VIDEO LINK: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=myn_0EXi_NY
As travel restrictions lifted, attractions reopened and American adventurers slowly, but surely got back on the open road in mid-2021, the Warren County Convention & Visitors Bureau (WCCVB) made a strategic decision to reimagine almost all of its marketing creative in hopes of hitting the ground running with a fresh and multi-faceted advertising campaign in what promised to be an exciting and travel-filled 2022 ahead. One of the many new creative elements the WCCVB chose to produce was a brand new 30-second animated video spot. With that video the WCCVB had five primary goals in mind:
1) To capture the fun-loving, high-energy feel of the “Ohio’s Largest Playground” brand
2) To mirror the action-packed, animated aesthetic of the WCCVB’s brand new 2022 Visitors Guide and print/digital creative assets
3) To clearly convey the enormous array of attractions, events and activities travelers of all types can enjoy in Ohio’s Largest Playground
4) To emphasize the fact that Warren County is an extremely convenient and easily drivable destination
5) To ultimately drive prospective visitors to OhiosLargestPlayground.com to learn more about tourism opportunities in Warren County
Having earlier commissioned a sketch artist and graphic designer to produce custom illustrations of popular Warren County attractions for its new 2022 Visitors Guide cover, the WCCVB then worked with an animation team to essentially bring those illustrations to life via video.
After weeks of storyboarding and numerous brainstorming sessions, the WCCVB ultimately chose to base the premise of its video on an Ohio’s Largest Playground road trip, emphasizing not only the huge array of tourism opportunities available to Warren County visitors, but the fact that Warren County – for most – is just a short drive away.
That message of convenience and easy drivability was especially important at a time when gas prices were reaching record heights nationwide and significantly impacting the travel industry.
The video, which upon completion was rolled out via online pre-roll, social media and YouTube advertising campaigns, proved extremely effective.
In fact, just one week after the video made its debut the WCCVB measured an 18% increase in traffic to its web site, significant spikes in social media engagement, an uptick in Visitors Guide requests and increased subscriptions to its monthly e-newsletter.