Best Idea Program Awards
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| Best Idea Program Achievement Awards – Member representatives accept Achievement Awards for their respective DMOs at the 2015 DMA West Destination Marketing Summit in late September in Ogden, Utah. (Left to right) Eric Thompson, Vice President of Marketing, Visit Salt Lake; Valerie Arias, Communications Manager, Marina del Rey CVB; Kari Westlund, President & CEO, Travel Lane County; and Heather Ainardi, Marketing and Public Relations Manager, Flagstaff CVB. Congratulations! |
Four DMOs received achievement awards in a recent competition with their colleagues from the West. Sponsored by DMA West, the annual Best Idea Program showcases innovative projects and creative marketing strategies as submitted by DMA West members. DMA West congratulates the Flagstaff CVB, Travel Lane County, Marina del Rey CVB and Visit Salt Lake as achievement award recipients in the 2015 DMA West Best Idea Program.
This year’s Best Idea Program awards were presented during the 2015 DMA West Destination Marketing Summit, September 23-25, in Ogden, Utah. Following receipt of the online entries, a Board-appointed Task Force reviewed the submissions and selected several ideas for presentation.
The 2015 Best Idea Booklet—including all project submissions—is available to members in DMA West’s online Resource Library. Thanks to all member DMOs that submitted their ideas.
Achievement Award Winners
Flagstaff CVB
Project: Flagstaff #VisitCool and Flagstaff Cool Zone
This past Fourth of July (2015) weekend the Flagstaff CVB launched a year-long promotion in their top inbound market highlighting the temperature difference between the cool mountains of Flagstaff and the heat of the Phoenix metro area. Envision tons of ice, brand ambassadors and contests. Encased in each ice feature were symbols of Flagstaff, including bikes, trekking poles, snowboards, telescopes and axes. The entire program is supported with online video pre-roll and social ads, a temperature-based mobile display campaign and #VisitCool social engagement. The Flagstaff CVB has 11 partners involved in the program, which expands the reach of the campaign through their efforts as well. www.flagstaffarizona.org
Travel Lane County
Project: Mobile Information Kiosk Explorer, MIKE the Bike
MIKE the Bike is a visitor center bike that engages and inspires. An extension of Travel Lane County’s easily accessible adventure brand, it increases both destination and organizational awareness among visitors, locals and industry stakeholders. The goal for the first year of MIKE the Bike was to design, build and implement a visitor services experience that allowed Travel Lane County to bring its brand and service to an active audience that was not using its brick and mortar locations. MIKE the Bike is a strong ambassador for both the destination and the DMO. www.eugenecascadescoast.org
Marina del Rey CVB
Project: Beach Buddies
“Beach Buddies” is a collaboration that was launched in September 2014 by the Marina del Rey CVB and the Delray Beach Marketing Cooperative. The purpose of the West Coast/East Coast partnership is simple – showcase activities, attractions, dining and hotels in each destination while highlighting parallels between the two. Factors such as the shared “del rey” name, similar coastal chic vibes, and close proximity to major international airports helped to inspire “Beach Buddies.” The two DMO teams use social media platforms as the main foundation of the collaboration. The DMOs also introduced their respective mascots – Marty the Pelican (Marina del Rey) and Swinton the Turtle (Delray Beach) – as the “Beach Buddies.” www.visitmarinadelrey.com
Visit Salt Lake
Project: Mobile Attraction Pass
Visit Salt Lake partnered with a local company, Bandwango, to develop a SaaS model for software allowing destination marketing organizations like Visit Salt Lake to create, manage and sell mobile-friendly visitor passes designed to target any visitor segment. Visit Salt Lake currently uses this software for its Connect Pass product – a single pass valid at 13 attractions that the DMO has been selling for a number of years as a card-based system. Visit Salt Lake officially launched this product in May 2015. Since moving to a mobile-friendly platform, customers can now purchase directly from their mobile phone, receive a digital pass via text and email, and share and redeem their attraction tickets directly from their phone. Learn more at www.visitsaltlake.com/things-to-do/connect-pass/.