Millions of Lights. One Magical Place.
The Holiday campaign launched Nov. 1 and will continue through Dec. 31. Messaging is displaying across VisitSanAntonio.com and multiple paid channels, primarily in Texas and the touch states but also in key out-of-state markets and Mexico key markets. With the combination of HOT and TPID funds, Visit San Antonio was able to triple Holiday marketing efforts.
Digital advertising, including display ads, paid search, videos, paid social media, e-mail, out-of-home and native advertising, will generate an estimated 13 million impressions. A few digital partners to highlight include the Agency Trading Desk (ATD), which enables Visit San Antonio to effectively target audiences by multiple variables and also to track mobile devices in San Antonio after exposure to Visit San Antonio ads. Storygize is a native ad platform, which means that San Antonio content appears to a relevant audience and looks more like content than advertising. Gas Buddy is a tactic specifically for the drive markets. Visit San Antonio ads appear on this app that helps consumers find low gas prices. A family influencer campaign, through partner Travel Mindset, will result in social media posts, blog posts and video content.
Consumer use of audio channels, especially through podcasts, is increasing. The holiday plan includes a sweepstakes on iHeart Radio in Texas and audio ads on iHeart’s streaming radio in Texas markets and nationwide within selected podcasts. On Pandora, listeners will have the opportunity to enjoy one hour of commercial-free radio once they watch a San Antonio video, then see a San Antonio digital ad on their phone throughout the hour.
TV exposure includes spots on “Goodtaste with Tanji” and Fox Sports Southwest, which will promote a San Antonio VIP Experience during Dallas Maverick games through TV spots, live reads and social media. The San Antonio VIP Experience to watch the Spurs play the Dallas Mavericks on Feb. 26 includes four center court suite tickets, dinner for four, front row parking at the AT&T Center and two nights for four people at Hotel Emma.
Print ads appear in Texas Monthly, Austin Monthly, D Magazine and Houstonia. A holiday rack card is being distributed at all Texas Travel Information Centers, Dallas Love Field, DFW International Airport and the Visitor Information Center.
Partners Featured in Co-op Campaigns
In addition to the overall destination plan, a Holidays co-op is promoting participating partners Natural Bridge Caverns, Go Rio, San Antonio Zoo, Ripley’s Believe It or Not, Majestic & Empire Theatres and Marriott Hotels. This plan will result in more than 7.7 million impressions.
The Hotel Valencia Riverwalk, Doubletree by Hilton San Antonio Airport, Hotel Havana and La Quinta by Wyndham San Antonio Riverwalk participated in a culture-themed email sent to more than 230,000 Texas travelers. The email resulted in more than 22,000 clicks and a high click-through rate of 2.05 percent.
Spurring Excitement in Mexico
In addition to the Holiday campaign in Mexico, Visit San Antonio marketing efforts in Mexico City include video branding inside the Arena Ciudad de Mexico and outside on a mega video wall on Dec. 14 when the San Antonio Spurs play the Phoenix Suns.
Adrian Award
Visit San Antonio has won a silver Adrian Award from the Hospitality, Sales and Marketing International association (HSMAI) for the VisitSanAntonio.com website. HSMAI recognizes brands for creativity and innovation. More than 1,100 entries were judged on marketing objectives, creativity, quality, content and results by a panel of industry experts.
Meetings Website Rebuild
Content and images are being added to the new partners website as development continues. All member descriptions have been written for the meetings audience and will be added to the new CRM system, SimpleView. A major effort is in progress to synch SimpleView partner information with the new website. The new website will be developed by the end of the year and will be more visual and, similar to the Leisure website, will streamline navigation and improve functionality to best meet meeting professionals’ needs.
Attendee Marketing
Visit San Antonio has launched a concerted marketing effort to reach individuals attending conferences the year prior to their meeting in San Antonio. Funded by TPID, this initiative will reach meeting goers at targeted 2020 conferences such as American Chemical Society, Texas Library Association, International Society for Technology in Education, Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, etc. — all conferences that will take place in San Antonio the next year. Through geo-fencing and device ID tracking, attendees will be re-targeted with San Antonio destination messaging to keep the city top of mind. Once registration is open for their San Antonio conference, they will also receive custom social media messages encouraging them to register.
VisitSanAntonio.TV
More than 150 entries of San Antonio stories were submitted for VisitSanAntonio.TV. All ideas are being reviewed and if selected, an idea will be developed into a four-episode show that will air on Visit San Antonio’s new channel VisitSanAntonio.TV. This new marketing initiative will provide another way for consumers to immerse themselves in the destination.
Exclusive 2020 Co-Op Opportunities
Take advantage of opportunities to promote your business along with the destination with our co-op programs. Of special note, several exclusive opportunities are now available. Your ad can appear on the front and back of the popular Tearaway Map, which is distributed citywide. One million copies are printed annually and a .pdf is available to consumers on the leisure and meetings websites. Because of its value, this opportunity requires a larger investment, but Visit San Antonio can work with you to spread payment over the year.
Other exclusive opportunities now available are advertising on the Dining & Nightlife Guides that are distributed to meeting attendees and leisure visitors and advertising in the Show Us Your Badge program for meeting attendees.
Promote Your Events
Make sure consumers know all they can experience in San Antonio. Add your events to VisitSanAntonio.com here. Also, the Submit an Event link now appears at the bottom of every page of the new VisitSanAntonio.com to make it easier for you. You do not have to be a Visit San Antonio member to add events.