Success Stories

Campaign Spotlight: Colorado Tourism Office

Laura Fernandez, VP Head of Industry for Travel + TourismNov 19, 2020

If you’re a travel and adventure lover, the stay at home order has been especially difficult. And we get it: travel is who you are. It gives you an escape, a new perspective on life, and experiences you would never find in our own backyard.

But, the Colorado Tourism Office believed otherwise. In fact, you can find some pretty awesome experiences in your own city, country or state—especially when there’s 380 miles of nature, cities, and adventures to explore.

As plane travel remained out-of-the-question, Colorado residents reignited the ‘staycation’, road tripping and rediscovering their beautiful state. From Aspen to Denver, Boulder to Colorado Springs, the people of Colorado took advantage of everything they had available within driving distance.

And, the Colorado Tourism Office took notice.

The Deets

Adjusting quickly to the “new normal”, The Colorado Tourism Office decided to expand on the ‘staycation’ trend already happening within the state. A change from past campaigns, they wanted to target Colorado residents only with campaign creative that drove inspiration for locals to explore everything the state has to offer.

For the Colorado Staycation Campaign, Pandora utilized it’s 1P registration data to reach only adults 25-44 who are registered listeners in the state of Colorado for accurate geolocation targeting. In addition, Pandora layered on 3P key audiences like Roadtrip Enthusiasts, Leisure Travelers and Outdoor Enthusiasts who are most likely to be interested in exploring Colorado’s destinations.

The Results

Thanks to a study with Arrivalist observing 92,832 panelists (half exposed to the campaign), we can contribute the Staycation campaign to a dramatic spike in arrival lift, and more:

  • The Summer Campaign on Pandora resulted in a 70.4% Arrival Lift (as measured on 9/4/2020)—meaning that the ad exposed group outperformed the unexposed group in driving incremental in-state trips to Colorado destinations
  • 15,731 trips to Colorado destinations were observed in the study, of which nearly 10,000 were attributed back to ad exposure
  • Arrivals were generated quickly, with just over half (51.1%) of attributed trips occurring in July 2020
  • Video was the most efficient medium, with 7.4 arrivals per thousand panel impressions

Quote from Arrivalist: “It’s great to see innovative marketers like the Colorado Tourism Office and Pandora using location data to validate the incremental impact of their travel marketing campaigns. Measuring the impact of every dollar is vital to demonstrating travels role in every state’s economic recovery” -Cree Lawson, Founder & CEO of Arrivalist

Quote from CTO: “Pandora provided an innovative and experiential way to reach locals road-tripping through Colorado. When life returns to normal, we plan to re-launch the station to other states so they can utilize the station for entertainment as well as planning their next vacation!” -Cathy Ritter, Director of Colorado Tourism Office

No doubt, 2020 is the year of the Staycation. Here are three reasons why this campaign was so successful and how you can replicate the results:

  1. Keep a pulse on travel trends: The pandemic has certainly changed the way people travel. Marketers need to stay on top of travel trends, like staycations, to drive inspiration with potential consumers. Best way to do that is through Travel & Visitation Data, Social Media, Trade Associations, Google Alerts and Industry Blogs/Newsletters.
  2. Escapism wins every time: While people are spending a lot of time with streaming services right now, people are still craving experiences that they would only get via traveling. And this includes experiences that could be in your own backyard.
  3. Work with a partner who can deliver the targeting capabilities you need and track the results: Whether this is first-party or third-party data, partner with publishers that can accurately target your potential travelers and measure influenced visitors.
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