Goals: Clearly state your marketing goals. What did you strive to achieve using this piece or program?Thousands of acres across New Mexico are set aside for state and national parks, forests and public lands, offering a rich variety of outdoor experiences. However, it was clear that visitation was not equitably spread statewide. The Public Lands Recovery Readiness program was initiated to support New Mexico’s outdoor recreation economy by improving visibility and access of locations across the state — all by leveraging Google products such as Google Maps and Google Business Profiles. While this isn’t new technology, the application of our methods to enhance dispersal and discoverability of natural spaces is cutting-edge, especially for DMOs. Our goal was to improve availability and accuracy of information throughout Google’s products while also enhancing vibrancy of visual content. There were three main areas of focus: completeness of information, encouraging better listing management and decreasing the number of unclaimed listings. By contributing fresh content, including still photos and 360-degree images, we could increase navigability through Google Street View and accessibility of up-to-date and informative visual assets. Phase One of the program was dedicated to the stewardship of location information, with 500 public land locations audited on Google to determine if they were complete and claimed, as well as the quality of their visual depiction. Phase Two prioritized 50 locations that were in greatest need of improved visual representation and navigability. Using a New Mexico-based production company, these locations were driven and/or hiked on foot and shot in 360. We also leveraged Google’s Local Guides program, using the 360 images to update Google Street View. This was and still is an innovative use of this technology, which made it possible for us to contribute content that would enhance the visibility of listings we don’t directly mange. The 360 assets were also used to create virtual tours for the NMTD website and other marketing.

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)• Overall, 104 new locations were added under the management of participating agencies to maintain completeness and quality. • At 39%, The Bureau of Land Management had the highest instance of missing locations. 28 missing locations were added to Google Maps and 17 new listings have been claimed by BLM. • 84% of New Mexico’s State Parks were unclaimed on Google at the time of the audit. All 35 parks’ listings are now managed by the parks agency. Completeness of State Park listings improved from 72% to 92% complete. • US Forests improved from 52% to 72% complete and added 41 new locations to Google. • In addition to attending two training sessions, the agencies held 19 virtual one-on-one appointments for assistance in claiming, troubleshooting and optimizing Google listings. • More than 785 miles (1.4 million images) of Google Street View were added to 50 public land locations. Most were initially missing from Google or had not been captured by Google since the early 2000’s. • Google Street View has been viewed more than 9.2 million times and counting. • 3,257 high-quality still images and 360 photospheres added: (Bureau of Land Management: 549; State Land Office: 260; State Parks: 971; National Parks: 601; US Forest Service: 876) • Images have been viewed more than 6.7 million times. • 50 virtual tours created and utilized by NMTD and participating agencies. • 179 poor quality images were flagged for removal from location photo galleries. Testimonials: “Thank you to you and your team for your leadership and labor on this wonderful project. I literally could not have done this without you and your colleagues. Our hope and intent is that we will continue to build out our Google profiles based on this great foundation. #NMTrue for sure!” – Julie Anne Overton, Public Affairs Officer, Forest Service

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?This initiative has been impactful in making New Mexico’s destinations more discoverable, navigable and appealing on Google. The budget for this project was $392,000.

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 technology move the department or business forward 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?

Entry TitleNew Mexico Public Lands Recovery Readiness Program

DivisionDigital - Innovation

CategoryDigital