UTAH OFFICE OF TOURISM | IN LOVE IN UTAH

This is a
love story

And, like all good love stories, it has a happy ending—the highest ROI ever recorded for the Utah Office of Tourism, record-breaking website visitation, and $3 billion in ad-exposed revenue.

$3 BILLION
In ad-exposed revenue

This love story begins as the pandemic was ending. The world was once again open for business, people were heading back to work, and life felt faster than it had in a long time. Just as we were adjusting to it all, ChatGPT hit the headlines, launching everything into hyperdrive. In reaction, people started craving meaningful connections and simpler times. It was in this moment that “In Love. In Utah.” was born.

It wouldn’t be until months later that the campaign would launch, and months after that when we would learn it had generated 2.1 million ad-exposed page views for our client and increased enriched bookings by 34%.

2.1 Million
In ad-exposed page views

Highest
ROI ever

34% INCREASE
In enriched bookings in year over year comparison

The idea for In Love In Utah comes from a mix of empathy, intuition, and audience research. The success of the campaign required skillfully combining the idea itself with a highly researched, sophisticated, and strategic media plan informed by research on travel planning timelines, audience psychographic and behavioral attributes, and expert targeting tactics all to ensure that the right creative asset was served to the right person at the right time.

The results were unprecedented, returning the Utah Office of Tourism’s strongest ROI on record according to SMARI—a whopping $595 for every one dollar invested.

$595
Returned for every $1 invested. The highest ROI ever recorded for the Utah Office of Tourism

47% AD AWARE
A 74% increase in year over year comparison

Utah makes you feel things—joy, pride, connection, energy, and a contentment that settles deep into your bones. Or, in a single word—love.

Since the initial launch of In Love In Utah, we have expanded our services with the Utah Office of Tourism, becoming their creative agency of record, along with media, research and analytics, as well as paid search, increasing effectiveness with a holistic, integrated and collaborative approach.

UTAH STATE FAIR | 2024 THEME

More of what
you love

The Utah State Fair is beloved by all, but for endless reasons. How could we appeal to everyone’s interests from monster trucks to baby animals, ferris wheels to art shows, and homemade marmalade to deep fried Twinkies?

350,000
Average annual attendance.

Our solution—create a campaign built from all the individual parts of the fair that add up to one of the most anticipated, celebrate, and fun events each summer in Salt Lake City.

11 DAYS
Of fun, food, and festivities.

The building block style of artwork allowed us to create unique assets for each audience’s interests. You love farm animals—we got that. You’re here for the rides—get in line. You love the food and drinks—we do too. Even within the larger images, diverse experiences are highlighted, showcasing all the endless fun.

11 UNIQUE ACTIVITIES
Shown, on average, per asset.

The fair begins this September and we hope to see the campaign make it a wildly successful event.

ZION NATL PARK FOREVER PROJECT | GROUNDBREAKING EVENT

Groundbreaking
solutions

It’s tricky to announce a new building in rural Utah when it may trigger fears of unwanted development and environmental disruption. That’s why when the Zion Forever Project asked us to help them unveil a revolutionary project near Zion National Park’s east side, we created a “Seed Planting” event rather than a traditional groundbreaking, reaching an estimated 21 million individuals through media relations efforts along the way.

~21 MILLION
Individuals reached.

The Zion Forever Project is a nonprofit organization officially charged with protecting, preserving, and supporting the beloved Zion National Park. After more than a decade of planning, they were finally ready to showcase the innovative East Zion Discovery Center, a place focused on both educational and conservation initiatives. However, they were nervous that the announcement might spark controversy if people misunderstood the purpose behind the development.

To ensure due credit and a unified narrative, we interviewed several key figures–including a generous land donor, National Park Service reps, building architects, developers, native tribes, and more. Through these interviews, we discovered several insights and gained an in-depth understanding of individual contributions that we integrated into key messaging for a press release, media pitching, and quote/fact sheets.

7 INTERVIEWS
Conducted with key figures.

Platinum
winner

To highlight the project’s conservation efforts, we held a “Seed Planting Event” in place of a traditional groundbreaking. This successfully shaped the project’s narrative and gained wide coverage, even being attended by Utah Governor Spencer J. Cox.

More than 30 headlines appeared in publications around the country with a combined reach of more than 21 million, all perfectly communicating the project’s vision, purpose, and objectives. None of the stories made any reference to “unwelcome development,” indicating that our conservation message had been successfully received and understood.

30 HEADLINES
Featured In statewide publications.

For our efforts, Love Communications was honored with a 2023 Platinum MarCom Award.

PLATINUM WINNER
2023 MarCom Awards

The success of our partnership with the Zion Forever Project continues. We’re excited about future opportunities to help them protect these environmentally, historically, and culturally important landscapes.

SKI UTAH | AUDIENCE RESEARCH

Ski Utah bounces
back

In 2020, faced with pandemic travel restrictions, Ski Utah hoped an omni-channel advertising campaign would instill confidence and inspire ski travelers to choose Utah.

$52 MILLION
In measured hotel revenue

With all the uncertainty that the pandemic brought, they needed a campaign that would be both incredibly efficient and as fool-proof as possible. That’s exactly what we delivered—generating $52M in measured hotel revenue.

$148
Returned for every $1 spent

With Utah’s ski industry hanging in the balance, we knew this wasn’t a situation that could be left to intuition, hunches, or best guesses. Instead, we proposed an extensive qualitative and quantitative research study, to prove and deepen our understanding of Ski Utah’s audiences, including their motivators, preferences, habits, and more. What we learned would lead to strategically segmented creative assets that we could narrowly target for an incredibly efficient campaign that would return $148 for every dollar spent.

12% INCREASE
In average daily bookings compared to benchmark

We sought a flexible media mix with partners who were invested in Ski Utah’s success. Our deep relationships with digital partners in the programmatic, native, and pre-roll spaces were critical to achieving a 12% average daily booking increase compared to benchmark.

$10.9 MILLION
In revenue generated in just the first two months

We collaborated closely with Ski Utah and our media partners to develop a vast portfolio of creative assets that could be switched out, in real-time, as performance metrics dictated—each built on proven audience research. Working together, we drove a 20% increase in ad-exposed page views.

20% INCREASE
In ad-exposed page views

Our advertising channels were informed by a constant feed of consumer-confidence data which we reviewed and optimized weekly. When we paired this with search intent analysis and our audience research, we were able to provide regular data-driven updates to key ski industry leaders about consumer confidence and behaviors nationwide. We knew early on that our new audience targeting approach and media mix was a success. It generated over $10.9 million in revenue in just the first two months across more than 27,000 hotel bookings.

By blending audience-focused creative with audience behavior targeting tactics, the Ski Utah campaign demonstrated remarkable effectiveness.

VIRGINIA TOURISM CORPORATION | LOVE IS FOR VIRGINIA

Virginia is for lovers, but which ones?

In an industry more saturated and competitive than ever, we sought to help Virginia Tourism connect with their ideal audience. In just four months, the proof is in the proverbial pudding with a 1.75× increase in return on investment.

1.75× INCREASE
In return on investment.

We set out to achieve three main objectives:

• Identify micro-audience segments within Virginia’s enriched traveler population, focusing on their travel motivations, spending habits, demographics, sentiments, and behaviors so that we could speak to them on a deeply personal level
• Determine the main co-occurrences between these micro-audience segments’ hobbies and their activities on vacation to identify possible combinations for regional itineraries within Virginia and creative development for promoting the destination
• Discover any latent psychographic or demographic factors that could explain the findings from Virginia’s previous research objectives

Our quantitative approach to data collection provided a flexible and comprehensive dataset for analysis.

AI assisted data
For greater efficiency and deeper insights.

• Audience research, K-Means clustering, and segmentation algorithms, aided by AI, unearthed micro-audiences and optimal target segments.
• A market basket analysis gave insight into the hobbies and vacation activities of interest for these individuals.
• A media campaign that capitalized on these audience segments.

Our work uncovered new “micro” segments for Virginia that allowed for more nuanced messaging while our market basket analysis delivered a wealth of knowledge about how various areas of the state stack up against competitor, and even in-state, bookings.

5 Distinct Audiences
For deeply personalized messaging.

• 5 distinct audience profiles backed by research
• Regional product offering mapped to audience needs
• Refined creative and media strategies

Just four months into the campaign, we are delivering returns on investment to Virginia Tourism that are 1.75× stronger than that of their previous agency.

SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT | REBRAND

Say hello to
The New SLC

100 YEAR EVOLUTION
From 1920-2020.

It’s not every day that a new airport needs an introduction. Salt Lake International’s Day came on their 100th anniversary and right in the middle of a worldwide pandemic. How could the airport showcase their new facilities at a time when much of the world was shut down, many flights had been grounded, and people were cautious of stepping outside their homes, let alone onto a plane.

Educating the public about The New Salt Lake City International Airport became a central theme of nearly every communication effort to increase understanding and build confidence in safe travel. Love worked with airport management to develop videos, kiosks, trade show materials, and traveler brochures to enhance awareness efforts.

Throughout it all, we were challenged to think creatively and strategically to strike the right tone, deliver the clearest information possible, and quickly adapt events and marketing efforts.

#1 GOAL
Public education.

Before we could update the website and create a new mobile app, we had to assess traveler research to gauge their awareness, emotions, and needs.

We knew that the project would also include a new branding initiative, a grand opening that would have to be virtual, and a campaign to build excitement.

We just weren’t sure how to pull it all off with the restraints the pandemic placed on us.

14 UNIQUE TACTICS
Were initiated as part of the campaign.

6,000 VIEWERS
Participated in our virtual grand opening.

To help organize our efforts, we divided 4 unique campaign tactics into strategic categories—Experience, Emotion, Education, Engagement. There was overlap, of course, but these four categories served to ground and align us as we tackled the project.

Experience—most would need to be virtual. We held a virtual grand opening which garnered more than 6,000 viewers – giving so many the opportunity to be a part this grand unveiling from anywhere in the world.

Emotion—nostalgia and a longing for connection. We helped craft a 100-year anniversary book celebrating the airport’s history and the shared experiences found within it. We also created a collectible coin to commemorate the event.

Education—people fear what they don’t understand, so with pandemic anxiety already at record levels, education was paramount. We produced a “Fly Healthy Promise” video, created brochures, booth displays, and more to empower our audience with information.

Engagement—getting people involved early and often. Our mobile app design and development engaged travelers looking for assurances, news, and a seamless experience. Similarly, the site design was updated for easy interactions, enhancing every traveler’s sense of safety and security. Finally, internal signage was thoughtfully crafted to help people navigate the new airport easily, follow travel safety rules, and enjoy a positive travel experience.

Finally, we brought each of our four areas of focus together into an omni-channel advertising campaign including tv commercials, transit signage, radio, pre-roll, display ads, and more.

The success of such a large and prominent endeavor has resulted in an ongoing relationship with the airport. We continue to support them to this day, across all facets of their marketing needs.

TRAVEL SOUTH DAKOTA | 2024 CO-OP PEAK CAMPAIGNS

One state, 19 co-op
partners

As the state’s slogan goes, “There’s so much South Dakota, so little time.” Love is Travel South Dakota’s media, creative, and paid search agency of record for their 19 co-op partners, and we couldn’t agree more. We’re proud to say that together, we’ve achieved a 35.40% increase in enriched bookings year over year (YOY) for our co-op partners.

35.40% INCREASE
In enriched bookings YoY.

With many moving pieces, distinct offerings, and unique goals we needed strong working relationships not only with the state but also with each of the destinations participating in the co-op program. Deadwood’s rugged history required a different approach than Watertown’s relaxed vibe. Mitchell was charming and friendly whereas Sturgis was energetic and cool. We needed to create cohesion so that each asset strengthened Travel South Dakota’s brand, and helped meet its strategic goals.

Our ability to bring the interest of the state and their smaller destinations together has been critical to the campaign’s enormous success.

100s OF ASSETS
40+ videos, 304 banners, 95 social ads

First, we envisioned helping the co-op partners achieve the same level of results, in both performance and sophistication, as the statewide campaign. We wanted every asset to have a similar production quality and creative expertise despite smaller budgets and fewer resources.

It was a huge undertaking—40+ videos, 304 banner ads, 95 social ads, and endless pots of coffee. But, it was well worth it to deliver more than 103.5MM impressions and blow industry standards for post-impression and click-through rates out of the water. 



As the campaign played out, we tracked ad-exposed audiences who then visited Travelsouthdakota.com. In YOY comparisons, we saw an increase of 19.13% in ad-exposed traffic. At the same time, we were tracking ad-exposed visitation to each co-op website where we achieved a YOY increase of 55.13% on average.

103.5 MILLION
Impressions.

55.13% INCREASE
In ad-exposed site visits.

47.38% INCREASED
Booking efficiency YoY.

Along with site traffic, we continue to monitor each destination’s metrics, watching specific audience behaviors, tourism trends, asset performance, and more. These learnings drive us to continuously optimize performance.

This ongoing management, mixed with our expertise in the tourism industry, has led to increasing efficiency and gains across all key performance indicators. For example, we’ve achieved a 47.38% increase in our booking efficiency over time.

$3.7 MILLION
In enriched revenue.

Together, we’ve driven more than $3.7 Million in enriched revenue to the state of South Dakota significantly benefiting each co-op partner. We’re especially proud of the economic impact we have helped generate in areas where communities need it most.