Goals: Clearly state your marketing goals. What did you strive to achieve using this piece or program?
As post-pandemic travel increased from people eager to explore again, travelers began flocking to the great outdoors and more rural destinations. Astrotourism, space travel and celestial events were trending topics among media and travelers – and being in the direct path of the 2024 total eclipse, Travel Texas had an opportunity to get out in front of these trends by encouraging travelers to experience the expansive outdoor activities available within the state. In addition, some of the highest-performing social media and advertising content to date for Travel Texas is stargazing, so we knew the appetite for these niche outdoor adventures was there.
In order to position Texas as a year-round travel destination for those interested in the great outdoors and camping underneath the stars, efforts were focused on one key fly market that we had to opt out of during the pandemic: Los Angeles. We decided to provide these big city residents with a glimpse of Texas’ big, bright, smog-free night skies right in the heart of LA through a pop-up, immersive room. The three-day activation attracted passersby to the very popular Santa Monica Place outdoor shopping center and surrounded them with the sights, sounds and smells of a Texas evening by showing stunning videos made by aggregating views from observatories throughout Texas. Once complete, a stargazing wheel, glow-in-the-dark stickers or other related swag were given to remind them to plan a future trip to Texas to experience it for themselves.
The primary goal of this campaign was to drive meaningful consumer engagements – both in person and via owned social media channels – in a key fly market that Travel Texas had pulled back on and needed to reactivate. The campaign required a strong media angle and connection to current trends to garner attention, while also achieving secondary goals of generating awareness of Texas night sky experiences and exposure to the Travel Texas brand in a highly trafficked area of LA.
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)
Our campaign was a success. The activation leveraged social media, public relations, influencers and sensory marketing tactics to entice the urban adventurers to step away from the city into the outdoors of rural Texas. We generated an impressive 2,795,011 impressions plus over 50,000 social media engagements. We drove awareness of Texas stargazing experiences and provided a way for potential travelers in LA to interact with the Travel Texas brand. Nearly 2,000 people entered the infinity room with more than 3,720 minutes of active engagement with Travel Texas video content. Over 3,000 pieces of Texas-branded swag were passed out, allowing us to still find ways to drive meaningful connections with those who didn’t enter the experience.
Before the event, specialty content featuring Texas stargazing ran on all Travel Texas social channels and paid social advertising focused on stargazing was served to our target market. Partnerships with LA–based influencers were forged to create unique road trip itineraries and curated content showcasing how to view the night skies in different regions of Texas. The activation kicked off with a media advisory teasing the event to a list of LA–based media outlets, followed by a two-day city media mission leading up to the event for journalists in LA to meet with Travel Texas and other key partners to preview the activation before it was made public.
Nearly 600 leads generated at the in-person event were added to Travel Texas’ email database, which were used to extend the activation by retargeting those consumers with additional stargazing opportunities to encourage them to plan a trip to the Lone Star State. The activation was attended by key journalists and influencers, and consumers provided such positive feedback about the experience that the infinity room will be reused at future events to promote Texas as a prime 2024 eclipse destination. The program garnered an impressive piece in Conde Nast Traveler.
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?
The estimated and actual budget for this activation was $158,000, which included all costs starting from the construction of the room to the design of supporting signage and swag as well as the paid and earned promotion to draw media and consumers to the event. While the exact return on investment from the experience cannot yet be determined in dollars, Travel Texas did receive a notable increase in coverage and website traffic, and general inquiries about reactivating the pop-up in the future. The initial experience has already aided in positioning Texas in the forefront of consumers' minds as a top destination to witness the 2024 solar eclipse and will only continue to increase as the immersive room is reused in future markets.
Entry Title
The Stars of Texas Shine Bright in L.A.
Division
Advertising - Brand Activation