Visit Tallahassee's New Campaign: It’s ALL in Tallahassee!

By Vivian El-Salawy on October 12, 2017

Change is brewing for Leon County Tourism! On October 3, the Leon County Division of Tourism (Visit Tallahassee) announced their It’s ALL in Tallahassee campaign at their Annual Marketing Roll-Out event at Proof Brewing Company.

This new advertising campaign focuses on the “ALL” in “Tallahassee,” as their tourism economy evolves with big benefits to the Tallahassee community. This campaign integrates many of the local, unique elements within the city, from outdoors and nature to history and heritage and arts and culture.

Image via Visit Tallahassee 

Kerri Post, the new director of Visit Tallahassee, broke down the new 2016 to 2017 plan to build on Tallahassee’s record tourism statistics.

“With eight consecutive years of growth, tourism has an established record of success for Leon County,” said Post, Director of Leon County Tourism. “We’re implementing a new advertising campaign and a number of new initiatives to broaden the narrative and ensure continued tourism growth at record levels.”

What were Tallahassee’s record tourism numbers?

At the marketing roll-out event, Post delivered preliminary estimates based off of previous years. According to Downs & St. Germain Research, approximately $5.8 million in tourist development tax collections (+10.4 percent year over year), 2.4 million total visitors (+3.6 percent year over year) and $901 million in economic impact (+7 percent year over year) are predicted to the County from tourism. Additionally, this will include approximately 14,675 tourism jobs (+7 percent year over year) and hotel occupancy to increase by 8.7 percent year over year.

Leon County also provides over $1.25 million to the Council on Culture and Arts, or COCA, for grant programs supporting performing and visual arts in the local community.

What does the marketing rollout plan primarily entail?

New Developments 

Post touched on several developments around areas of Tallahassee that have helped the growth of tourism numbers, including that of Cascades Park, Gaines Street, College Town, and the Centre of Tallahassee. Just a couple of weekends ago, Apalachee Regional Park held one of the largest regional and national cross country events, which was live-streamed for the first time ever. The ability to have shared this event in a local destination through a digital medium made it accessible to people from nearly any location.

Additionally, Proof Brewing Company recently served as the host site for the Regional Florida Tap Invitational. Tallahassee is becoming more attractive to regional and national events that are bringing in tourists from various areas, which is why they are only planning on developing more. For instance, there are approximately seven new lodging properties that are in various stages of development.

Increasing Visibility in Key Markets

Image via Visit Tallahassee

Post announced that more than 80 percent of Tallahassee’s visitors come through by car. This is why their new advertising campaign for “It’s ALL in Tallahassee” is being emphasized in graphics and headlines in print and digital in-state billboards throughout the Southeast and along the I-10 corridor.

Additionally, Visit Tallahassee is focusing their advertising presence by increasing visibility in top potential markets such as Atlanta and Tampa.

Brand New 2018 Visitor Guide 

Image via Visit Tallahassee

Post also introduced the redesigned 100-page, full-color 2018 Visitor guide, which engages readers in Tallahassee’s outdoor activities, art and culture, and food right from the cover. The cover, titled “Tallahassee,” with “all” bolded and words surrounding it to read “It’s all here,” pulls the reader into the guide itself.

With images of locals kayaking, incredible local eats, promotions for Visit Tallahassee’s social media, and an artsy map of Tallahassee (and its surrounding local excursions), this is only a taste of what the new guide has to offer to visitors. The new guide is in-depth, aesthetically appealing, and informative, that even local residents should consider giving it a read, as it shares a great deal about both the history of the unique city, as well as some of the recent developments.

How will this be accomplished?

It’s all about engagement, both within the community and extended to surrounding communities as well. The idea involves strategic engagement with tourism partners, focusing both on previous visitors and giving them a reason to come back, but at the same time, seeking out new visitors to engage with.

Visit Tallahassee is looking to extend the engagement past the visitor’s initial inclination. For instance, if someone were to visit Tallahassee for its history, but then left with an overall positive and memorable experience in arts and culture, dining, and so on, then their total destination experience will succeed their expectation.

Image via Visit Tallahassee

Additionally, the incorporation of marketing and advertising through social media is a huge factor in the execution of this new marketing strategy. It makes it easier to engage with different audiences at a larger scale, with social media posts from Visit Tallahassee directly. An increased digital presence with enriched content is the key.

For example, the increasingly popular hashtag “#iHeartTally” is being used in areas such as the visitor guide, various social media outlets, and so on. In their Visitor Guide, they offer three great ways to find inspiration for your trip: visiting their website at www.visittallahassee.com, signing up for their newsletter (which can be done through their website), and following them on social media. They encourage visitors to follow them and share their experiences using #iHeartTally.

The digital presence has also helped the community engage within itself. Through the creation of GroupMe groups for local businesses, dividing them into “Hotels” or “Downtown Restaurants,” Visit Tallahassee has opened a forum for them to communicate and inform one another about local events and other updates.

In recent preparation for Hurricane Irma, a local shelter was in need of towels and blankets, and within minutes of posting in the forum in request for these supplies, a local hotel quickly jumped to aid them. It is this type of engagement between local businesses and companies that is encouraged in order to help Tallahassee thrive from within.

Tommy Awards

Image via Visit Tallahassee

The Annual Marketing Roll-Out event also honored a local running club and the General Manager of one of Tallahassee’s landmark downtown hotels with the Thomas A. Waits Distinguished Leadership Award (otherwise known as the Tommy Award). This award recognizes an organization and an individual who have significantly impacted the local tourism industry.

Gulf Winds Track Club and John Kelly, general manager of DoubleTree by Hilton, received the awards.

Gulf Winds Track Club has been the driving force for the local running community for over 40 years for runners of all skill levels. Additionally, they have facilitated running events such as the Tallahassee Marathon/Half Marathon, the Turkey Trot, and more.

Mr. Kelly has been involved in the local tourism industry for over a decade as a manager at a hotel, a member of the Tourist Development Council, and a teacher at the Dedman School of Hospitality at the Florida State University.

For more details regarding the Leon County Division of Tourism, you can go to VisitTallahassee.com or call toll free (800) 628-2688. You can also engage with Visit Tallahassee on social media channels, including Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram: @VisitTally, #iHeartTally.

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