Goals: Clearly state your marketing goals. What did you strive to achieve using this piece or program?
As the gem of the Central Valley, Modesto, California’s tourism industry heavily focuses on agritourism, specifically almonds. While the production of almonds is the main source of income for almond farmers, the community was in need of more year-round visitation. Leaning into the beauty of the white blossoms that bloom on almond trees each winter, Visit Modesto created a driving tour to highlight the region. In years past, the “Almond Blossom Cruise” had mostly been visited by drive markets for short day trips, however, we saw an opportunity to introduce the season to a new audience that would extend to an overnight visit.
Our goals were to align with national publications that could offer insight into not only the viral beauty of the almond blossoms but also what a comprehensive visit to Modesto could offer. Through our work, we hoped to achieve an understanding of the almond product and its importance to the region, as well as geographic awareness of Modesto’s location and destination product offerings for an overnight visitor.
Additionally, as this was an investment back into the community, we wanted our farms and hospitality partners to feel the direct impact of visitor spending and increase driving tour sales and awareness.
Results: Which of your original goals did you achieve and how? How did you measure the effectiveness of the piece or campaign? Entrants should provide quantifiable results of their tactics or campaigns. (for example, click through rates or ad equivalency)
With a small window to push towards visiting the almond blossoms in late February, we got to identify top-tier publications and verticals that would allow for ideal coverage.
We interviewed multiple farms and stakeholders invested in the Almond Blossom Cruise project. Additionally, we prepared sample itineraries and packages specifically geared towards overnight travelers to utilize in our pitching efforts.
Through research, we built a database of more than 70 writers identifying key story alignment and interest in similar product offerings across other destinations. Through a relationship we built with freelancer writer Molly O’Brien, we utilized the research and travel packages to help her curate a focused article about the almond blossoms in Thrillist.
Going past just a write up about when and where the almond blossoms would happen, Molly utilized data we provided to link directly to hotel partners, farms, audio tours and the Visit Modesto website. These key details also included pricing and information on how to get to Modesto that provided a potential overnight traveler with information on how to experience these blooms.
Media monitoring services estimate the impact of the article at the following statistics:
Readership: 3,115,477
Return on Investment: How much revenue has the piece or campaign generated and how does this compare to your goal? What was the return on investment?
This placement not only garnered national attention, but curated local pride in showcasing the city’s product in an established publication. Additionally, community members and Visit Modesto saw incredible results following the national coverage.
A record number of Wayfarer Audio Tours sold in the first weekend of the cruise Visit Modesto’s website saw over 10,000 users on the Visit Modesto website in just one week.
The bus tour sold out for the first time in Almond Blossom history.
One of the orchards mentioned in the Thrillist piece broke their record of “almond butter milkshakes sold in a day.”
Paid traffic also saw a 122% increase in click through rates on their “Places to Stay” “What to Do” and “Hotel Listings” pages
Media monitoring platforms estimate the advertising value equivalency of the story is $26,366.
Division
Public Relations/Communications - Feature Placement Online or Print Consumer Media
Category
Public Relations/Communications