Breaking through: Asheville supports the 5-day weekend

We are - in a word - overwhelmed by choice. So much to read and do and participate in. A lot of it clever and intriguing and really kind of delightful.  To get your message heard, to get past our savvy consumer filters, you need a special kind of engagement - the kind that breaks through.

In this series, I'll share examples of brands that have broken through and show how they used the principles of social to do it.

Kicking off with: Luckie & Company's Five Day Weekend campaign for the Asheville (NC) Convention and Tourism Bureau:

What they were up against: Like most cities that never have red carpet events or celebrity homes to happen by, Asheville has an awareness challenge. How do they make sure vacation planners everywhere know how much great stuff they have to offer?

For years, Asheville went about tourism advertising in the usual way - visit Asheville for X, Y and Z. Calls trickled in. Weekend vacations were had. But, Asheville wanted something more - longer vacations, more interest, higher engagement.

So they challenged a number of agencies - including Luckie - to come up with the idea that would help them break through.

What they did: Luckie knew that it was going to take more than bucolic photography of green mountains and the promise of a ride on the rapids to put Asheville on the map. So they looked for an angle that would get people talking about something people are naturally passionate about: getting a break from their demanding worklife.

The pitch & the eventual campaign was called Friends of the Five Day Weekend. And it was a call to stop working longer and harder. It was time to take leisure back.

Through newspaper ads, posters, sandwich boards, TV spots, and radio ads, Luckie drove the curious and overworked to learn more on a Web site, sign petitions of support and even attend rallies in key cities.

What happened next: 7000 people signed an online petition that was sent on to Congress and the presidential primary contenders. Hundreds joined homegrown Five Day Weekend groups on Facebook. Average people bought and wore the brand. They not only attended the planned rallies, but some even set up their own rally. Hundreds of bloggers - including the feisty Donald - blogged. And - even with no concentrated media outreach effort - Michael Medved invited the campaign spokesman on for a lengthy debate about the economics of the issue. Fox News did a national piece on it, focusing on overwork but also interviewing the head of Asheville tourism. And, the AP ran with it.

Importantly, the story of Asheville came through. Not only as the transparent sponsor of the "movement," but also as a place where people do care about the very real issue of work-life balance.

Oh, and there's this: long after the campaign ran, this little gem popped up.

How it's social: This campaign has literal social elements - like the Facebook groups, blogging, etc. But its success is arguably built on the solid social principles of what makes WOM happen. To borrow from Steve Knox, CEO of Tremor, it was a story that was true to the core of the brand and disruptive to the conversation. The kind of social marketing that creates results, not just impressions. It was something that people could care about and it was easy for them to pass on.

Break through? Absolutely.

 

Comments

[Dilbert Jr.]

All those steps are great if you're a company with a large enough budget (or the agency who gets paid to implement it, with no incentive to create immediate results). But for most small- to medium-sized businesses, it ends up being more flash than cash. While it's fun for creatives to ponder and blog about, business owners like me need to make payroll with a metric that can be taken to the bank. I'm all for multi-step sales that payoff. But 9 times out of 10 I can get the same results by thinking smarter, not larger. Which keeps my doors open and my employees' families fed.

[Leigh]

This debate is interesting separate from the specific case we're talking about. If you grow up in retail advertising, you have a strong sense of responsibility to rally impressions into baskets. And, rightly so. The work that advertising is doing is carrying part of the marketing load. But, not all of it. That's why defining the metric of each tool - as well as the marketing machine in total - is critical to improving results year over year.

Let me go a little deeper there:

Sometimes direct response advertising is aimed at just that - creating a direct response or immediate sale. Often, though, it has a more complex function of building awareness, engagement or proclivity.

Essentially, it's readying the consumer for the closer - which could be a circular in your Sunday paper, an affiliate sale online, or a special discount or travel package. All of these are functions and budgets of marketing and they work in concert with advertising.

Each also has a different way it talks about the brand, a unique call to action, a specific role.

The whole thing delivers more sales. But defining the interim metrics of success (awareness, redemption, total basket, etc.) helps make sure that you have a clear view into what each piece is delivering (or not delivering).

Apropos of this campaign, the inside scoop seems to be that the pre-defined metric was media mentions and that the work delivered as promised.

[Dilbert]

How can you possibly question whether upping the hotel room bookings should be the goal of advertsing for Asheville's tourism campaign? It's the ONLY goal of such a campaign. Everything else -- intent, awareness, consumer opinion -- is meaningless without actual ROI. That's the whole point of advertising and marketing -- social or otherwise. Who cares how cool the campaign is if it doesn't work? Business owners don't need more "irrelevant brilliance." They need us to help their organization grow.

[Leigh]

Great question, Smithy. Couple of responses:

1- I don't work for either party involved; so, honestly, I don't know the real $ impact. I have heard anecdotally that it was a success all around. And certainly the number of mentions and number of attendees at rallies and whatnot suggest a measurable increase in awareness.

2- This is a great illustration of why defining success up front is so hugely important. Certainly upping the hotel room bookings would be a goal of marketing. Something they'd accomplish through a multi-tiered plan that might include advertising, DM, discounts, etc. But should it be the goal of advertising? Are the two directly connected enough to form a logical metric?

I'd say no. But it's definitely arguable both ways.

So, I like that you asked about awareness. I think that's the metric and all evidence points to success, but, you caught me - I'm numberless!

[Smithy]

Clever, yes. Engaging, yes. Did Asheville book any more hotel rooms as a result of the campaign? How was awareness influenced? Any increase? Did they think it was successful enough to continue the campaign? Some results would really make a strong (or weak) case study. I'd love to know because I like the social elements.