MYRTLE BEACH, S.C.—The Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce (MBACC) and Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB) has received a Destiny Award by the U.S. Travel Association in the category of Integrated Marketing and Messaging Campaign with an Overall Marketing Budget of More Than $5 Million. The award recognizes the “Visit Myrtle Beach Shares Some Sunshine” campaign.

Finalists were announced at US Travel’s annual ESTO conference (Educational Seminar for Tourism Organizations), held Aug. 15-17 in Los Angeles. Awards for 33 categories were presented for excellence in destination marketing and inspiring visitation, a critical component to the continued recovery of the travel industry. The Destiny Awards recognize excellence in destination marketing on the local regional level. 

Visit Myrtle Beach launched the Share Some Sunshine campaign in mid-March 2020 as part of MBACC and CVB’s Ready, Set, Go Tourism Recovery Marketing Strategy, an approach designed to maintain interest in the destination and invite visitors back responsibly when they were ready. This included “Sharing Some Sunshine from The Beach” messaging launched when many weren’t traveling and dreaming of brighter days.

The campaign messaging, markets and elements were designed to be flexible in order to quickly respond to shifting market conditions. Judges noted that Visit Myrtle Beach’s strategy was straight to the point; the messages were convincing, clear and concise; and the budget and selected media was well planned.

“It’s a great honor to receive a Destiny Award as it signifies the hard work and dedication of the entire Visit Myrtle Beach team,” said Diane Charno, vice president of brand and communications for Visit Myrtle Beach, the destination marketing arm of the MBACC and CVB.

MBACC and CVB President and CEO Karen Riordan added, “We’re very proud of the campaign and the results garnered as we believe it set the destination up for a strong rebound in a very challenging year and helped reduce the impact the pandemic had on our businesses and community overall.”

Runner ups for this award included Visit Orlando and Visit St. Pete/Clearwater. Visit Myrtle Beach agency partners included MMGY for the Ready, Set, Go strategy; Visibility + Conversions for digital and social media services; Corinthian for broadcast media; Fahlgren Mortine for public relations; and Luckie and Co. for data and analytics.

A list of all award winners along with a gallery of the “Visit Myrtle Beach Shares Some Sunshine” campaign elements can be found online at esto.ustravel.org/awards.

About Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce and Convention and Visitors Bureau:

Since 1938, the Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce (MBACC) has stood as the unified voice of the Grand Strand's business community — serving Myrtle Beach, North Myrtle Beach, Little River, Loris, Atlantic Beach, Carolina Forest, Conway, Aynor, Socastee, Surfside Beach, Garden City Beach, Murrells Inlet, Litchfield Beach and Pawleys Island. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has awarded MBACC its five-star accreditation — one of only a few chambers in South Carolina to earn this distinction. The Myrtle Beach Area Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB) and its destination marketing arm Visit Myrtle Beach promote tourism through various partnerships and initiatives to advance the economic success of the Grand Strand. For more information, visit MyrtleBeachAreaChamber.com, MyrtleBeachAreaCVB.com and VisitMyrtleBeach.com.