National State Tourism Directors Mercury Awards > Printed Collateral Materials

The Official 2021 West Virginia Vacation Guide

About This Entry:

This marked Meredith Travel Marketing’s second year collaborating with the West Virginia Department of Tourism on the state’s official vacation guide. The client challenged us to build upon the innovation of last year’s flipbook design, with a keepsake-quality product that would instantly elevate the consumer’s perception of West Virginia. Our solution was to reimagine the guide as a robust, 100 percent editorial coffee-table book.

More than 128 pages, this premium guide showcases West Virginia’s forested mountains through all four seasons. Immersive visuals and compelling stories capture the state’s Almost Heaven tagline and paint a lush picture of a place rich with outdoor recreation and Appalachian hospitality.

Outdoor activity is always central to West Virginia’s tourism story—but when the pandemic hit, it became the guide’s primary editorial focus. We shifted the lineup to spotlight the state’s natural wonders (and relative lack of crowds). We also played up the 50th anniversary of John Denver’s “Country Roads,” the state’s anthem, with a music feature and QR code to a playlist of “Country Roads” covers by West Virginia artists. Another robust editorial package plays off the song’s theme, with itinerary-based road trips highlighting attractions and cultural touchstones in the state’s nine tourism regions.

In addition to creating a beautiful product, the West Virginia Department of Tourism had an ambitious goal to distribute all 250,000 copies of the guide and increase digital views.

Campaign Strategy:

The West Virginia Vacation Guide is an opportunity to introduce new travelers to the Mountain State’s myriad points of interest and encourage those familiar with it to keep coming back to discover more. And this year, with its contemporary square format, earthy palette that echoes West Virginia’s landscapes, textured matte cover design and sweeping scenic photos, the guide feels like a mini (yet substantial) masterpiece.

Inside, readers are greeted with a map and travel information asserting the state’s accessibility, then are led through each region via an itinerary-based Country Roads section to make trip planning a breeze. Front-of-book and feature stories seamlessly combine outdoor adventure, quaint towns, history lessons, culinary attractions, and arts and culture throughout all seasons to appeal to multiple travel personas.

To create a stop-you-in-your-tracks moment within the guide, we designed an eight-page photo essay featuring the state’s most dazzling fall landscapes. Another unique storytelling opportunity appears in our food feature, “The Appalachian Table.” We leveraged the Better Homes & Gardens Test Kitchen to re-create West Virginia First Lady Cathy Justice’s award-winning cornbread recipe and photograph it in our in-house studio. We also promoted “Mountain State Moments,” featuring all corners of the state by sourcing West Virginia travelers’ own Instagram photos and creating a gorgeous image-driven spread.

This year, distribution tactics included polybagging the guide with Meredith magazines for geotargeted distribution, distributing to hotels and visitor welcome centers throughout the state, and allowing users to request it via the Web.

Results:

By partnering with Meredith Corporation, Meredith Travel Marketing’s parent company, the West Virginia Department of Tourism has been able to precision-target audiences through magazine advertising to drive guide requests, as well as polybagging the travel guide with Meredith magazines to hit specific geo targets. In all, 250,000 copies of the 2021 West Virginia Vacation Guide were ordered, and 222,536 of them were distributed throughout the state: 35,672 copies were requested by consumers via the West Virginia Department of Tourism’s website; 83,864 copies were distributed at hotels and welcome centers; and 103,000 copies were polybagged with Meredith publications for geotargeted distribution direct to consumers throughout West Virginia and the U.S. This allowed Meredith Travel Marketing to leverage its brand authority within the travel, lifestyle and family categories via publications, such as Parents, Southern Living, and Real Simple, to deliver trusted content to an audience of discerning, adventurous explorers and current subscribers.

The 2021 guide has already exceeded the West Virginia Department of Tourism’s print and digital goals. Less than three months into a 12-month distribution, all 250,000 copies have been sent to prospective travelers, and a second printing is in progress. This is the first year the West Virginia Department of Tourism has reordered the guide.

Consumer interest and engagement has been robust in the digital space too. In just three months since the launch, the guide has produced:

• 219,804 digital guide pageviews, up from 16,587 (1,225.2% increase YOY)
• 35,672 print travel guides ordered via WVtourism.com (108% increase YOY)
• An average of 4 minutes, 55 seconds spent with the digital guide (24.59% increase YOY)
• 8,809 clicks via the WVtourism.com website to view the digital guide (4% increase YOY)

As vacations resume after this long hiatus, we are confident that West Virginia will be more competitive than ever, helping travelers connect with nature-filled escapes and the hidden gems “Almost Heaven” will deliver.

Why This Is A Finalist: 

LOVE the theme, and the 100% editorial approach. Really well executed tagline and front-to-back inspiration. Definitely one of the best travel guides I have seen.

I thought this publication was excellent and was exactly what the Western Vacation Guide group described - a keepsake-quality product that would instantly elevate the consumer’s perception of West Virginia. Loved the layout, editorial, size, paper choice and play off John Denver's 50th anniversary.

During a year when road trips were on the rise, this theme and focus on outdoor activities was executed flawlessly. Innovative and well crafted editorial content stood out amongst peers.