Our challenge was to find a unique voice for the state of Texas in the sea of sameness that is tourism advertising, while also challenging the one dimensional (and often negative) perception of the state.
The insight was that Texas’s 20 year tourism tagline was being misapplied and had lost the meaning it once had to travelers (even the client didn’t really know what it meant). Where its power lied was was not in being just an arbitrary sign off, but being the core positioning for the state itself. Texas after all is “like a whole other country.” It has a unique food and music culture all its own, vast size and geographical differences that make for a diversity of unique experiences unrivaled by other states, and it was the only state in the continental U.S. that was once a separate country. So we developed an integrated campaign that boldly took ownership of the line.
AMBIENT OOH
Heated bus shelters were placed in cold weather markets (Chicago, Boston & New York) in the dead of Winter to warm people up and get them considering a Texas beach getaway.
Weather triggered banners enticed viewers to escape the cold and come to Texas.
RICH MEDIA
Homepage takeovers and expandable units interrupted the normal online experience and invited potential visitors to explore all Texas has to offer. Other rich media units allowed us to serve up customized content tailored towards people's interests and search behavior.
#TEXASTODO • SOCIAL & EXPERIENTIAL
To push the Texas Tourism campaign a level deeper and perhaps a bit off the beaten path, we tapped into a resource that Texas has plenty of — local pride. #TexasToDo was born from the idea that nobody knows the state better than our locals or as we like to call them, our "Texperts." We tasked our "Texperts" to tag #TexasToDo across all social media platforms to show us their Texas. #TexasToDo images are pulled on to TravelTex.com and can be easily sorted by interests, cities and regions to help visitors discover the must-see experiences in Texas.
#TexasToDo was supported with a digital campaign inviting consumers to explore and contribute to the website gallery. In addition to behavioral and contextual targeting, flash banners were deployed and airline boarding pass inventory was used to reach in-market travelers. We also got the word out with a guerilla tour featuring the #TexasToDo truck handing out free custom screen printed t-shirts designed by Texas artists.
The second year in with #texastodo, we created a series of 48 webisodes featuring our "Texperts" on a variety of subjects, showing us their favorite activities in the state. View #TEXASTODOFILMS
TEXAS ON TOUR • EXPERIENTIAL
We created a traveling immersive experience called Texas On Tour. The centerpiece is a touch-based technology, the interactive “passport” platform allowing users to interact with, and learn more about, passion points that interest them. Consumers are transported to Texas through eight different interactive gaming experiences. A group of brand ambassadors engaged with consumers in line with trivia and food sampling, and visitors were rewarded with giveaways and prizing for interacting with the footprint.
TRAVELTEX.COM
Traveltex.com was redesigned to enable users to set up their own Texas passports to customize the perfect trip experience based on their interests.
TEXAS APP
The TravelTex mobile app enhances visitors' experiences while traveling through Texas.
