Caitlin Murphy
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Virginia Tourism Campaign

client: Virginia Tourism

The Brief: 

The client's brief was two-fold: 1) Launch a campaign that encourages people to use their vacation days 2) Get them to spend their vacation days in Virginia. 

Research: 

We identified 3 key barriers to vacationing: 

1. Overwhelming to plan: planning a vacation complete with a jam-packed itinerary and detailed travel logistics can be more of a stress-inducer than it is a stress-reliever. All of that planning can lead to the dreaded "I need a vacation after my vacation" syndrome.

2. Expensive: Booking travel, lodging, and activities can really do a number to your bank account. Adding insult to injury, many companies offer to pay employees for their unused vacation days, which makes it extremely hard for people to justify taking that much-needed break.

3. Work FOMO: Fear of coming back to a mountain of work, fear that nobody else can get the job done, fear of being seen as replaceable. Work FOMO is real and is a major deterrent to taking a few days off. 

Target: 

Millenial Martyrs

Millennials suffer from these vacation barriers more than any other demographic: they have less experience planning the logistics of a vacation, they're still trying to find their financial footing, and there's a specific subset of millennials that are eager to prove themselves in the workplace because of stereotypes that their generation is lazy and/or entitled. They fear being seen as replaceable by their managers so they rarely take time off, and when they do, they're constantly checking their work email. 

 

Our objective: position vacationing as part of a self-care routine. 

Encourage millennial martyrs to view vacationing as part of a healthy, well-rounded lifestyle. It’s not easy stepping into a workless void, even if just for a day. However, it’s good for you, and like any new routine you have to ease into it. The more you do it, the less overwhelming it becomes. You wouldn't go out and run a marathon if you've never run in your life, would you? You would start slow, running a few miles at a time. Vacationing is the same way; a 10-day trip to Tahiti that wipes out half your savings account is stress-inducing, especially if you've never missed a day of work in your life. However, a 3-day weekend is much more manageable, and you'll thank yourself for it. 

Strategy: Make Virginia the gateway to vacation professionalism. 

One day you'll be a Vacationing Pro, ready to take that 10-day trip to Tahiti, but you're not there yet. Start by exploring your backyard. Whether you're into the beach or the mountains, wine or beer, history or music, Virginia has something for you. 


Creative Campaign: Beginner's Guide to Vacationing

Direct Mail: 92% of millennials are influenced by direct mail, compared to just 78% who are influenced by email campaigns. These playful "Beginner's Guide" brochures will catch the attention of millennials in the mid-Atlantic market. 

Direct Mail: 92% of millennials are influenced by direct mail, compared to just 78% who are influenced by email campaigns. These playful "Beginner's Guide" brochures will catch the attention of millennials in the mid-Atlantic market. 

Social Campaign: In addition to our direct mail efforts, we'll make the Beginner's Guide campaign social-media friendly as well. We'll target our audience based on age and geographic location on platforms such as Facebook and Instagram. 

Social Campaign: In addition to our direct mail efforts, we'll make the Beginner's Guide campaign social-media friendly as well. We'll target our audience based on age and geographic location on platforms such as Facebook and Instagram. 


Creative campaign: take what you need

social photo contest: We'll encourage Virginians to share their favorite VA photos with the hashtag #takewhatyouneed. We'll share our favorites on our Instagram account, and winners will be eligible to win an all-inclusive Virginia Vacation.

 

Out-of-home: Tear-off tab posters will encourage people to take the vacation they need. 

We'll place these posters in office parks, break rooms, and subway stations as friendly reminders for people to take care of themselves. 

 

 

out-of-home: Virginia Tourism branded post-it pads. 

We'll partner with corporate HR departments throughout the mid-Atlantic region and ask them to distribute these to their employees. Each post-it has a fun little reminder to Take What You Need. 

 

Team: Caitlin Murphy (CBM), Kate Lane (CBM), Bryn Bissey (CBM), George Zeigler (CBM)