were spending 90% of our budget on performance media and 10% on brand building channels. We have flipped this to 90% brand building channels and 10% performance. We are investing heavily in sponsorship, broadcast TV, out-of-home, organic social, SEO and PR. While it’s a broad church channel wise, all of these channels are driving awareness and consideration. That’s playing out really well in regards to immediate growth and evidence tells us that it will continue to pay into the future too.

B&T: What is the biggest challenge you currently face in the marketplace?

Chapman: The weather. Other than that, really our biggest challenge is the perception that people have of ‘holiday parks’ being places that are full of plastic amusements like jumping pillows and splash parks. Reflections is more a basecamp to nature-based adventures than we are gated amusement park so turning the tide on those deep-seated category conventions is a task, particularly when some of the big players continue to reinforce them in their marketing. Though like all good challenges, that’s also the opportunity of course. 

B&T: What campaign are you most proud of?

Chapman: Having spent 20 years agency side in some of the best creative agencies in Australia before taking on this gig, I’ve had the privilege of working on some of Australia’s favourite campaigns like those for QUIT, Vegemite, VB and Kennards Hire but I think that our organising idea at Reflections, ’Home of the Outsiders’, and associated brand platform, ’Life’s Better Outside’, is probably the best work I’ve ever been a part of - and my first as a CMO. 

This is largely because my long term colleague and now Reflections Creative Director, Matt Plummer, and I worked so closely on it and have protected and driven it right through the business with amazing support from our CEO and Board. It’s a positioning that our people believe in and use in everyday conversation with our guests. That’s effectiveness. And it’s driving every decision we make as a business.    

B&T: Where do you see yourself in five years time?

Chapman: Ultimately, I’m interested in taking a seat at the head of the table, but when and where that will be, who  really knows. Five years? I’d say either the CMO of something bigger or CEO of something smaller. 

Check out the other instalments in the CMOs To Watch series here: