National State Tourism Directors Mercury Awards > International Marketing

Road Rally

About This Entry:

We wanted to design a comprehensive road trip to familiarize tour operators and media representatives from diverse international destinations with the seven distinct regions of Oregon to inspire new media stories and trade products. Our target audience were tour operators and media professionals from China, Oceana, Scandinavia, Europe and Canada. Our organization, Travel Oregon, and its partners invested $70,000 in the Road Rally.

The Oregon Road Rally was a seven-day, six-night, multi-nation familiarization road trip through the seven regions of Oregon for tour operators and media representatives from China, Oceania, Scandinavia, Europe and Canada. We hoped to inspire them to add Oregon to their list of bookable destinations and story ideas. We crafted a rich itinerary exhibiting Oregon as an excellent destination that would entice visitors from each of the 11 countries represented and would be appropriate for media individuals and tour operators. A total of 38 participants traveled in nine vehicles to Oregon’s distinct regions on a robust itinerary outlined by regional and local partners to ensure the best guest experience. Clients had one mandatory stop each day, but were otherwise free to determine the rest of the journey — ensuring completely unique experiences for each car. Itineraries suggested places to eat, grab coffee and view landmarks. Travelers received a companion social media guide with key handles and hash tags to use. At the end of each day, the clients would gather to drink, dine and sift through hundreds of social media posts. Each day, we surprised and delighted our visitors with special activities, gifts, behind-the-scenes treatment, and private tours to illustrate the best the state has to offer. We worked with Oregon tourism partners to roll out the welcome mat for our visitors at every stop. To keep Road Rally clients engaged we ran an ongoing social media contest. Clients could tag and share their photos and enter for a chance to win prizes and have their posts featured on the official Road Rally Instagram page.

Campaign Strategy:

The solution idea was to inspire international media to craft new stories about Oregon and to encourage the creation of new product from trade clients.

Using input from local and regional partners, we created a seven-day itinerary encompassing the best Oregon has to offer. Itineraries gave travelers the freedom to tailor each day to suit their desires. We encouraged robust social media activity throughout the campaign with a companion social media guide and ongoing contests.

We partnered with Delta Air Lines and United Airlines for air services from Europe, China and New Zealand and with Alamo Rental Car for premium auto rental service. By showcasing the diverse landscapes of Oregon and a multitude of activities, the Road Rally strategically created an itinerary to compel new media stories and new trade products. Before their arrival, each client received a pre-trip gift pack consisting of our favorite road trip snacks to offer a sneak peek at the hospitality that awaited them. On the road our guests enjoyed a multitude of activities, including dune buggy rides on the Oregon Coast, brewery tours, wine tasting, waterfall hikes and biking through Mt. Hood Territory, among other things. Travel Oregon worked with more than 120 local and regional hotels, restaurants, state and National Parks, destination marketing organizations and attractions to craft an itinerary that would allow clients to see key pieces of the state while working in additional stops to meet their individual needs.

Premium automobile service was essential to the success of the Road Rally program. Travel Oregon advertised the campaign by placing a branding magnet on each of the nine cars. Because our guests spent so much time on the road, each car came equipped with Wi-Fi, essential for posting to social media on the go, along with road trip supplies and snacks for the adventure.

Results:

More than 16 articles from six international publications were generated from the Oregon Road Rally with an estimated value of $756,470. These stories reached travelers in Australia, China, the United Kingdom (UK), France, New Zealand and Germany. One year after the completion of the Road Rally, a number of new itinerary products have been developed, promoted and sold in Germany, The Netherlands, Scandinavia, New Zealand and the UK.

Titan Travel in the UK added two nights to their existing Oregon itinerary offering based on their experience at the Oregon Road Rally. The new itinerary is selling at 175 percent of the previous version for 2019. As Titan Travel’s Product Manager and Road Rally attendee explained, “This re-engineer would not have happened without the Road Rally experience!”. Argus Reisen out of Germany added a 22-day fly-drive itinerary with Oregon ranch stays and a four-day tour of Portland to their product offerings. Tour operator Canusa from Germany added a 13-day fly-drive itinerary based on the route from Oregon Road Rally as well as a 10-day “Best of Oregon” fly-drive trip. Canusa also added an Oregon culinary page to their website and is now offering three additional Oregon hotels on their list of bookable products. A New Zealand agent from House of Travel promoted Oregon during a client presentation and sold four custom Oregon itineraries within six months of the Road Rally. Dutch operators Beleef Amerika, Tioga Tours and De Jong Intra added a combined total of four new itineraries and included new hotel and attraction products to current Oregon offerings. Scandinavian operator Unike Reiser is now selling five trips to Oregon while MyPlanet added a brand new 14-day itinerary that extends into all seven regions of Oregon based on the Road Rally experience. In addition, new hotel and attraction products have been offered in the UK, Germany and the Netherlands and have been promoted through client newsletters and presentations.

Why This Is A Finalist: 

The Oregon product introduction vision/strategy was genuinely well planned, targeted and executed. They had a reasonably low budget and lots of very specific creativity yielded great results. Travel Oregon had great participation from vertical and horizontal partners, and those partners seemed right on target for maximum discovery of media and operators. Arranging for a seven-day itinerary peer-to-peer engagement was very innovative. The judges thought this was a great example of taking a media mission to the next level. The social media guide was very engaging. The media and tour operator decision makers require a continuous stream of teasing to insure your brand is competitive. This hands-on program could be a "how-to" model for showcasing a huge region like a state. Metric results point to positive outcomes in terms of expansive itineraries, plus the earned media impressions.