Public Relations

In-house or Agency?: Agency

Description:: To promote visitation in Bastrop, Visit Bastrop’s PR team worked to pitch media and promote various things that visitors can do in the city. Coverage includedtopics such as keeping kids entertained in Bastrop, unique places to stay, nature-filled getaways, and more. Earned media included articles in San Antonio Current, Time out London, TravelAwaits, and Thrillist.

Estimated Digital Monthly Visits Secured: 43.1M Estimated Digital Coverage Views Secured: 120K

?: In-house

Description: Garland Pho Real Trail

Date of Execution: November 25, 2021

Concept/Description:

Our diverse city translates to a diverse food scene serving delicious, flavorful dishes that tell a multicultural story. Garland boasts the 14th largest Vietnamese population in the US, right between New York at 13 and Seattle at 15.There are 20+ authentic Vietnamese restaurants ready to be discovered so we thought we would help accentuate them by honing in on one favorite dish, pho. We sought out a listing of all the Vietnamese restaurants in Garland that serve pho and created a dedicated page with a listing of those restaurants. To encourage visitors to stop by and try out the food, we also created the Pho Trail on our Visit Widget app, which allows patrons to check-in at locations. The trail became a challenge and earned patrons prizes, such as stickers and t-shirts, for visiting pho restaurants.

Why this worked:

Everyone in the state of Texas seems to have a taco or margarita trail, which are loved and very successful. With the rise of foodies seeking authentic dishes, we thought authentic Asian cuisine was prime for the tasting in our state. We were also encouraged when YouTuber Mikey Chen, of Strictly Dumpling, paid a visit to Hủ tiếu Mỹ Tho one of the many delicious, pho real, Vietnamese restaurants in Garland.

MARKETING:

Visit Garland's social channels: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn Dedicated landing page on VisitGarlandTX.com Vanity URL: GarlandPhoReal.com Print and digital ads

RESULTS:

Avg time on Page 00:04:15

Page Views: 2.2K

Reach: 1k people

Objectives:: Bring awareness to Garland's diverse food scene.

Project Costs: $5,800

In-house

Description: Visit Tyler works diligently year-round to obtain earned media for our local partners, who range from tourist attractions to hotels to restaurants. In an effort to highlight the value of this work, at the end of 2021, we created a Media Snapshot Year in Review video for each of our top fifteen travel partners. These videos recapped how many times Visit Tyler pitched that partner throughout the year, along with a detailed list of the earned media on a broad range of platforms that resulted from those pitches- including print, online, and broadcast media. We provided statistics to show the annual growth of the Visit Tyler marketing channels, including our website, blog, social media, podcast, and app and showed how we highlighted the partner on our owned media. With photos and data in an easy-to-watch video format, we were able to bring to life the over $32 million of earned media we achieved for our partners in 2021!

Objectives:: Our primary goal was to celebrate the media accomplishments we achieved for our partners. Since launching the videos, we have seen a positive impact of partners becoming more proactive to collaborate with Visit Tyler to promote tourism. The Media Snapshot videos underscored the sentiment that tourism efforts support our local business community and Tyler residents, as well as visitors. Many partners shared their Media Snapshot videos on social media and showed a sense of pride for what we are accomplishing together.

Project Costs:: $0

In-house

Description:: Visit Plano partnered with the “Friends Experience” and the Shops of Willow Bend to showcase Plano, Texas as an experiential travel destination with friends that is social media-friendly.

Target audience – Millenials and GenZ looking to travel to a destination that is social media friendly and experiential with friends.

Platforms- Facebook and Instagram

Creative- In-house photography and videography using new sales staff as "actors".

Influencers and Media- We worked with influencers to spread the word and our posts went viral. We did a giveaway “Travel is Better with Friends” for Friendsgiving. Our live activation at the Visit Plano Visitor Center created Instagrammable moments and a CTA to visit the Friends Experience and enter the giveaway.

Results- Facebook post went viral (organic, not paid or boosted) with 10K Comments, 1.9K Likes, and 9.9K Shares. Our Total Net Audience growth on Facebook grew 1,768% in November 2021. Facebook Impressions were 2.3 Million which is an increase of 286%. Our Engagements were up 933%, Engagement Rate was 10.1% up 167%, and Post Link Clicks were up 361%.

Instagram REELs video received 12K plays, 382 Likes, and 341 Shares. Instagram Engagements were up 22% and video views up 60%. Net Audience Growth was up 12%.

Objectives: Visit Plano partnered with the “Friends Experience” and the Shops of Willow Bend to showcase Plano, Texas as an experiential travel destination with friends that is social media-friendly. Other goals were to drive traffic to the Shops at Willow Bend, increase awareness of restaurants and retail at the Shops at Willow Bend, and grow our social channels.

Agency

Description:: The New Braunfels Convention and Visitors Bureau (NBCVB) engaged Loud & Clear Communication and Step In Communication to identify and develop an influencer strategy to take advantage of the Festival’s return in 2021 and to communicate new features and the rebuilt festival building, which would debut for the 60th anniversary year. The $13 million dollar rebuild included a new marketplace and improved food, retail and restroom facilities.

Objectives: Develop a list of 25 subject matter influencers in the four drive markets. Strike partnerships with 8 for event attendance and promotion; Identify one restaurant or food partner for a social media-based contest with a trip for 4 as the prize; Set content output guidelines of 12 posts per influencer with each post getting at least 25 engagements (comments, shares, likes, saves, etc) Drive interest to ticket sales page with a link in promotional posts in the three-week window

Project Costs:: $16,000

In-house

Description:: Visit Conroe partnered with Open Sky Media to create a signature music festival for the City of Conroe. A need weekend was identified and on April 7th the inaugural 4-day music festival commenced with over 40 bands filling numerous venues in and around downtown Conroe.

Objectives: To create a new annual signature city event celebrating the impact that live music has on our community. The festival served multiple purposes including – highlighting Conroe’s live music venues, celebrating the importance of live music to our community, and bringing in visitors from across Texas and Louisiana to Conroe (driving economic impact through room nights and visitor spending), it also helped to instill a sense of pride in our community by our residents.

Project Costs:: $80,000

In-house

Description: A marketing campaign explicitly targeting northern states/cities in Mexico. The campaign includes live interviews, articles featured in magazines & newspapers, billboards, and TV commercials.

Objectives: To offer South Padre Island as a drivable and affordable beach destination for Northern Mexico Residents. This campaign also served as a reminder for past international tourists that with the borders now open, they can return to the best beach in Texas.

Project Costs: $200,000

In-house

Description:: This submission details a 2-day visit from four influencers to Laredo, Texas after the non-essential border travel restriction were lifted.

Aside from showcasing the ease of travel from Mexico to Laredo, Texas their time in Laredo also showed their digital audience Laredo's many offerings.

Objectives: The United States lifted the restrictions on land borders with Mexico to vaccinated travelers after 19 months. The ports restrictions for non-essential travelers of COVID-19. The re-opening for tourists was an opportunity to invite influencers from Monterrey, Mexico to Laredo, Texas to showcase Laredo's amenities, the ease of travel and dispel any rumors that were generated during the pandemic.

Project Costs:: $3,750.00

In-house

Description: The Beaumont Mural Festival was a collaborative event put on by the Beaumont Convention and Visitors Bureau and local business, Pour09 Rooftop Bar and Grill. Sixteen artists were brought in from all over the United States to enhance the mural scene in downtown Beaumont. Over a four-day period, artists worked on their murals while community members could visit and learn about their techniques, as well as their stories. The festival increased the number of individuals coming downtown to see the work being done, enhanced the visibility of Beaumont through the artists’ personal social channels, and incited media coverage, Tik Toks, and video footage. Events were wanted and needed in the community. Mural Festival was a weekend event that left a lasting effect on the city with 16 public murals that were completed.

Objectives:: To increase the mural scene in Beaumont with varying styles of art. Create a lasting effect of beautification in downtown Beaumont. Increase awareness of Beaumont through the channels of artists from across the country.

Project Costs:: $30,000 - Artist Fees

$7,000 - Paint and Supplies

Project Costs:: $300