The Myrtle Beach Area Chamber and Convention & Visitors Bureau is encouraging people to Find Themselves at the Beach during our 2021 Summer Marketing Campaign. The focus of the campaign is a full-funnel approach which includes three phases: Inspire, Engage and Convert. Each phase has its own unique purpose, messaging, and individual media content. The three key objectives incorporated into each phase were tourism recovery, launch the new brand, and lead with the data. The mix of media that was included in the campaign is as follows:
Cross Channel Programmatic
Paid Search
Paid Social
Linear & Digital TV
Integrated Packages
Travel Endemic/OTA’s
OOH (Out of Home)
The campaign was also supported with additional marketing efforts that include public relations, email, and promotions via owned media channels.
2021 Summer Audiences
The summer audiences are Focused Families and Beach Bound or Bust. There was also an emphasis put on families with specific needs and vaccinated vacationers.
2021 Summer Markets
Following are primary markets for summer 2021 and complement additional national and regional media efforts. While most of the markets remained the same as the Spring, Indianapolis, Lexington, and Louisville were added to local network TV markets in order to raise awareness for all the summer flight markets. Also, a shift was made from local network TV investments to Out of Home investments in Charlotte, Greensboro, Greenville, New Bern, Spartanburg, and Raleigh.
Markets, audiences, media channels, and timing varied for each campaign and were chosen based on insights from our various data sources and past performance. Of course, these campaigns are all fluid and will be optimized to maximize the results or as conditions change.
Following are highlights from each channel, as well as sample creative for current campaigns.
Cross Channel Programmatic
May-June
The cross channel programmatic media made up 17% of the total mix for the summer campaign which increased from 11% in the Spring campaign. Teads.tv and Tremor video were new additions to cross-channel programmatic platforms, in conjunction with Verizon Media, TravelDesk, and Sojern. These platforms provided a mix of leads in each funnel phase. Their placements included video, CTV, audio, Lightbox, interactive video, display, native ads, mobile moments, and login units.
Summer Digital Banner Ads
Teads.tv Video
Tremor Video with Custom Frame
Paid Search
Paid search continued to run through the Spring campaign right into the summer and was once again a full-funnel approach. It made up 13% of the total media mix for this campaign and again included Google, Bing, and a Microsoft Audience Campaign.
Paid Social
Paid social was 13% of the total media mix for this campaign and was comprised of the main social sites: Facebook/Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest and TikTok. New creative assets were implemented for the Summer campaign including Facebook Instant Experience, new video content, and branded pins. A breakdown of the paid social strategy can be seen below:
Linear + Advanced TV
May-June
The Linear/Advanced TV made up 34% of the total media mix for this campaign and included placement on ABC, Hulu, and ESPN. The media was part of the inspire phase of the funnel. It showcased :15s and :30s TV spots that utilized the new branding. The :15 spots are also being utilized on Vevo’s premium video platform, CTV functionality, and partner connections in the form of non-skippable videos.
Integrated Packages
The Summer Campaign included several integrated packages which made up 9% of the overall campaign. The placements of these integrated packages were with publishers such as Travel+ Leisure, Food & Wine, Parents, Southern Living, Sports Illustrated, Men’s Journal, and Matador network. They included everything from full-page ads to digital articles, social promotions, and videos. All the integrated packages were tailored for the inspire funnel stage.
One unique placement was the sponsorship with Pandora and Stitcher. It included custom sponsorship listening, sponsored stations, and Podcast sponsored host read. This particular element is scheduled for May-August and can be heard on LITERALLY! With Rob Lowe and The Atlas Obscura Podcast.
Literally! With Rob Lowe
The Atlas Obscura Podcast
Sponsored Listening Carousel
Digital Advertising on Travel Endemics and Online Travel Agency Sites
Expedia, Trip Advisor, and Travel Spike made up the three (3) areas of exposure for this specific segment of the Summer Campaign. It made up 5% of the total media mix and focused on primary and secondary markets. Placements included:
Native: Custom units such as the homepage marquee (Expedia) and Enhanced Carousel (TripAdvisor) as well as CPC Native (TravelSpike).
Display: Targeted HTML5 banners on travel search results pages for competitive destinations and other high intent pages.
Video: User-initiated and in-stream video placements priced on CPV.
Social: Organic social posts on Expedia’s owned social channels.
Travel Spike
E-newsletter
Out of Home
June - August
Out of Home was also part of the inspire phase of the funnel and made up 4% of the overall media mix. By using messaging to convey to consumers, where X miles to “The Beach” were used to create urgency and excitement. The billboards were placed in the following markets: Atlanta, Charlotte, Columbia, Greensboro, Greenville, Philadelphia, Wilmington, and Raleigh. Most had an 8-week flight and were digital large format, digital street level, and also gym or grocery inventory.
PUBLIC RELATIONS
From an earned media perspective, Visit Myrtle Beach will pitch why the summer season is at The Beach is where you belong and will showcase how easy and safe it is to visit, along with autism-friendly vacation resources. Summer-like temperatures, more elbow room in our wide-open spaces, outdoor adventures, special packages, and more. Visit Myrtle Beach will also welcome media influencers and journalists back to the beach through hosted trips.
Campaign/Brand Launch National Press and MAT Releases
Media Outreach and Pitching
Media Hostings
Other Summer Campaign Elements
How Partners Can Get Involved
CVB Leisure Tourism Investment Partners can submit special packages and offers for Summer via the Partner Extranet.
Everyone is encouraged to submit their events online via the Submit Event Form.