Goals: Clearly state your marketing goals. What did you strive to achieve using this piece or program?
Throughout the United States, Motorcycle Rallies are a top tourism driver during rally season with over 8% of U.S. citizens owning a motorcycle, which translates to over 10 million households. Our goal for South Dakota’s Sturgis Motorcycle Rally was to give potential attendees on a national scale an immersive look into the unique 9-day experience and motorcycle culture in South Dakota, showcasing that anyone can attend on and off two wheels while ultimately reinforcing its rightful place as the #1 motorcycle rally in the country and driving increased visibility and visitation for next year’s 85th anniversary rally and beyond. The reason the rally has become a global motorcycle phenomenon is the Black Hills’ epic rides. Iron Mountain Road, for example, is a 17-mile stretch between the communities of Keystone and Custer that has 314 curves, 14 switchbacks, three pigtails, three tunnels and views framing Mount Rushmore National Memorial, the region’s most famous tourist attraction.
Held every August since 1938 in Sturgis, South Dakota, over 600,000 locals and visitors alike attend the rally and music festival. Another goal was to allow people to truly understand the grandiosity of the rally and its positive economic impact on the city of Sturgis and South Dakota as a whole. While the event permeates the entire Black Hills, its main hub is Sturgis, a city of about 7,000 people.
Another goal was to provide a platform for destination partners to share their perspective, history and vision for Sturgis now and in the future. Collaboration is important to the execution of major events such as Sturgis.
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)
By starting conversations back in January 2024 about South Dakota with Wall Street Journal staff writer, Jessica Flint, we were able to hook her interest in the rally. Through months of fact gathering and working closely with destination partners, we were able to provide Jessica with a lay of the land around Sturgis and its impact on South Dakota and the Black Hills region without hosting her directly for a visit. Through organizing interviews with past rally visitors who share their personal experiences, the City of Sturgis, Daymon Woodruff (President of Sturgis Buffalo Chip), local real estate agents and Airbnb/Short-Term-Rental hosts, we were able to convey collectively the positive economic impact supported by AirDNA , as rentals surge about 96% in average daily nights sold and 102% in average daily rate. By working with Jessica Flint on these interviews and facts about Sturgis in South Dakota, we were able to garner positive coverage. We were also able to drive a significant increase in website traffic and generated a significant increase in the number of new website users from the article publishing date onward. Thursday August 8, 2024, the day the Sturgis story was published online, Travel South Dakota saw a 22.3% increase in site users and a 20.7% increase in new site users compared to Wednesday August 7, 2024. For each day Friday August 9, 2024 - Sunday August 11, 2024, we saw a 37% increases in site users and 39% increase in new site users.
The story published online reaching over 25 million readers with an advertising value equivalency of $14,871.00. The piece also ran in the Friday, August 9th print newspaper securing a cover placement in the Mansion section reaching a circulation audience of 556,392 readers with an advertising value equivalency of $64,000.00. The combined readership of this piece, both print and online, reached 26,419,244 readers with a combined advertising value equivalency of $78,871.00.
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?
There was no financial investment from Travel South Dakota in this story as we did not have to host the writer, meaning Travel South Dakota and Sturgis Motorcycle Rally saw the complete 78,871: 1 return on investment.
Entry Title
Some Move to the Black Hills for Its Natural Beauty. Others Do It for a Half-Million Motorcyclists.
Division
Public Relations/Communications - Feature Placement Online or Print - Consumer Magazine or Newspaper
Category
Public Relations/Communications