Visit Newport Beach’s ‘Big Game Getaway’ campaign recognized for excellence in tourism marketing
Newport Beach, Calif. (March 20, 2024) – Visit California honored tourism destinations and attractions across California for excellence in tourism marketing and destination stewardship at the organization’s biennial Poppy Awards, held on March 12th in Greater Palm Springs. Visit Newport Beach is proud to announce that it was selected as the winner in the Best Public Relations for a Destination category for its ‘Big Game Getaway” campaign.
For some background, when Super Bowl LVII was held to Glendale, Arizona in 2023, Visit Newport Beach saw an opportunity when Arizona residents began listing their homes on short-term rental sites as a way to make substantial money and get out of town to avoid the crowds. With a short lead time, Visit Newport Beach decided to lure those residents to Newport Beach with a targeted campaign, ‘Big Game Getaway.’ Visit Newport Beach joined with its hotel, restaurant and recreational partners to collaborate and curate exclusive Super Bowl-themed packages and experiences to entice Arizonans to travel during the month of February. The results? Rooms booked increased 3% year over year, and website traffic from Arizona tripled in under a month!
‘Big Game Getaway’ totals by numbers:
- 399 pieces of editorial coverage resulting in 200 million media impressions
- 18 million advertising impressions
- 1 million social media impressions
- +502% digital website growth from Phoenix
- +3% overnight visitors
- +7% hotel occupancy
- +3% average visitor spend
“We are extremely honored to receive Visit California’s Poppy Award for Best Public Relations Campaign,” says Gary Sherwin, President & CEO of Visit Newport Beach. “Our ‘Big Game Getaway’ campaign exemplifies our commitment to creating innovative and dynamic marketing campaigns within the tourism industry. This recognition underscores the success of our marketing team’s efforts in showcasing Newport Beach as an desirable destination year-round, and we are thrilled to continue inspiring travelers to experience the charm and excitement of our coastal destination.”
“The past two years have seen tremendous growth, resilience and innovation from California’s travel industry,” said Caroline Beteta, President & CEO of Visit California. “This year’s Poppy Award-winning campaigns inspired visitors from around the world to rediscover California, highlighting our state’s welcoming spirit and abundance of world-class experiences.”
Beteta, alongside Visit California’s board officers, presented the 2024 Poppy Awards during the 16th annual Visit California Outlook Forum, held March 11-12 at the Westin Rancho Mirage Golf Resort & Spa. This year’s Outlook Forum celebrated record attendance, welcoming more than 800 attendees. A panel of industry marketing experts selected the winners of the Poppy Awards in nine categories, awarding winners in both business and destination categories.
MORE ABOUT THE POPPY AWARDS:
Crafted by California artisan Nicholson Blown Glass in Auburn, Poppy Awards are bestowed every two years to acknowledge the best of California’s tourism promotion. Programs started Jan. 1, 2022 or after were eligible for the 2024 Poppy Awards. Submissions were reviewed by Visit California staff, then blind judged by California travel industry experts.
MORE ABOUT OUTLOOK FORUM:
Outlook Forum is the premier travel industry conference for California, the No. 1 tourism destination in the United States. Outlook Forum brings together C-suite executives and industry decision-makers from California’s hotels, rental cars, attractions, restaurants, retailers and other travel businesses, as well as representatives from Visit California’s global network of offices.
ABOUT NEWPORT BEACH & COMPANY/VISIT NEWPORT BEACH:
Founded in January 2013, Newport Beach & Company is a non-profit organization established to serve as the official marketing agency for the city of Newport Beach. The agency brings together all of the marketing entities connected to the Newport Beach brand and is designed to oversee separate business units that include Visit Newport Beach, Celebrate Newport Beach, Enterprise Newport Beach and Newport Beach TV. For more information, please go to www.VisitNewportBeach.com.
ABOUT VISIT CALIFORNIA:
Visit California is a nonprofit organization with a mission to develop and maintain marketing programs – in partnership with the state’s travel industry – that keep California top-of-mind as a premier travel destination. For more information about Visit California and for a free California Official State Visitor’s Guide, go to visitcalifornia.com. For story ideas, media information, downloadable images, video and more, go to media.visitcalifornia.com.
MEDIA CONTACTS:
Megan Johns
Communications Manager, Visit Newport Beach
megan@newportbeachandco.com | (949) 706-5309
Kristen Bonilla
Public Relations Manager, Visit California
