Goals: Clearly state your marketing goals. What did you strive to achieve using this piece or program?As the region’s official tourism marketing agency, VISIT PHILADELPHIA builds Greater Philadelphia’s image, drives visitation and boosts the economy. From a media relations perspective, our aim is two-fold: 1) Generate national and local media coverage about Philadelphia as a top destination to visit 2) Promote the region’s hotels, attractions, restaurants and shops—more important than ever as the tourism industry continues to recover from the impacts of COVID-19 In March 2021, when a writer from The Wall Street Journal reached out to our Four Seasons Hotel Philadelphia about an article, the Four Seasons contacted us—the Philly experts—to provide suggestions on where to go and who to talk to. We curated a list that included iconic Philly spots and under-the-radar gems, and then, like all good media relations people do, we waited. On October 21, we were thrilled to see An Insider’s Travel Guide published online (it appeared in print on October 23-24 as the cover of the travel section). The subhead of the article alone was a major win, calling Philadelphia a “historic heavyweight of a city” and “a booming cultural and culinary destination.” The piece featured local legends, including Rob McElhenney of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia fame, spotlighting museums, attractions, parks, events and restaurants. Also featured: a “Don’t Miss” section that spotlighted many of our suggestions. This major feature was a homerun for many reasons: 1.It ran in a national publication with a readership that has plenty of discretionary income for travel 2.By spotlighting a TV star from Philly, it gave the city pop-culture cred that is nearly impossible to buy 3.The article painted the picture of a lively, cool, historic city bursting with rich culture and awesome food—an image we needed to reinforce more than ever in the wake of COVID-19 4.It serves as a great tool (and third-party endorsement) to help convince potential visitors that Philadelphia was worth the trip

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)The Wall Street Journal placement helped to advance both of our media-relations goals. We generated national media coverage thanks to a marquee placement in a major national publication with an affluent readership (aka, potential visitors to Philadelphia). And we scored major attention for the hotels, attractions, restaurants and shops hit so hard by COVID-19. In addition to The Wall Street Journal’s 11,733,820 monthly online readers and another 994,600 in print, sharing the article across VISIT PHILADELPHIA’S website and social platforms drove an additional 120,000+ impressions. We also used a quote from the article as fodder for ads that ran on Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor (155 units total). Our goal was to amplify the article’s positive Philly message to business people who may have read the piece in the Wall Street Journal and introduce it to others who didn’t. The ad ran from November 22 through December 13. (Amtrak has not be providing impressions throughout the pandemic.)

Budget: Please include total budget vs. total actual cost. How much revenue has the piece or campaign generated and how does this compare to your goal? What was the return on investment?Budget: $26,000, which was the cost of advertising on Amtrak. It’s impossible to measure the longtime impact of this type of article—an article that can plant the seed for a trip that’s months or even years to come. With these visits come hotel stays, restaurant meals, attraction tickets, gift shop purchases and so much more—all of which generates crucial economic impact, tax revenue and jobs for Philadelphia.

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.

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?

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.

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?

Goals: Clearly state your marketing goals and audience. What did you strive to achieve using this piece or program?

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)

Budget: Please include total budget vs. total actual cost. How much revenue has the piece or campaign generated and how does this compare to your goal? What was the return on investment?

Situational Analysis: Please provide a brief background on the original initiative and how it evolved as conditions changed from pandemic to recovery.

Goals: Clearly state your goals. What did you strive to achieve with this initiative and how did your goals change over time?

Results: Which of your goals did you achieve and how? How did you measure the effectiveness of the initiative?

Objective(s): What problems did the sales, marketing & guest satisfaction, or revenue optimization technology aim to solve?

Innovative use of technology: The extent to which new directions are charted or old challenges are resolved by using the technology in a new way.

Implementation & creativity: How was the technology implemented so that it was easy to use, solved a manpower problem, streamlined a function, or fueled recovery?

Results & Evaluation: How did the technologiy move the department or business foward to achieve goals, revenue or otherwise?

Goal: How did you demonstrate that you are committed to advancing diversity in your organization through your marketing?

Initiatives: Describe the promotion. What was your organization's message and how does it foster diversity? How was the target audience channel developed/pursued?

Results: Please describe how your organization was purposeful in advancing diversity through this initiative. Please describe the metrics you used to judge success. What were the forecasted and actual outcomes described in your Key Performance Indicators (KPI)? What impact did the initiative have on your organization and for your customers?

Goal: How did you demonstrate that you are committed to advancing diversity in your organization through your campaigns?

Initiatives: What was your approach to this campaign and how was the organization purposeful in advancing diversity through it? What types of data did you use to support your plan? How many locations were involved in the campaign? How did you effectively reach diverse audiences? What was the message?

Results: What metrics are you using to evaluate diversity (soft and/or hard metrics)? Were you successful at meeting forecasted goals? Was it limited to a specific promotion or across multiple creatives? What impact did the campaign have on your organization? How did this campaign change your brand’s perception amongst travelers?

Entry TitleWall Street Journal Article Is “Historic Heavyweight” Of A Placement For VISIT PHILADELPHIA

DivisionPublic Relations - FEATURE PLACEMENT PRINT - Consumer Magazine or Newspaper

CategoryPublic Relations