Situation:
In his 2010 Initiative, South Dakota Governor Mike Rounds challenged South Dakota’s state tourism industry to increase visitor spending from $600 million to $1.2 billion by the year 2010. To accomplish this goal, the South Dakota Office of Tourism and Lawrence and Schiller were directed to search for new ways to increase visitor awareness by forming partnerships with the industry and utilizing digital media. Solution:
Previously, digital campaigns had been largely unexplored by several South Dakota tourism partners. Lawrence & Schiller helped the South Dakota Office of Tourism form a cooperative marketing effort between itself and five Black Hills partners to increase traffic, inquiry requests and bookings to these partner websites.This interactive campaign launched in 2007 and included several elements, including the creation of an online booking engine that is prominent on all partner sites. Three niches were targeted (history buffs, adventurers and RVing), each with a specific media plan and creative. These niches were chosen based on an analysis of the partner databases and past research.
Vacation packages specific to these niches were promoted in both banners and on a landing page, and three ultimate vacations (one for history, adventure and RV) were given away to generate leads and capture information.