TravelNevada wins top national honor from the U.S. Travel Association

At a recent U.S. Travel Association event in Florida, winners of the 2016 national Mercury Awards were announced. TravelNevada was named Best Public Relations Campaign for its current “Don’t Fence Me In” millennial marketing effort.

The most distinguished award for tourism marketing nationally, Mercury Awards recognize excellence and creative accomplishment in state destination marketing in 12 categories, and are judged by a panel of industry leaders including National Geographic, Google, Facebook and others.

“Millennials are an ideal audience for Nevada based on the state’s visitor experiences and this generation’s travel preferences,” Claudia Vecchio, director of the Nevada Division of Tourism and Cultural Affairs, said in a press release. “TravelNevada’s cost-effective public relations and social media programs connect with Millennials and adventure seekers via channels and brand partnerships that best reach these important potential visitors. It’s a great honor to receive this coveted award.”

This honor follows a number of other national awards TravelNevada has received this year, including national Silver and Bronze Anvil Awards from the Public Relations Society of America, and many other distinctions from the Holmes Report (Sabre Award), Content Marketing Institute (Best Content ROI/Measurement Program), American Marketing Association (Ace Awards), Advertising Federation (ADDY Awards), and many others. These programs were executed in partnership with Agency of Record Fahlgren Mortine and Nevada-based partner, The Abbi Agency.

The work included in these programs reflects the integrated marketing strategy set for the by the Nevada Division of Tourism to increase visitor spending and drive visitation to and within Nevada. This program continues to drive year-over-year increases in the marketing return on investment, and has demonstrated TravelNevada’s excellence in innovative marketing per the department’s strategic plan. This plan is executed with oversight and approval from the Nevada Commission on Tourism.