(PENSACOLA) --- They're calling it the “#1 Beach in the US Campaign,” and it costs $500K.
Visit Pensacola attempted to secure $250K from the Escambia County Tourism Development Council without the required paperwork last week.
But it did yesterday, after a thorough PowerPoint presentation by Visit Pensacola CEO Darien Schaefer.
“I believe that's the fastest we've ever spent $250,000,” TDC Councilman James Reeves said.
(Photo: Tourist Development Council member James Reeves saying he never spent $250K so fast)
OpGov.News platform, as always, reports the 15-minute-long meeting accurately, offering the meeting's very tone to boot.
“Despite initial confusion over reporting discrepancies (engagement rate vs. click-through rate) and a council member's previous hesitancy regarding incomplete facts, the motion passed swiftly and without dissent,” the platform points out.
But what did Schaefer actually say to get the other $250K?
First, he read what Condé Nast says about Pensacola to outsiders.
(Photo: Visit Pensacola CEO Darien Schaefer explaining the "#1 Beach in the US" campaign metrics)
“They recognized we were more than just a beach town,” Schaefer said.
“It’s not only having great white sand and blue green water and all the outdoor recreation, but it's the cultural scene aspect of it too, and it's our history, so we were really excited when we saw this.”
Then came the metrics.
“When we looked at the campaign performance, and I sat before you and said the return on ad spend was $24.54,” Schaefer said, adding it was a “substantial” return.
(Photo: Visit Pensacola presentation slide, providing metrics thus far for the $500K Conde Nast campaign)
"I talked about it last week that we're exceeding our expectations in both our paid social and our display, our online video that was distributed," Schaefer said.
The CEO pointed out just how important the Condé Nast media mogul is for the local beaches.
(Photo: Special meeting to revisit a $250K ask by Visit Pensacola for a marketing campaign)
“Expedia, Sojourn, Adara, and then Meta, of course, Facebook, Instagram, our social. So a print ad is great visibility for us directly in front of the readers of Condé Nast,” Schaefer said.
However, “print ads are very difficult to track,” according to Schaefer.
“So we really focus on the digital advertising ad spend,” Schaefer said.
What's great about digital, according to the CEO, is the ability to “really track this information and the revenue generated.”
Schaefer broke down the "new campaign audience" to the brand campaign.
“Our brand campaign is something that we're always fine-tuning,” Schaefer said. "We see what's working, we make changes, and that's how we keep growing that return on ad spend.”
Then comes Meta metrics.
“When we look at return on ad spend, oftentimes what we're seeing is anywhere from a 3 to 1 to a 5 to 1 range,” Schaefer said, adding, “We are consistently exceeding standard expectations and having better or best results from these campaigns.”
Next click-through rate.
“There is a strong click-through rate at 2% or higher,” Schaefer said, adding 3% is considered excellent.
“So we're right between the strong and excellent on our meta and on our brand campaign at the excellent percentage,” Schaefer said.
(Photo: Visit Pensacola presentation slide, providing metrics thus far for the $500K Conde Nast campaign)
Councilman Charles Bare, who strongly opposed approving the $250K last week until he got further documentation, was the first to question click and engagement rates, which were cleared when told clicking, liking, or sharing is all engagement.
Bare needed more clarification.
“Your target was 9 million plus and your 4.75 million," Bare said. "What was the problem there?"
Answer.
“This is a three-month campaign starting fully in March,” Schafer said. “We're already over halfway in achieving the goal of a three-month campaign in one month.”
That was enough for Bare, who made the motion to approve the $250K.
As Reeves stated, it took no time for officials to approve a quarter of a million dollars after seeing they were getting good Pensacola press.
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