Putting the Motion in Promotion: Direct-to-Consumer destination marketing

By Kim Tillinghast, Senior Account Supervisor, Consumer

As public relations professionals, many of our tactics feed into the pursuit of the Holy Grail – otherwise known as the front-page feature story – which strategically reaches and positively influences consumers. But I’m admittedly a fan of any opportunity to reach the consumer more directly, in creative and interactive ways.

Perhaps it goes without saying that the essence of travel is experience, thus making experiential marketing a must for promoting a destination. In Edelman’s Travel & Hospitality practice, we often pursue promotional partnerships to heighten client awareness through in-store and online mediums, typically with a grand prize to sweeten the pot. With enticing visuals, we secure consumer interest in the destination before reaching out with additional details and opportunities. What’s more, the ROI of promotions stems beyond traditional media value, allowing us to measure consumer impact and numeric success via online databases, social media followings, contest submissions and opt-ins to receive more information.

For client Texas Tourism, promotional partnerships represent a significant part of our scope of work. Historically we have partnered with various events, retailers and media outlets to reinforce the message that Texas offers something for everyone. Thanks to state-wide tourism partners who make those “sweet” prizes possible, we have given away Big Bend and Rio Grande Valley adventures at 23 Patagonia stores, brought grandparents/grandbabies to the beaches of Galveston (via a Grandparents.com giveaway), helped Whole Foods Market bring 30 winners to Austin for their 30th birthday party, awarded one Lucky winner a luxurious stay at Lake Austin Spa Resort, and selected our very own “Texas Lone Star” ambassador via a Facebook-driven viral promotion. We even teamed up with OPI to capitalize on their spring/summer collection of whimsical, Texas-inspired nail colors.

In September we teamed up with Texas Roadhouse, a brand which not only shares the Texas name, but impressively boasts 310 restaurants in 44 states and a database of 2.5 million customers. Combined with the inherent loyalty of their customers, it was a partnership made in heaven. In conjunction with the launch of their Facebook page, we participated in their annual “Great Steak of Texas” photo contest, which asked fans to upload photos with their favorite cuts of steak for a chance to win one of two trips to Houston and New Braunfels.

During the contest’s three-week run, Texas Roadhouse saw 500 submissions and increased their Facebook fan base by 15,000. And the exposure for Texas Tourism was tremendous – not only via Texas Roadhouse’s website and Facebook (both corporate and individual locations), but a national e-mail blast to those 2.5 million customers encouraged click-throughs to TravelTex.com to receive a free Texas Travel Guide and more information on Texas, our bottom-line goal with promotions of this nature.

A successful promotion requires a handful of critical factors: an enthusiastic promotional partner with national reach and like-minded messages, equally enthusiastic prize-giving partners, and (of course) an overarching strategy to maximize reach and capture results. While media relations has its place, amazing impact can occur when the right pieces and partners align to reach consumers directly and personally. Our ever-present hope is to establish long-lasting relationships with partners and consumers alike, paving the road for future partnerships… and happy Texas trails.