Project Analysis: Please provide a brief background on the project and your company efforts to demonstrate good corporate citizenship in the areas of community involvement, environmental, or socially responsible practices.
In early 2020, Rhode Island was coming out of a strong winter season with high hotel booking rates for our typical “off season.” This positive momentum was carrying the state into an optimistic spring, when cases started to rise in the Northeast. So, we developed a six-month plan to use Visit Rhode Island’s marketing resources to activate the local market, a group historically antagonistic to tourism marketing and branding efforts for the state.
We sent a clarion call to all Rhode Islanders to be "Rhody Resilient” – a message that reminded local communities that we’re stronger together. From supporting local businesses to helping a neighbor, we saw communities respond with generosity and compassion. We created a campaign logo, branded gear and content that excited people so much that they called for our logo to be on the state license plate. The love for our Rhody Resilient branded t-shirts and masks had locals messaging usasking where they could buy one.
We launched a Visit Rhode Island Instagram highlight with a #RhodyResilient inspired icon sharing ways to give back to the community including lists of local restaurants offering takeout and ways to donate to catering companies delivering meals to first responders. We also featured local businesses that embodied the Rhody Resilient spirit – like a distillery making hand sanitizer or a RI-based sports company producing PPE.
Throughout the campaign, we encouraged fans to share their photos using the #RhodyResilient hashtag, invited local content creators to host Stories takeovers to give people an authentic POV of how Rhode Islanders were being #RhodyResilient. And to top it off we partnered with Del’s Lemonade, an iconic RI beverage,to help tell the story of how Rhode Islanders “made lemonade from lemons.” and asked people to share their “sweetest” Rhode Island summer memories for a chance to win a personalized box of Del’s Lemonade and Rhody Resilient branded gear.
Objectives and Goals: What did organization set out to achieve in undertaking this project in CSR? What were the goals you set to measure your success?
Rather than focusing on out-of-state visitation, we pivoted to a more local approach in an effort to position the state for a rapid recovery. One of the main goals of this initiative was to reach Rhode Islanders in a positive way during a time of uncertainty. We wanted to reaffirm them by providing timely, authentic messaging and engaging in conversations on our social media channels to ensure everyone was well informed on rapid changes regulations. We set out to positively impact communities by encouraging locals to patronize local businesses. A “Rhody Resilient Bingo” card would help encourage Rhode Islanders to support local businesses by patronizing as many as they could, and then share it like a badge of honor on their social. We also featured Rhode Island businesses that were doing their part during the pandemic with a weekly social series that provided links to their websites and tagged their social handles.
Results: How did you measure the effectiveness of your efforts and what direct and tangible results did you achieve? Please be as specific as possible and share the full impact of your efforts in CSR.
The Rhody Resilient campaign saw big results in the nation’s smallest state. Our content collectively resulted in 28 total social posts (8 Twitter, 6 Facebook and 13 Instagram), 1,049,489 owned impressions, 76,618 engagements and 823 link clicks. For a state with a population of 1.05 million, this campaign virtually reached the entire state. Our efforts were complimented by our PR team and the campaign received at placement with TravelPulse which has 249,475 unique visitors per month for an ad value of $3,742. We received positive comments around the campaign and were even asked to place the logo we created on the state’s license plate. Seeing the positive reception the initiative received was a great step in distancing Visit Rhode Island from poorly received marketing efforts of the past. And when other state organizations began to leverage the campaign and its tactics (like creating more localized Bingo cards), it was clear to see that the campaign benefitted key stakeholders throughout the state.
Leadership: Please list the individual in a leadership role responsible for the project and how would you characterize their commitment to promoting corporate social responsibility in the travel and tourism industry?
At the start of the project Heather Evans, CMO of Visit Rhode Island, saw an early opportunity to do good for the community at a time when many other marketing organizations where pausing to regroup. She pulled together team members in mid-March to create a 4-6 week plan that could focus on using tourism budget dollars to support local businesses who were being hurt by economic shutdowns. After her departure in the middle of the campaign Matt Sheaff stepped in as interim CEO and continued the efforts allowing for an easy transition of leadership that did not impact campaign execution or further development.
Division
Corporate Social Responsibility - Corporate Social Responsibility
Category
Corporate Social Responsibility