Visit Clarksville’s Fall 2021 Marketing Campaign receives Award

Clarksville, TN – Visit Clarksville was recognized for its 2021 Fall Travel marketing campaign at the Southeast Tourism Society’s annual Connections conference in Concord, North Carolina on September 8th, 2022.

The Visit Clarksville marketing team and its director, Michelle Dickerson, were honored with the Best Marketing Shining Example Award in their budget category (II).

“At Visit Clarksville, our mission is to promote Clarksville for the purpose of attracting overnight visitors,” said Theresa Harrington, Executive Director of Visit Clarksville. “Marketing to audiences outside of the community is our primary purpose. We’ve been working especially hard, and strategically, for the past five years. Our efforts are making a difference to the local economy, and we’re being recognized for it.”
 
Visit Clarksville’s fall marketing campaign ran from August through November 2021. The campaign’s goal was to increase brand awareness among the best potential tourists in six specific cities, ultimately increasing Clarksville’s visitor in-market spending. The campaign used digital, video, social, sponsored news stories, and print ads to feature outdoor recreation, family experience, and historic attractions.
 
The campaign earned 26.8 million paid media impressions and over 21,000 clicks to the Visit Clarksville website.

Other key results included:

• Website visits increased 42% in target markets, with one market increasing more than 4,600%.
• Requests for printed Visitor Guides increased 98%, while digital downloads of the guide increased 154%.
• Visitor Spending from one of the target markets increased during the campaign period by 21%.

“The Southeast Tourism Society’s Shining Innovation Award is a well-deserved recognition to our marketing team and testament to the wonderful staff of Visit Clarksville and their pride and effort they put into their job,” said Kyle Luther, Chairman of the Visit Clarksville Board of Directors and Market President at First Traditions Bank.

The recognition was one of sixteen Shining Example Awards presented during the conference, including marketing awards in both smaller and larger budget categories, Tourism Office of the Year, Best Niche Market Award, Event or Festival of the Year, Rising Star Award, Partnership Award, Travel Attraction of the Year and five individual service awards.

About Visit Clarksville

The Clarksville-Montgomery County Tourism Commission was established by the State of Tennessee in 1979 to positively influences tourism in the Clarksville-Montgomery County area by promoting tourist attractions, hosting conventions and group tours, and engaging in large-scale marketing efforts.

In 2015, the organization adopted the Visit Clarksville brand. Visit Clarksville is governed by a nine-member board of directors and is funded by a portion of the local hotel-motel tax.

About Southeast Tourism Society (STS)

The Southeast Tourism Society is a not-for-profit membership association dedicated to the development of travel and tourism professionals and organizations within the southeast region.

STS’ mission is to empower a diverse network of tourism professionals through Education, Advocacy, Recognition, and Networking. Member states include Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia.