Goals: Clearly state your marketing goals. What did you strive to achieve using this piece or program?
Perhaps one of Santa Fe’s most iconic and beloved celebrations, the annual Burning of Zozobra marks the unofficial start of the Fiestas de Santa Fe. Our goal was to amplify the milestone 100th anniversary of Santa Fe’s Burning of Zozobra with media visits and proactive pitching to grow awareness and visitation to Santa Fe.
The trademark event takes place the Friday of Labor Day at Santa Fe’s Fort Marcy Park, just a few blocks from the historic Santa Fe Plaza. The 50-foot-tall marionette named Zozobra (Spanish for “The Gloomy One”) is made of muslin, wood, wire, and most importantly, stuffed with the glooms of Santa Feans—from tax documents to divorce decrees. It is the hope of all who contribute to Zozobra’s stuffing that their bad luck, sorrows, and woes of the year past will go up in flames with the burning of Old Man Gloom. Zozobra dates back to 1924, when Santa Fe artist William Howard Shuster, Jr. first built a six-f00t-tall marionette for friends and family.
Since its start, Zozobra has grown in both stature and importance. Every September Santa Feans along with visitors from all corners of the globe fill Ft. Marcy Park.
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)
We were able to achieve our ultimate goal of amplifying the milestone 100th anniversary of Santa Fe’s Burning of Zozobra with robust media coverage in top outlets including Smithsonian Magazine (digital), National Geographic (digital), Conde Nast Traveler (digital + print), Matador Network (digital), NBC’s TODAY Show (national broadcast), Forbes (digital), Frommer’s (digital), Hemispheres (print), Cowboys & Indians Magazine (print + digital), and Media Decision AP wire (digitally syndicated to over 75 outlets). National Geographic feature was a result of hosting journalist Andrew Nelson, Hemispheres feature was a result of hosting journalist Hillary Richard, and Media Decision’s 75 syndications were a result of hosting journalist Karee Blunt. The remaining coverage was garnered through proactive media pitching and interview organization.
Combined reach for this milestone event coverage reached over 162 million readers and culminated in an advertising value equivalency of over $1,000,000.
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?
After a minimal investment of $1,895.00 in flights and airport transfers for only 3 journalists, Tourism Santa Fe saw a return of over $1,080,637.00 on their investment.
Entry Title
Santa Fe, New Mexico Celebrates 100 Years of Burning of The Zozobra
Division
Public Relations/Communications - Special Event
Category
Public Relations/Communications