Leisure/Tourism Marketing Campaign - $1 Million and Over

Objectives: The Authentically Abilene campaign set out to achieve three key objectives:

1.Promote Abilene as a leisure travel destination through clear, consistent, place-based storytelling.

2.Strengthen community pride by celebrating the city's unique identity, history, and culture.

3.Establish a lasting marketing foundation with a cohesive brand voice that could extend across platforms and evolve with the destination.

By creatively leveraging print media and reinforcing a unified message across all external communications, the campaign aimed to show that embracing a destination’s authentic character is not only compelling, but also the most effective and sustainable strategy for long-term tourism growth.

Project Costs: $50,000 (includes ad buys & creative production)

In-house or Agency: Agency

Objectives: To increase awareness and drive attendance for the Beaumont Mural Festival among both niche art enthusiasts and a general travel audience, utilizing a unified "Art Unleashed: Beaumont's Walls Speak" theme.

To generate significant digital engagement across multiple channels, including the website, social media, and digital advertising, thereby maximizing impressions and fostering community interaction with the festival's content.

To establish the Beaumont Mural Festival as a premier cultural event, garnering positive media pick-up and enhancing Beaumont's reputation as a vibrant arts destination.

To leverage creative digital assets, including video content, to showcase the artistic process and festival atmosphere, resulting in high completion rates and widespread social media sharing.

Project Costs: $200,000

In-house or Agency: In-house

Objectives:

Project Costs: This campaign was executed over the course of one year and spanned two fiscal years (FY23/24 and FY24/25). The total paid campaign investment was $62,103.00, not including staff time or the use of existing internal assets.

Objectives:

• Establish Denton as the Halloween Capital of Texas, positioning it as a premier destination for seasonal tourism and cultural experiences.

• Drive tourism and economic impact by increasing downtown visitation and local spending throughout the month of October.
• Foster community pride and engagement by authentically reflecting Denton’s creative identity and involving residents, businesses, and local artists.
• Maximize reach and engagement through innovative, shareable marketing strategies with a strong focus on organic and digital media.
• Leverage partnerships and placemaking initiatives to create memorable, immersive experiences that would draw both local and out-of-town visitors.

Project Costs: $167,000.00

Objectives:

Transition from a “celebrity-persona” campaign to a more universally appealing, less niche-based place-making campaign.

Increase awareness of Georgetown as a destination that exceeds all your needs and offers exactly what you are seeking – i.e. a girl’s weekend, a meeting locale, a date night.

Build positive perceptions of Georgetown internally and externally through community and partner engagement, including photography, monthly eblasts, ad campaigns and out-of-home signage.

Project Costs: $15,000 - Graphic Design $18,000 - Photography

In-house or Agency: Agency

Objectives: The campaign has successfully increased awareness, engagement and visitation by offering inspiration tailored to visitors' interest.

Project Costs: $314,800

In-house or Agency: In-House

Objectives: The goal of the Hops and History event is to highlight Pearland as a destination to heritage tourists as well as provide an educational event for the Pearland community.

In-house or Agency: In-house

Using geo-location and device ID data, Visit Plano defined key audience personas by tracking dwell time at high-interest locations (airports, accommodations, attractions, shopping). Core audiences included:

Upper Tier Travelers

Millennial Families (HHI $100K+)

Visit Plano deployed a digital-first media strategy optimized for targeting leisure travelers in high-propensity drive markets. This mix prioritized precision and flexibility across the funnel leveraging programmatic display, paid social, SEM, and native content to meet potential visitors where they browse, plan, and book. Video placements on OTT and mobile platforms enhanced emotional connection and brand recall, while geofencing and retargeting maximized efficiency by focusing on travelers with recent intent and dwell time near key Plano attractions.

Key channels included:

SEM & Paid Search

Cross-platform display and retargeting

Social media

CTV and Online Video (Kargo interactive mobile video)

Native advertising

Influencer marketing (The Daytripper)

Digital Out-of-Home (video ads in bars/restaurants across top markets)

Publisher direct buys with Edge Media, AJR Media, Hearst, and Houstonia

Email marketing and OTA partnerships

Results:

+33.1+ million impressions delivered

+15% in added value secured

50% YoY increase in new website

Events calendar views surged 3,000%

Email newsletter engagement up 29%

Web sessions up slightly YoY despite prior year’s Solar Eclipse bump

Room revenue steady, even with increased hotel inventory

• Occupancy flat YoY, maintaining volume without the benefit of the eclipse-driven spike

Objectives: Plano faced the dual challenge of recovering from a two-year occupancy gap and sustaining growth in a competitive drive-market tourism landscape. Visit Plano aimed to boost awareness and visitation while increasing weekend stays and length of visit all under a modest media budget of under $350K.

Position Plano as a top-tier meetings, sports, corporate, and leisure destination.

Close the summer occupancy gap and boost weekend visitation.

Drive qualified traffic to the Visit Plano website.

Generate inquiries that convert to overnight stays.

Optimize performance across the full marketing funnel using efficient KPIs.

Project Costs: $350,000

In-house or Agency: Agency

Objectives:

Raise awareness about accidental litter and its impact on San Marcos’ natural spaces, especially high-traffic riverfront parks.

Promote sustainable visitor behavior through a campaign that feels approachable, non-judgmental, and engaging.

Increase message reach and retention by using humor-driven video content shared across multiple digital channels.

Encourage community pride and personal responsibility among both residents and visitors through relatable storytelling.

Project Costs: $10,900

In-house or Agency: In-house

Objectives:

1) Increase awareness for our city and all it offers, while pushing its excellent location, amenities and value proposition;

2) Increase website traffic to our website; and

3) increase room nights/room revenue for our hotel partners, which in turn, will increase our HOT collections.

Project Costs: Total Ad Budget: $775,000 - $800,000

In-house or Agency: In-house

Objectives:

1. Increase spring visitation from family travelers by promoting South Padre Island as a premier spring destination.

2. Drive reservations and economic impact through targeted digital advertising.

3. Enhance regional awareness of SPI’s family-friendly offerings across key markets in Texas, Oklahoma, and Louisiana.

4. Generate measurable engagement across digital and social platforms through cost-efficient, high-performing ad placements.

5. Amplify earned media coverage through proactive PR efforts focused on family travel angles to reach traditional and lifestyle publications.

6. Position SPI as a top-of-mind family destination during Spring Break by highlighting outdoor experiences, coastal attractions, and kid-friendly activities.

Project Costs: $200,000

In-house or Agency: Agency