Australia’s top creator-led travel platform, BYRDLI, has saddled up with Travel Texas to launch a bold new campaign aimed squarely at adventurous Aussie hearts. ‘Stay, Play, Texas’ is not your average tourism promo—it’s part travel diary, part cinematic road trip, and all bookable.
The campaign, which launched on 28 April, is fronted by Australian digital darlings Tegan Phillipa and Nathan Landers—better known to their legions of followers as @teganphillipa and @itsnedkelly. This dynamic duo has spent recent weeks capturing the soul of Texas across five unforgettable regions: Dallas, Fort Worth, Austin, Fredericksburg, and San Antonio.
What makes this campaign stand apart from the usual tourism fanfare is its creator-first, commerce-backed approach. In essence, you’re not just watching Tegan and Ned explore—you’re being invited to follow along and book the journey as they go, right down to the taco joints and boutique stays. It’s travel reimagined as a living itinerary.
“Texas hits differently,” remarked Vanessa Richards, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of BYRDLI, clearly still riding high from her time on the ground in the Lone Star State. “I’ve just spent the past two weeks immersed in the energy that makes this place so special. What struck me wasn’t just the scale—but the soul.”
That very soul is now embedded in every pixel of this campaign. From horseback rides across wide-open plains to late-night two-stepping in dusty honky-tonks, the visuals exude a distinctly Texan character. And through the alchemy of BYRDLI’s unique Travel Clubs, it’s not just inspiring—it’s bookable, clickable, and ready to ride.
“Every moment of their journey is designed to move,” Richards added. “With BYRDLI, it’s not just about showcasing the destination. It’s about making it yours.”
It’s this ability to blur the line between content and commerce that makes BYRDLI such a potent force in the modern travel landscape. The platform’s community of creators is building new models of influence—ones measured not only in likes, but in bookings.
Tegan and Ned, for their part, aren’t just influencers. They’re high-performing entrepreneurs with fiercely loyal audiences who trust their every recommendation. Their curated Travel Clubs consistently outperform industry averages for both engagement and conversions, turning inspiration into real itineraries.
Tommy Woods, Marketing Specialist for Europe & Oceania at Travel Texas, said the partnership was born of a shared desire to show the state through fresh eyes, specifically, Australian ones.
“Partnering with BYRDLI has allowed us to showcase Texas in a way that’s deeply rooted in its character, yet authentically tailored to Aussies,” Woods said. “Through Tegan and Ned’s lens, we’re spotlighting everything from our iconic barbecue spots and cowboy culture to the rolling vineyards of Hill Country and vibrant metropolises.”
Indeed, the campaign is as much about nuance as it is about spectacle. Texas is often thought of in terms of scale, but this project zooms in on the details—the live music echoing from a laneway in Austin, the citrus notes in a Fredericksburg Riesling, the quiet grandeur of a Hill Country sunrise.
Whether it’s wandering through San Antonio’s historic missions, paddling the still waters of the Guadalupe River, or tucking into brisket that melts at the touch of a fork, BYRDLI’s creators are translating travel into tactile, localised experiences.
“Let’s Texas,” says the campaign’s call-to-action—and frankly, why not?
For Australian travellers, getting to Texas has never been easier. Qantas now operates direct flights from both Sydney and Melbourne to Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW), while American Airlines has launched direct services from Brisbane to DFW. For those seeking a Pacific stopover, Fiji Airways also connects through Nadi to DFW.
Once on Texan soil, the journey writes itself. Cowboy ranches, architectural wonders, Gulf Coast beaches, and pine-lined state parks are all within reach. It’s a landscape that wears its history on its sleeve while striding confidently into the future—an apt metaphor, perhaps, for BYRDLI’s trajectory.
By Bridget Gomez
