Sunshine Matters

I am proud to announce that last night VISIT FLORIDA received a Silver WOMMY in the Advocacy Award category for our Share A Little Sunshine campaign.  The WOMMY Awards were presented by the Word of Mouth Marketing Association, the official international non-profit trade association dedicated to word of mouth and social media marketing, as part of the Social Media Week conference being held in Chicago.  Now in it’s 11th year, the WOMMY’s recognize the most innovative, inspiring and impactful marketing campaigns from across the globe.  The Advocacy Award category, new for 2016, was created to spotlight the best employee, brand or customer advocacy marketing program to achieve a business outcome. Continue reading »

Hurricane Matthew was a very dangerous storm and, while we are fortunate that the vast majority of Florida did not see significant impacts, we do have several communities that sustained serious damage.

Last week, the VISIT FLORIDA team was focused on the safety of our visitors and fellow Floridians.  This week, we are shifting our focus to recovery and to letting the world know that the Florida tourism industry is open for business. Continue reading »

The cold has now set in across much of the U.S. and VISIT FLORIDA’s “Warmer Side of Winter” campaign is in market, inspiring travelers to experience the Sunshine State’s warm-weather destinations.  Having tested as one of our most effective campaigns ever, this marks the third winter VISIT FLORIDA has featured the award-winning creative showcasing iconic state images and encouraging visitors to “flock to Florida.” Continue reading »

As the 2015 College Football regular season comes to a close and the bowl games begin to kick off this weekend, VISIT FLORIDA is pleased to share the reinvention of our historical collegiate bowl games initiative.  VISIT FLORIDA’s new Collegiate Bowl Program is predominantly a social play designed to start social dialog before, during and after the scheduled games. Continue reading »

This week in Portland, the U.S. Travel Association held its annual Educational Seminar for Tourism Organizations (ESTO) conference.  During the event, the winners of the National Council of State Tourism Directors (NCSTD) 2015 Mercury Awards were announced.  I am very proud to share that VISIT FLORIDA won Mercuries in two categories – the Social Media Campaign category for “Bragging Season” and the Branding and Integrated Marketing Campaign category for our “Florida Beach Finder.” Continue reading »