““I would like to place on record my sincere appreciation of the way Gibson Media has conducted business with us for the past six years. It is very rare to find such high standards of professionalism, sincerity, and trust-worthiness in the world today.”
Michael Davidson - Former President, Tourism Walla Walla
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Changing a destination's perception.
When Gibson Media first started working with Tourism Walla Walla, the research we conducted revealed that people in both Seattle and Portland had no idea what the region had to offer or how far away it was. They associated it with “the prison” and “onions” and felt it was “way too far to drive.” In reality, the area had more than 100 wineries, cozy B&Bs, and was within a 3-4 hour drive.
Positioning
Our “Walla Walla: Surprise, surprise” tagline came as a result our market research. In the following six years, Gibson Media executed a variety of traditional and digital strategies to drive tourism and change the perception of the region to a picturesque getaway.
Client Highlights
Changed brand perception from "prison & onions" to a wine destination over the course of 6 years
Put Walla Walla on the map for weekend getaways through multi-platform promotions
Implemented a pulsed approach to ensure efficiency
Introduced digital strategies (SEM/Retargeting/Display) amidst traditional tactics to drive visitation and boost hotel reservations
Bigger than life.
Prioritizing markets
Extensive analysis of regional media data, state travel data, and the local black box reports, guided our media market selections and weighting of customer targets. By cross examining this data with cities that had the least travel barriers we chose to target Seattle, Portland, Spokane, Yakima/Tri-Cities and Boise as our top markets.
Pulsed Approach
Focus group findings led us to recommend a pulsed approach to marketing during two distinct periods of the year — spring and fall. Snowy mountain passes proved to be a major deterrent for travelers during the winter months and local Walla Walla events had enough power to drive summer visitation. We also ran a series of shorter campaigns focused on various Walla Walla events throughout the year.
Focus groups/research in target markets, positioning line, messaging pillars/extensive copywriting, dozens of media campaigns including print ads, direct mail, radio and TV spots.
Digital Transformation.
Our proven strategy led to clear results. Website traffic saw 110% increase in just a few years.
Over the course of our six-year relationship with Tourism Walla Walla, we transformed the brand from one where most people in the Pacific Northwest didn’t even know where the town was located to a high-level wine destination recognized throughout the region (and beyond) for its 100+ wineries; small-town, laid-back vibe; and friendly atmosphere. Put simply, fifteen years ago, people equated the town with onions and prison. Today it is known for its merlot and B+Bs.
All these branding initiatives were accomplished via a series of comprehensive annual media buys which leveraged the maximum amount of exposure for our client; they received a good deal of “bang” for a comparatively little “buck” — regardless of the medium. From radio and print. To Facebook and web.
