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Seattle and Portland breed the type of travelers that are up for poking around the hidden nooks of Hood Canal. Adventuresome college students, military families, and millennials abound—once we nailed down this target audience, it was all about building a campaign just for them. Our creative is whimsical, awe-inspiring, flexible, and promises adventure no matter who is seeking it.
We built a simple, information-packed website centered on lodging (with a back-end that could be easily handed off to a local marketing team). Once the site—replete with monthly blog, video, and event updates—was complete, we reached out to top site referrers in an effort to bolster link building and foster SEO and referred visitors.
Our main consideration was mobile optimization. After 18 months, more than 70% of all traffic was originating on a phone or tablet and ExploreHoodCanal.com had driven more than 1,300 clicks per month to local lodging provider pages—a strong indication of visitors’ intent to plan a stay.
We created a colorful, interactive event booth including branded giveaways and marchandise to feature at local events. We even created a totally custom oyster mascot suit. We represented Mason County tourism at a number of summer events, reaching and educating an entirely new audience segment and driving hundreds of potential lodging bookings while collecting email addresses.
Snackable content wins. We created a collection of trip itineraries and local insiders guides to inspire trips and guide visitors off the beaten path. We also elevated stories from the region, educating visitors on the local businesses, flora, fauna, history, and geography. They emblazoned social media and our monthly email.
In tandem, we created the Wild Side Explorer Video Series. It boosted brand awareness, fortified partner connections, and gave our audience a true peek into the down and dirty of an adventure in Hood Canal.
Site traffic increased by over 10% from 2016 to 2017. The email list saw 417% YOY increase in subscriber growth with a 15% average click-through rate. We were able to earn a 10% increase year over year for the county lodging tax—a true reflection of increased tourism and health of the travel industry in Mason County.
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The design work is beautiful, the marketing strategies are creative, and their responsiveness is outstanding. Most importantly, Blue Collar is very sensitive to our budget limitations and manages to always deliver a high-quality product.
