There are many people who think that the holidays are a time to spend lavishly on gifts that can be bought in stores, wrapped in paper and tied with a bow, obviating the focus on what the holidays are all about: enjoying time with family and friends, creating cherished memories along the way.
In December 2014, GLOW released the "I Love New York Gift Guide"—dozens of creative gift ideas in the form of real-world, unparalleled travel experiences to be enjoyed all over New York State. Using Tumblr to create a beautifully packaged guide, we encouraged the I Love NY social audience to "Give the Gift of New York" to friends and loved ones, promoting the campaign on the I Love NY Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest pages.
The goal was to inspire travel to and within New York and broaden awareness for the myriad of uniquely New York attractions and events, ranging from trips to the majestically scenic Adirondack Mountains to experiences like the Tribeca Film Festival in Manhattan to the Winter Carnival at Saranac Lake. The messaging went beyond the details to convey the emotion of these experiences to appeal to consumers on a deeper level.
In doing so, GLOW was able to simultaneously find its target audience and grow the I Love NY brand. The results were stunning. Total reach on Facebook was 3,826,938 with 53,849 engagements. On Twitter, total reach was 834,287 with 8,249 engagements.
We tailored the guide to appeal to eleven distinct personas, including "The Instagrammer," "The Food and Drink Connoisseur," "The History Buff," "The Romantic," "The Nature Lover" and more. By doing so, we were able to create a cleanly organized guide, which made it more accessible to the audience. The effort to pinpoint consumer interests and put a fun spin on the various experiences paid off.
The Tumblr site for the Gift Guide received 42,450 hits during the 3-week holiday campaign, with 3.05 pageviews per visit.
The I Love NY social community, powered by its massive Facebook audience, was activated more during the campaign month than any other month in the history of the I Love NY social timeline. Specifics include:
Our top Facebook post, promoting holiday experiences for The Film and TV Junkie, was a powerhouse with 6,663 likes, comments, and shares.
On Instagram,15 posts spurred 4,346 engagements – an average of 290 engagements per post. Our top photo, a jaw-dropping shot of a snow-covered forest next to a lake in the Adirondacks, gained 362 likes.
Meanwhile, Twitter returned to a level of engagement that the account hadn't seen in nearly a year, with 8,249 total engagements during the campaign. Our top post, plugging the Tribeca Film Festival, garnered 147 favorites and 80 retweets.
We sparked strong conversation across all social media, and the response was overwhelmingly positive and interactive between users:
The I Love NY brand was mentioned over 7,700 times on Twitter during this period. Notable Twitter influencers in the travel space that mentioned the brand and the Gift Guide are: @BudgetTravel, @JimmyWayne, @HaveSippy, @CoastalLiving, @DiscoverAmericaUK, @Chris2x, and more.
Although the Gift Guide's impact on the I Love NY brand was immeasurable, it speaks volumes to the substantial growth of the I Love NY Facebook page, which now has 1.3 million likes and counting, making it the #2 state destination marketing organization (DMO) page in the country, and the @I_LOVE_NY Twitter account, which now has 268K+ followers and counting, making it the #1 state DMO account. By focusing on unique New York experiences, GLOW struck a chord with social media users across the state and beyond, sparked discussion, grew the I Love NY audience, and greatly strengthened the I Love NY brand. In this way, the guide itself is the gift that keeps on giving.
