Destinations Council Destiny Awards > Destination and Product Development

Martin County Arts & Cultural Trail Launch

About This Entry:

For being such an under-the-radar destination in South Florida (especially compared to our more well-known neighbors), Martin County boasts an impressive array of arts and culture attractions, including historic theaters, world-class museums, eclectic art galleries, cutting-edge exhibits, public art instillations created by renowned artists, and more. Each year, the community comes together in celebration of the arts during the annual ArtsFest event in Historic Downtown Stuart (February 20-21, 2021), organized by the Arts Council of Martin County.

The award-winning tradition had drawn an impressive number of visitors and residents alike over the past 34 years, but the council’s executive director approached our team in search of support. We all knew that COVID-19 would pose a unique range of complex and unprecedented challenges in terms of planning and executing such a multifaceted event. So we began thinking about innovative ways to boost awareness and excitement for the beloved event (which was implementing a hybrid of virtual and in-person festival components for the very first time) that would also be sensitive to the ever-changing COVID-19 pandemic.

We wanted to create an immersive experience that could be leveraged year-round to attract art aficionados while successfully showcasing all of Martin County’s wonderful arts and cultural attractions. In addition to targeting visitors, we hoped to remind residents of the incredible arts and culture opportunities worth exploring located right in their own backyard. Most importantly, we wanted to create a safe and socially-distanced experience that people would feel comfortable supporting in the midst of a global pandemic. And lastly, we wanted to find a way to give back to our local arts community and support the artists who were struggling during this difficult period.
All the planning and brainstorming culminated with the development of a brand-new product: the Martin County Arts & Culture Trail.

Campaign Strategy:

The Martin County Arts & Culture Trail is a free, mobile-exclusive program that includes information about more than 20 arts and cultural attractions throughout Martin County, including museums, galleries, historic sites, and more. The physical destinations, such as the Children’s Museum of the Treasure Coast, the Elliott Museum, the Florida Oceanographic Coastal Center (which were all negatively impacted by COVID-19) also offered special deals and discounts to encourage visitation for those who felt comfortable. We strategically launched the program ahead of ArtsFest 2021 to drum up excitement for the event, and it was developed in partnership with the Arts Council of Martin County and Bandwango (a travel technology platform).

To celebrate the new trail and incentivize participation, we launched a corresponding scavenger hunt component. We commissioned local glass artist Dot Galfond, of Licensed to Kiln, to create a collection of custom glass sea turtles: 45 teal turtles and 10 gold turtles. Each piece was signed, numbered, and hidden at every stop along the trail. Martin County has some of most active sea turtle nesting grounds in Florida, and the sea turtle sculptures created a sense of place by paying homage to the vulnerable and endangered species that return to our shores year-after-year.

Anyone who found a limited-edition glass sea turtle could keep it as a souvenir and register their one-of-a-kind piece online. Lucky winners who found one of the 10 exclusive gold turtles were awarded complimentary tickets to ArtsFest and the Florida Oceanographic Coastal Center. Galfond also created two larger sea turtle bowl sculptures for the program, and people could purchase raffle tickets (online or in-person) for a chance to win each prize.

We hoped that the informative trail would boost awareness of our local partners and provide an engaging way to safely learn more about our arts and cultural attractions from home. Meanwhile, the gamified scavenger hunt aspect motivated people to get out and explore these attractions in a memorable (but socially-distanced) way. We evaluated this project based on the number of sign-ups (we aimed for 200-300 participants) and ultimately the success of the first virtual/in-person hybrid ArtsFest event.

Results:

We were absolutely overwhelmed by the outcome of our Arts & Culture Trail program. Our only out-of-pocket cost was Dot Galfond’s $2,115 commission fee to create the glass sea turtle sculptures and bowls (since we already purchased the Bandwango technology for a safety campaign tied to COVID-19).

To spread the word, we devised an organic communication strategy that combined public relations efforts and social media tactics, which was bolstered by word-of-mouth. We distributed a press release announcing the program and it was immediately picked up and syndicated by local, regional, and national outlets – ranging from blogs and lifestyle publications to regional newspapers and television stations. From an earned media perspective, the campaign garnered more than 28 million impressions with an estimated media value of approximately $270,000, successfully promoting the trail and driving awareness of ArtsFest.

According to Google Analytics, 887 users visited the Arts & Culture Trail landing page (average session duration of 1:52), and Bandwango analytics showed that over 516 people signed up to receive the Martin County Arts & Culture Trail, with the majority of downloads leading up to ArtsFest. Each of the hidden glass sea turtles were found during the scavenger hunt launch phase and many of the lucky participants shared their finds on social media, further amplifying our messaging. As an added bonus, we donated all proceeds from the turtle bowl raffle tickets to the Arts Foundation and the Florida Oceanographic Society to support their ongoing turtle protection programming.

Ultimately, ArtsFest proved to be a smashing success despite COVID-19 challenges. While in-person capacity was limited, their website saw a 210% increase in visitors with over 6,200 visits to the "ArtsFest at Home" virtual platform. The program was such a hit that we expanded the scavenger hunt by partnering with the Office of Community Development to promote Martin County’s 6 community redevelopment areas. We plan to partner with another local Arts Council artist to continue the scavenger hunt program ahead of next year’s ArtFest event, and the trail remains an evergreen tourism product that we use to highlight Martin County’s dynamic arts and cultural scene.

Why This Is A Finalist: 

This was an extremely creative vision to drive engagement during unique times. The campaign provided multiple ways for visitors to engage safely, while also educating them on the trail.

The idea of having a local glass artists create custom glass sea turtles to drive engagement was excellent. Although a small souvenir, a great way to get visitors to interact with the trail.

The trail program certainly drummed up buzz for the ArtsFest, accomplishing multiple objectives all with a small budget and minimal resources.