Goals: Clearly state your marketing goals. What did you strive to achieve using this piece or program?
Nestled in the heart of the nation’s mid-Atlantic region, Virginia Beach enchants with its cherished beaches, gastronomic treasures from the Chesapeake Bay, and an array of attractions catering to diverse tastes from colorful arts and special events to adventure sports and craft breweries, forming a rich tapestry that consistently draws more than 15 million visitors annually.
Many may not realize that Virginia Beach also proudly claims Grammy-winning artist and Louis Vuitton Men’s Creative Director Pharrell Williams as its hometown hero. In 2023, Williams' iconic Something in The Water festival returned to its oceanfront roots. Embracing Williams' influence, the Virginia Beach Convention & Visitors Bureau (VBCVB) invited journalists to immerse themselves in the destination through his lens. This strategic move harmonized with their mission to enhance the city's image through year-round media engagement.
A steady stream of tourism developments and the palpable excitement surrounding Something in The Water caught the attention of freelance travel writer Diane Bair who accepted an invitation for a hosted visit. With a confirmed assignment for The Boston Globe, she also connected 2023 to the 10th anniversary of Williams’ hit song, “Happy.” In support, the VBCVB laid out an itinerary that allowed Diane to experience some of the things Pharrell loves most about his hometown -- its surf culture, cuisine, art, the beach and more on an individual press visit to the coastal city.
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)
As a result of Diane’s Virginia Beach visit, she artfully weaved Williams’ “Happy” song throughout her article for a witty introduction to his hometown. The full-page print feature, “It’s hard not to be happy in Pharrell Williams’s hometown, Virginia Beach,” ran in the coveted travel section of The Boston Sunday Globe, reaching 397,720 readers and equating to $20K+ in advertising value. Additionally, it was published to the newspaper's website boasting 3.8MM unique monthly visitors and tallying $35K+ in advertising value. The outlet also shared the story on X, capturing another 9,064 views. The feature also received an HSMAI Adrian Awards 2023 President’s Award.
Every great performance screams for an encore, and Diane delivered with a two-page, full-color spread in USA Today’s GoEscape Northeast titled simply, “Visit Virginia Beach.” The quarterly special edition again highlighted the magic of Virginia Beach with a nod to Williams’ legacy and the overall happy vibe of the beach town. The round-up of top things to do on a Virginia Beach vacation includes lodging, dining and activity recommendations to make the most of a visit. The feature ran in a stand-alone newsstand print edition of 25K copies available across the US Northeast region beginning in late April and carries an $88.5K advertising value. The magazine’s digital version also is sent to 10MM relevant readers and published on USAToday.com, Carnival Cruise Line’s Facebook account (5MM opt-in followers), New York Film Festival’s Instagram account (214K opt-in followers) and Frommer’s guidebooks’ social accounts (351K combined followers).
These prominent feature stories achieved our primary goal of elevating Virginia Beach’s overall appeal by connecting the musician and fashion personality, Pharrell Williams, to the destination and weaving throughout each story things that he loves about his hometown. It also highlighted the destination’s allure beyond the beach showcasing its surf culture, art and food.
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?
The Virginia Beach Convention & Visitors Bureau supported Diane’s individual visit by providing airfare to and from the destination, accommodations, meals as well as experiences throughout her stay. The initiative amounted to a $2,500 investment by the VBCVB. Given that Diane’s trip resulted in multiple print and online features, the return on such a small investment has been overwhelmingly positive, exceeding expectations even a year following her visit. The original article led to ongoing inquiries about Pharrell’s favorite places and an uptick in engagement across all of our social channels.
The new GoEscape story she penned this year delivered a bullseye in Virginia Beach’s primary markets of visitor origin and extended valuable travel messaging ahead of the destination’s most-popular vacation seasons. Perhaps most notably, the article duo clearly illustrates the impactful value of developing and nurturing relationships with members of the media as the GoEscape story required only continued engagement with Diane and no additional financial investment.
Entry Title
Virginia Beach Feature Story Earns an Encore
Division
Public Relations/Communications - Feature Placement Online or Print - Consumer Magazine or Newspaper
Category
Public Relations/Communications