TBEX FINGER LAKES

SOCIAL MEDIA | EVENT BRANDING | VIDEO PRODUCTION
THE CHALLENGE

TBEX, or Travel Blogger Exchange, is a 3-day annual travel conference that welcomes hundreds of influencers from all over the world. After it was decided that Finger Lakes Wine Country would be the 2018 North American host, there were questions among potential attendees as to “why there?”. There was also local community resistance to digital media, the key method of connection and communication with the
TBEX audience.

So, how could we create buzz / excitement for potential travelers as well as its host community?

PROMOTIONAL STRATEGY

After falling in love with the region on a press trip in 2009, we have returned regularly with our family over the course of 10 years. In the year leading up to TBEX, we visited the region multiple times, often as “secret shoppers” to identify customer service needs, or as frequent visitors to engage locals, or in our role as social media consultants for FLWC to promote the region. We used our ongoing experience and encounters for training and communication initiatives. Our message was consistent and engaging, increasing registration efforts and community engagement through the process of organic storytelling with a focus on locals and community life. Our stories kicked off the buzz that continued well into the sold-out conference. Below are a few samples of these stories, including a story in USAToday – that can be read here.

 

INFLUENCER MARKETING

To address some of the resistance and skepticism about influencers and influencer marketing, we selected a small group of trusted bloggers to tour throughout FLX. Only 1 out of the 5 bloggers was somewhat familiar with the area. They represented a more diverse and younger consumer market that was often overlooked in the region’s previous marketing efforts.

EVENT BRANDING

Brave World Media worked with TBEX and Finger Lakes Wine Country to brand the conference and produce well-received swag items featuring the logo we designed. We also made invites and collateral to promote events happening during the conference.

LOGO & CONFERENCE SWAG

DIGITAL CONFERENCE BADGES

EVENT INVITES / BRANDING

RESULTS

TBEX Finger Lakes was a huge success: selling out in advance of the conference, bringing in around 700 attendees, speakers and media from 26 countries around the world. To help track the spread of the TBEX Finger Lakes message before, during, and after the conference, we created the hashtag #myFLXtbex.

#myFLXtbex results across
Twitter and Instagram

15,358
Total Posts
all original posts on
Twitter and Instagram
using #myFLXtbex
13,817,395
Total Reach
The number of
individuals who viewed
a post that included
#myFLXtbex
151,173,867
Total Impressions
The number of times a post
theat included #myFLXtbex were seen
$1.44
CPM
Cost per thousand
impressions acheived
with #myFLXtbex
Based on the conference expenses and the number of impressions achieved through the hashtag, the current cost is about $1.45 per 1,000 impressions.
The CPM for these earned social media impressions is much less than that of paid advertising, which can range from a CPM of $2-$75 based on the medium and specific campaign details. Earned coverage such as this is also much more valuable than directly paid coverage because it’s considered more trustworthy and authentic to consumers. Influencers creating the posts also have a greater power to affect purchase decisions of their followers.

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