Goals: Clearly state your marketing goals. What did you strive to achieve using this piece or program?As part of our out-of-home strategy, Fort Myers – Islands, Beaches and Neighborhoods produced a direct-mail piece to increase awareness of the destination and new brand name among a highly qualified travel audience in order to drive visitation during the summer season. Motivated by the knowledge that direct-mail response rates have made a strong comeback since the pandemic and that high levels of engagement increase the level of brand recall, we created an experiential, kid-friendly piece of art for families to build at home that sought to “surprise and delight.” Using the native roseate spoonbill as inspiration, this engaging mailer included a perforated spoonbill that required no scissors or glue to assemble, allowing kids to create a new friend while they explored the playful illustrations and learned about Fort Myers’ wildlife. It was designed to showcase why preservation of native habitats is critical for wildlife and the generational enjoyment of natural spaces in the Fort Myers area. Distributed in late March, this effort was timed to capture the attention of families in our key summer visitation markets in search of their next summer travel adventure. The piece included a QR code that led to a unique landing page featuring a video on how to assemble the craft plus inspirational trip planning content. The QR element allowed us to track engagement and measure campaign success. To curate the most qualified mailing list, the media team targeted an audience referred to as “Disney Survivors” who have children, are more affluent and whose tastes in vacation destinations have changed. This is a repeat Florida visitor who is looking for a slower, more casual vacation pace that aligns perfectly with what a trip to Fort Myers offers. Terminal data was used to pull names fitting our Disney Survivor parameters and matched to our Tier 1 and Tier 2 summer markets to arrive at our final mailing list of 150,000 unique households.

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)Thousands of potential visitors flocked to the designated landing page to watch the craft’s how-to video and were exposed to inspirational details on trip planning. By using the QR code, we were able to capture the following performance metrics: -Unique landing page views: 4,284 -QR code scan users: 2,633 -QR code engagement rate based on 150K mailers: 1.8% -Video plays (reflects 75% of all page views): 3,233 While summer 2022 visitation numbers cannot be solely attributed to this effort, it certainly contributed, and the success metrics are outlined below: -Visitors: up 17.1% April–June 2022 vs. 2021 -Total visitor economic impact: up 30.7% April–June 2022 vs. 2021 -Bed tax collections up 27.7% over the previous fiscal year to date per July reporting -Southwest Florida International Airport (RSW) in Fort Myers achieved the second-best July in the 39-year history of the airport, and passenger traffic is up 13% year to date

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 total budget for this direct-mail piece was $150,000, and the actual cost for the mailing list, printing and postage for 150,000 pieces was $102,875. Our approach did not require paid media; instead it was a collaborative effort between our Visit Fort Myers team and our agency's media and creative teams to design, produce and drive media strategy. In terms of return on investment, Fort Myers enjoyed an uptick in visitors this summer with a 30.7% increase in visitor economic impact for April to June 2022. As was previously mentioned, bed tax collections were also up 27.7% over the previous fiscal year to date. *The components of this award entry were executed prior to Hurricane Ian's devastating impacts to Southwest Florida. All visitor marketing was paused shortly before Hurricane Ian made landfall on Sept. 28, 2022, and our focus immediately shifted to relief efforts. Our homes, communities and livelihoods were dealt a catastrophic blow and while the road to recovery will be long and hard, we are confident in our strength and resilience. Our islands, beaches and neighborhoods will rebuild, and in time, we will resume our place as a relaxing refuge for our residents and visitors.

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 TitleGood Day Direct-Mail Piece

DivisionAdvertising - Print Collateral

CategoryAdvertising