Destinations Council Destiny Awards > Public Relations Campaign

Tourism Santa Fe

Santa Fe Margarita Trail

About This Entry:

TOURISM Santa Fe (TSF) launched the Santa Fe Margarita Trail on May 5, 2016 after seven months of research and planning. Culinary is an integral component to Santa Fe’s brand messaging due to a centuries-long tradition of epicurean innovation and unique regional cuisine that has recently flourished to new heights. TSF challenged itself to create a program that could highlight this rich aspect of the destination in a way that felt authentically “Santa Fe.”

With the nation’s increased interest in handcrafted cocktails, TSF saw an opportunity to develop an interactive experience that tied in mixology, flavors of the region and local cultures. As a result, the Santa Fe Margarita Trail came to life. A 31-stop journey through a collection of Santa Fe’s restaurants and bars, participants can purchase a passport for $3 at the Visitor Center or any participating location and use it as a road map for enjoying different margaritas throughout Santa Fe —with a two stamp/day limit.

The margarita is a beloved cocktail in Santa Fe, as it pairs ideally with Northern New Mexico cuisine and the social and celebratory nature of the city. The first question visitors often ask is “Where do I find the best margarita?” The objective with the Trail was to create a food and cocktail experience that would attract visitors to the destination, enhance their overall experience and introduce them to spots that are treasured by locals. The Trail was designed as an efficient way to explore the city with its wealth of hidden gems and to encourage repeat visitors with incentives being offered for completed passports.

The objective set was to sell 500 passports within six months and secure 45 placements resulting in at least 150,000,000 impressions.

The target audience included travelers of legal drinking age throughout the country with focus on Colorado, Texas, California and Arizona. The millennial market was also targeted as a life stage demographic of importance for this project, as trends have indicated this segment is very interested in mixology and curated experiences.

Campaign Strategy:

Skift Travel declared in the Travel Megatrend 2016 report that “Food is the leading hook in travel and its exponential growth is remaking how destinations position themselves in the global marketplace.”

TSF recognized the growing demand for culinary travel and used existing research to gain an understanding of the types of interactive experiences that appeal to travelers and locals. A boom in local mixology talent led to an idea for spirits and cocktail experiences, similar to the Kentucky Bourbon Trail.

The Trail would be previewed February 22, 2016, National Margarita Day, and soft launched in April to gain traction before officially launching on May 5, in “observance” of Cinco de Mayo.

In Q3 and Q4 2015, TSF began to mobilize the support of 31 tourism partners and tasked them with developing a special recipe. TSF emphasized moderation and responsible participation in all Trail messaging, prioritizing safety above all, such as limiting Trail participants to two stamped beverages per day.

Local media began to share coverage of the trail developments as information became available. In February, a press release was distributed to national, regional and in-state media detailing the official launch of the Trail.

On National Margarita Day, February 22, a Sauza Tequila-sponsored press reception and official announcement of the Trail was held at Maria’s New Mexican Kitchen, aka “The Motherlode of American Margaritas.” The event was attended by more than 50 members of the media and local residents.

Dedicated pitching continued and the official release was distributed on May 3. As build up for the official launch continued and beyond, TSF incorporated stops on the Trail into itineraries for visiting journalists. Thousands of tent and rack cards were also on display throughout the city promoting it.

To continue momentum after the launch, TSF organized social media crawls with local influencers, placed 97 of its own social posts, hosted Margarita Trail founders on cable television, and also produced a series of mixology videos depicting Trail bartenders demonstrating their Trail creation.

The campaign was measured on number of media placements, sales of passports and share of voice on social media.

Results:

Measurable objectives include Trail passport sales, audience impressions, social media posts and engagement, and placements in key publications. There was a marketing budget of approximately $55,000 for various design and printed materials, especially the passports and prizes, but no additional expenses were spent for public relations efforts though we did utilize existing public relations scheduled activities such as press visits to highlight the Santa Fe Margarita Trail. Targets were 500 passports sold within six months and 45 placements resulting in at least 150,000,000 impressions.

Success of the launch has been measured in number of placements, audience impressions, social media engagement on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram—although blog, Pinterest and YouTube were used as well—and passport sales. All of the original goals were met and surpassed. A total of 35 journalists (and counting) have experienced the Trail as of May 2017.

The research and advance planning prior to the official launch of the Santa Fe Margarita Trail generated more than 50 pieces of significant and valuable media coverage with a total audience reach of 215,793,861 impressions and an estimated earned media value of $4,128,119 by May 2017. The coverage has appeared in local, regional, national and international outlets including key strategic publications in markets like: The Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, Chicago Tribune, Lonely Planet, Cigar Aficionado, Dallas Morning News, Denver Post and The Austin Chronicle. The Trail is typically a part of many visiting press and FAM itineraries providing a fun and interesting way to explore Santa Fe’s unique culinary treasures. Social media engagements exceed 5,900 interactions on the three key channels and Trail Passport sales to date total 4,825.

Most of all, the Trail is now a permanent and highly popular fixture in the Santa Fe culinary landscape—beloved by travelers, locals, and business partners.

Why This Is A Finalist: 

The launch of the Santa Fe Margarita Trail was a very well organized campaign that was grounded in research with a clear vision, smart strategy and specific objectives. The campaign brought together a wide range of partners and showed off the best of their city. They used creativity to develop a campaign that was themed and took people through many aspects of what the city is about. Keeping with the idea of the historic Santa Fe Trail, they built upon it with an updated and engaging journey for the city.

Quantifiable results were achieved including Trail passport sales, audience impressions, social media posts and engagement and media placements. It's also important to note that the target of 500 passports were sold within six months. As a result of their hard work, the trail is now a permanent and highly popular fixture in the Santa Fe culinary landscape and beloved by travelers, locals, and business partners.