Mansfield-Richland County Convention & Vistors Bureau Inc

DESTINATION MANSFIELD-RICHLAND COUNTY LEADS THE MARKETING OF RICHLAND COUNTY THROUGH INNOVATIVE COLLABORATION AND COHESIVE MESSAGING, POSITIONING THE REGION AS A DESIRABLE CHOICE FOR RECREATION, EVENTS AND ENTERTAINMENT RESULTING IN INCREASED BUSINESS ACTIVITY AND IMPROVED QUALITY OF LIFE.

HAVING EMERGED FROM THE RUBBLE OF 2020 AND THE COVID IMPACT ON OUR INDUSTRY, IN 2021, A NEW BLUEPRINT FOR SUCCESS WAS DEVELOPED. WE CAPITALIZED ON A COMMUNITY THAT WAS STRENGTHENED BY WORKING TOGETHER TO SUPPORT ONE ANOTHER DURING TOUGH TIMES. THAT BLUEPRINT WAS STRATEGICALLY DESIGNED TO ENSURE OUR INDUSTRY HAS A STRONGER FOUNDATION THAN EVER AND IS WELL POSITIONED FOR GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT IN THE FUTURE. AS ARCHITECTS FOR GROWTH, IN 2021, WE RETURNED TO CONSTRUCTING SOLID MARKETING PROGRAMS. BUILDING ON THE RESULTS, WE WORKED TO ENGINEER A FUTURE WHERE THAT FOUNDATION WILL SUPPORT ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT WITHIN OUR COMMUNITY. OUR EFFORTS ALONG WITH STRONG LOCAL PARTNERSHIPS,ALLOWED US TO MOVE INTO THE DEVELOPMENT PHASE AHEAD OF SCHEDULE, BECOMING STRONGER AND EXERTING MORE INFLUENCE AS THE YEAR WENT ON. WE RESTORED OUR 100,000 INVESTMENT TARGET FOR MANSFIELD RISING PROJECTS. FOLLOWING A STRATEGY THAT ALLOWED FOR GROWTH, WE WORKED TO HELP OUR PARTNERS BUILD THEIR MARKETING CAPACITY. LIKE SO MANY OTHERS IN INDUSTRIES ACROSS THE NATION, THE TRAVEL ECONOMY IS MADE UP OF SMALL BUSINESSES. THUS, ITS CRUCIAL TO ARM THEM WITH THE TOOLS TO BUILD THEIR BUSINESSES. THE SUCCESS OF TOURISM AFFECTS NOT JUST FRONTLINE WORKERS, BUT IT IMPACTS EVERY INDUSTRY THAT SUPPORTS THEM: ACCOUNTANTS,INSURANCE AGENTS, GRAPHIC DESIGNERS AND SO MANY MORE. OUR BRAND STORY IS BORN OUT THE REGIONS RICH HISTORY OF PIONEERS, FARMERS, MANUFACTURERS,INVENTORS AND INNOVATORS. IT HIGHLIGHTS A COMMUNITY THAT, WHILE DEEPLY ROOTED IN THE SUCCESSES OF ITS PAST, IS FORGING A BRIGHT AND EXCITING FUTURE FORGED BY IMAGINATION AND PROSPERITY AND LED BY DREAMERS. WE, ALONG WITH THE RICHLAND AREA CHAMBER & ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT LED THE CHARGE IN DEVELOPING THIS NEW COMMUNITY BRANDING PROJECT. WHEN WE ALL WORK TOGETHER TO TELL OUR BRAND STORY, WE HELP LOCAL BUSINESSES AND ORGANIZATIONS CREATE WEALTH THAT BENEFITS EVERY SINGLE RESIDENT OF RICHLAND COUNTY.INCREASED JOB GROWTH AND BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT FINANCE PUBLIC SERVICES THROUGH THE TAX REVENUE THEY GENERATE. THUS, AS AN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ORGANIZATION, OUR WORK BENEFITS OUR FAMILIES, OUR FRIENDS, OUR NEIGHBORS AND OUR ENTIRE COMMUNITY. BY INCREASING OUR INTELLIGENCE AND USING THAT TO SUPPORT LOCAL PARTNER BUSINESSES WITH OUR GREATEST STRENGTHS:MARKETING, CONNECTING AND TRAINING: WE UNDERWROTE THE DESIGNING OF RICHLAND SOIL AND WATERS LOCAL FOOD PRODUCERS RACK CARD,PROMOTING LOCALLY SOURCED FOOD. IT NOW HELPS CONSUMERS, RESTAURANTS AND OTHERS IN OUR COMMUNITY INCREASE THEIR USE OF FOOD GROWN RIGHT HERE. OUR CITYS URBAN FARMS ARE NOW IN THE SUPPLY CHAIN FOR RESTAURANTS THAT SERVE VISITORS AND GUESTS FROM OUR AREA. IN TURN, THAT STRENGTHENS LOCAL FARMERS, AND IN PARTICULAR, OUR URBAN GROWERS. THE RESULT IS TOURISM THAT WORKS FOR ALL OF US,SHOWING UP IN THE FORM OF JOBS AND INCREASED WAGES, STATE AND LOCAL TAX REVENUE AND OVERALL ECONOMIC GROWTH. WE ADDED ENHANCED PUBLIC RELATIONS PROGRAMS DESIGNED TO GENERATE PUBLICITY THAT HIGHLIGHTS OUR PARTNERS, THEREBY DRIVING BUSINESS TO THEM. WHILE IMPACTED BY A LATE SUMMER COVID SURGE, WE HOSTED A MEDIA TOUR THAT RESULTED IN 13 TRAVEL STORIES AND MORE THAN 6 MILLION IMPRESSIONS. INVESTMENT IN A NEW LODGING PERFORMANCE TRACKING SYSTEM HELPS US IDENTIFY LODGING TRENDS. WE USED INTELLIGENCE TOOLS AND CONSUMER RESEARCH TO IDENTIFY WHAT RESONATES WITH VISITORS. WE USED SMART ADS TO RECONSTRUCT OUR EXPERIENCE MARKETING. COMING OUT OF 2020, CONSUMERS WERE STARVED FOR MEANINGFUL BUT SAFE EXPERIENCES. THEY MADE IT CLEAR WHAT THEY WANTED. THEY WERE SEEKING OPPORTUNITIES TO RECHARGE, REFRESH, REJUVENATE AND ENJOY THE OUTDOORS. WE WERE WELL POSITIONED TO SERVE THAT PENT-UP DEMAND, GIVEN THAT OUR TOURISM PRODUCT WAS ALIGNED WITH WHAT TRAVELERS CRAVED. WE SHARPENED MARKETING MESSAGES,INVITING THEM TO EXPERIENCE OUR OUTDOOR AND REJUVENATING EXPERIENCES. CONTINUING TO SHIFT GEARS TOWARDS NEW AND REFINED MARKETING, WE MOVED OUR PAID ADVERTISING TO 90% DIGITAL VS. TRADITIONAL PRINT ADVERTISING. DIGITAL ADVERTISING ALLOWED US TO HONE IN ON THE MOST LIKELY TARGETS BY USING THE LATEST TECH TOOLS IN EMAIL AND SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING CAMPAIGNS. THOSE TOOLS (FROM OUR WEBSITE TRAFFIC) MADE IT POSSIBLE TO IDENTIFY THE TOP-RANKING CITIES AMONG OUR TARGETS. 247,888 USERS VISITED DESTINATION MANSFIELD.COM AND SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION.COM COMBINED IN 2021, AVERAGING 20,657 USERS PER MONTH ACCESSING 666,906 PAGES EACH MONTH 69% USERS VISITED VIA MOBILE; 31% VIA DESKTOP 22 BLOG POSTS GENERATED 22,290 PAGEVIEWS. WHILE POSTS SHOWCASING OUR COMMUNITIES (DOWNTOWN, SHILOH, SHELBY AND BELLVILLE) HAD STRONG REACH, OUR TOP 5 POSTS INCLUDED: 1. THINGS WERE FAMOUS FOR (THE MANSFIELD EFFECT) 2. MUST-HIKE TRAILS IN RICHLAND COUNTY 3. THE NEW DOWNTOWN MANSFIELD 4. ICONIC INSTA-WORTHY SPOTS 5. RESTAURANT TAKEOUT 16,252 PAGEVIEWS OF WINE & ALE CONTENT, INCLUDING 8,000 HITS ON OUR WINE & ALE TRAIL, SPECIFICALLY. A SOCIAL MEDIA CAMPAIGN THROUGH TOURISMOHIO, PUSHED OUR MESSAGE ACROSS THE STATE, SHOWING A SIGNIFICANT SPIKE IN INTEREST. 1,645 EVENTS ADDED TO THE CALENDAR OUR 3 FACEBOOK PAGES: DESTINATION MANSFIELD, SHAWSHANK TRAIL, HAUNTED MANSFIELD ARE NOW AT 40,000 LIKES/FOLLOWS,REACHING 410,000 PEOPLE 89% INCREASE IN FACEBOOK REACH WITH 30% MORE FOLLOWERS OVER 2020 TOP 3 POSTS (SUNFLOWER FIELDS ALONG THE B&O TRAIL, KINGWOOD CENTER GARDENS PUMPKIN GLOW AND KLEERVIEW FARM HOLIDAY EXPERIENCE) REACHED 100,000+ POTENTIAL VISITORS. INTERESTINGLY, ALL WERE OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES. INSTAGRAM PLATFORM SAW A 411% INCREASE WITH THE 1 POST FEATURING KINGWOOD CENTER GARDENS 39,077 SUBSCRIBERS RECEIVED OUR VISITOR E-BLAST, UP 2.4%.