McDaniels Marketing Receives Two Illinois Excellence in Tourism Awards

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McDaniels Marketing recently received two Excellence in Tourism awards for work developed on behalf of the Galena/Jo Daviess Convention & Visitors Bureau. The agency won awards for “Best Leisure Collateral” and “Best Marketing Campaign” as part of the 2015 Illinois Governors Conference on Tourism in Chicago.

Each year, Illinois tourism businesses and related organizations are invited to submit entries for the Excellence in Tourism Awards, which honor innovative tourism marketing initiatives that promote destinations, attractions and events throughout the State of Illinois.

“We’re proud of the creative campaigns we developed to promote Galena and Jo Daviess County,” Randall McDaniels, president and CEO, said. “More than that, we’re proud of the results that were achieved for this destination.”

Both the awards were achieved in the Budget A category (total annual operating and marketing budgets over $700,000) and focused on motivating visitors to connect with activities in Galena/Jo Daviess and to boost inquiries and visitors to the CVB’s website.

Best Marketing Campaign – “Where”
Created to position Galena/Jo Daviess County as a destination where visitors can do everything they dream about and more, marketing pieces included impactful, high-quality photography to help paint a picture for potential visitors.

“The ‘Where’ campaign was intended to help potential visitors to visualize themselves doing the same activities as in the advertising,” McDaniels explained. “We were excited to exceed our expectations for the campaign.”

Marketing Campaign Impact/Results
  • Measurements for the “Where” campaign showed:
  • A 25 percent increase in unique visitors to the website
  • A 23 percent increase in requests for Activity Guides
  • More than 10 million online impressions
  • 104,182 clicks for online ads
  • 3,037 contest registrations
  • Hotel/motel tax receipts (through October 2014) were up 4.95 percent!

Best Leisure Collateral – Knot Magazine
This piece was created to position Galena/Jo Daviess County as a premier location for a destination wedding. A magazine insert was developed for The Knot, which reaches 8 in 10 brides across the country. Utilizing a fairy tale approach, the insert pictured what brides and grooms can experience by choosing Galena for their wedding day. Professional photos from a Galena photographer further helped couples visualize the backdrop that Galena and Jo Daviess County can provide, highlighting the area as an ideal location for both lavish and intimate celebrations.

Impact/Results of the Knot Insert

  • Wedding licenses in the county increased 7.4 percent – the highest total in five years!
  • Plus, there were 11,481 unique page views to galena.org/weddings

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