Americans have come to know Presidents' Day primarily as a retail sales holiday, a time to pick up home goods, furniture and more. The faces of Mount Rushmore are often prominent parts of Presidents Day advertising. We decided to use that to our advantage in attracting visitors to South Dakota.
Capturing the traditional bold, urgent tones of numerous Presidents' Day sales, the "Sold on South Dakota" marketing campaign was launched in 2020 with a pop-up shop, paid channels, social media, digital OOH, and the launch of SoldOnSouthDakota.com. The program was so successful — 17.6 million impressions, 1.5 million engagements, 964 sweepstakes entries, and nearly $2 million in hotel revenue - that we're going even stronger in 2021.
This year's efforts will utilize a collection of strategic approaches. Our video plans is designed to reach consumers across connected TV devices. Utilizing a cross-platform streaming audio takeover on Pandora will allow us the maximum share of voice across the target audience for the entirety of Presidents' Day weekend. A targeted mobile strategy will ensure our "Sold on South Dakota" message will reach the most relevant and qualified consumers. Partnerships with Expedia and Travelzoo are designed to drive consumers to become excited about visiting — and booking a trip to — South Dakota, while dedicated email will reach targeted audience segments in key primary & secondary markets, driving users to book on our dedicated landing page. Paid social and search efforts will do the same. Finally, a press release was sent to media targets, touting special offers for Presidents' Day travel that highlights Mount Rushmore, the City of Presidents in Rapid City, and other attractions & lodging with presidential tie-ins.
Perhaps the most fun aspect of the campaign is the collection of Presidents' Day GIFs. Specifically created for this campaign, these South Dakota-branded gifts highlight Mount Rushmore and the Presidents' Day holiday itself. Promotional posts began on Feb. 1, highlighting the fun GIFs while driving traffic to the dedicated landing page.
