Visit North Carolina, LGA Win Gold Adrian Award

The “Firsts That Last” integrated campaign we created for long-time client Visit North Carolina picked up one of the travel industry’s top awards this week. The Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association International (HSMAI) bestowed a gold award for advertising excellence at the 62nd annual Adrian Awards, the largest and most prestigious global travel marketing competition.   

“Firsts That Last” features real-life travelers making their first visit to North Carolina and the rich, captivating first-time experiences they have on their trips. Elements include short films documenting each of the initial three first-time trips, compilation TV spots, print ads, online video, digital executions and more. It’s also accompanied by a dedicated section on VisitNC.com highlighting how visitors can experience similar trips of their own. 

Travelers responded, with site traffic in target media markets up 85 percent during the initial spring 2018 run, including up to 400 percent growth in newer target markets. While awards are nice, results for our clients are most important, and we couldn’t be more pleased with how this campaign has impacted — and will continue to impact — the tourism industry throughout North Carolina.