Hamilton Island's Ultimate Instameet

In October 2012 Hamilton Island launched a uniquely Australian Instagram campaign designed to tap into the power of social media, visual motivation and advocacy. Inspiration was drawn from USA Instagrammers, the Pilgramers, who spent their summer travelling around America evoking community and holding Instameets. This philosophy of seeking beauty through photographs and building a community with other Instagrammers led Hamilton Island to create its own global Instameet, the first to ever be held on the Great Barrier Reef.

Hamilton Island’s Ultimate Instameet brought the best and brightest Instagrammers from around Australia and America to the Island for a weekend of capturing incredible experiences to share on social media. The Pilgramers, high-profile Australian ambassadors, competition winners from the US and Australia  and popular Instagrammers were united for a weekend from 23-25 November to see, taste and experience everything on and around the Island that makes it incredible.

From climbing mountainous Passage Peak to watch sunrise, visiting nearby picturesque Whitehaven Beach and enjoying scenic flights and snorkeling on the world heritage listed Great Barrier Reef, the Instagrammers did it all, capturing and sharing their experiences with their friends, fan and followers on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Google+ and Tumblr.

Eight million people were reached through social media, including 815,000+ of our Instagrammers own fans. 640+ photos were generated over one weekend, and 50+ images made Instagram’s highly sought after ‘Popular’ page, appearing on all 100 million active users’ feeds. The photos received over 850,000 ‘likes’, 17,500+ comments and 4,280+ shares, starting a global conversation about Australia’s Hamilton Island and creating 1000’s of picture perfect postcards of our slice of paradise that were sent around the world on Instagram.

Our Ambassadors

• Australian fashion model Annabella Barber (@annabellabarber)
• Designers Camilla and Marc (@camillaandmarc)
• Global style arbiter and Vogue Senior Fashion Editor Christine Centenera (@centenera & @vogueaustralia)
• Fashion designer Josh Goot (@josh_goot)
• Masterchef contestant, writer & foodie Hayden Quinn (@hayden_quinn)
• Stylist & luxury fashion blogger Romy Frydman (@stylemeromy)
• The Voice contestant & singer Sarah De Bono (@sarahdebono)
• Geelong Cats’ Jimmy Bartel (@jrb03)
• Australian Instagramers Lauren Bath (@laurenepbath_ih) from the Gold Coast and Paul Vella (@paulyvella) from Sydney’s North West
• Competition winners Hay’s Julie Hill (@tilly_jak), Sydney’s Nicolas Alexander (@nicolasalexander), the Gold Coast’s Garry Norris (@13juju) and Jewels Lynch (@_oneperfectday_), American competition winner, L.A.’s Chris Vallejos (@chrisvallejos), and the Pilgramers (@pilgramers).

To see how the Ultimate Instameet unfolded

1. Search #ultimateinstameet on Instagram to see all the incredible images
2. View Hamilton Island’s Ultimate Instameet YouTube documentary:
3. View the Pilgramers Ultimate Instameet YouTube documentary

Follow @hamiltonisland on Instagram to see all the latest pics from our guests and celebrity ambassadors.