HSMAI to Honor Ocala/Marion County VCB with Silver Award in 59th Annual Adrian Awards Competition

The Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association International (HSMAI) will honor the Ocala/Marion County Visitors and Convention Bureau with a Silver Adrian Award for advertising excellence for its winning entry in the 59th annual Adrian Awards, the largest and most prestigious global travel marketing competition.

This year’s contest was one of the most competitive in history, garnering more than 1,300 entries from around the world, with entries judged by distinguished executives from all sectors of the industry. The Ocala/Marion County Visitors and Convention Bureau is being recognized for its “Do You Love” campaign that highlighted all of the reasons to love and visit Ocala/Marion County. Honored in the Complete Campaign (consumer/group sales/travel trade) category, the campaign utilized a strategic advertising plan that featured augmented reality technology to bring print ads to life as well as rich digital media that gave each potential visitor a branded message specific to their interests.

Through the campaign’s highly targeted messaging, Ocala Marion County enjoyed a number of positive outcomes including:

Occupancy rates increased 16.2 percent.

Revenue per available room (RevPAR) for the region grew from $30.83 to an impressive $68.08.

Facebook likes grew by almost 6,000 percent.

The rich media portion of the campaign delivered nearly six million targeted impressions, leading to 102,229 engagements.

339 percent increase in website sessions.

Ocala/Marion County partnered with evok advertising, a full-service marketing and communications agency based in Orlando, to develop and execute the campaign. HSMAI will pay tribute to the Ocala/Marion County Visitors and Convention Bureau during the annual HSMAI Adrian Awards Gala, a black-tie affair attended by more than 1,000 hospitality, travel and tourism marketing executives at the New York Marriott Marquis on Feb. 16.

“We are continually amazed by the creativity of the Adrian Award submissions,” said Fran Brasseux, HSMAI executive vice president. “We received an incredible number of outstanding Adrian Awards entries this year, and we are excited to recognize so many innovative companies that will undoubtedly continue to make an impact in the hospitality advertising, public relations and digital marketing industry.”

In addition to commending Ocala/Marion County’s award-winning work, the Gala and dinner reception honors lifetime achievement in travel/hospitality marketing, as well as The HSMAI Top 25: Extraordinary Minds in Hospitality Sales, Marketing, Revenue Optimization. All winning entries will be accessible in the Adrian Awards Winners Gallery online following the gala at www.adrianawards.com.

Visit www.AdrianAwards.com for more information on the event and competition.

About HSMAI

The Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International (HSMAI) is committed to growing business for hotels and their partners, and is the industry’s leading advocate for intelligent, sustainable hotel revenue growth. The association provides hotel professionals & their partners with tools, insights, and expertise to fuel sales, inspire marketing, and optimize revenue through programs such as HSMAI’s MEET, Adrian Awards, and Revenue Optimization Conference. HSMAI is an individual membership organization comprising more than 7,000 members worldwide, with 40 chapters in the Americas Region.

Connect with HSMAI at: www.hsmai.org, www.facebook.com/hsmai, www.twitter.com/hsmai and www.youtube.com/hsmai1.