Current PR Strategy and Approach
The overall strategic goal of the Virginia Beach CVB’s out-of-market public relations efforts are centered on placing editorial features in top-tier national media, with a heavy emphasis on print and broadcast, to continue to help elevate the perception of Virginia Beach as a year-round travel destination, highlighting its three-beach offerings in addition to dining, outdoor adventure, emerging arts scene and variety of long-standing events – with the ultimate goal of driving more travelers to Virginia Beach to stay longer and spend more money. All of Visit Virginia Beach’s national public relations efforts follow the strategy of generating creative story ideas and content that help increase awareness of what Virginia Beach has to offer through proactive, targeted and fully integrated media outreach and engagement that transcends a variety of channels, including social media and most recently, an innovative blog and press room platform called The Daily Life (http://thedailylifevb.visitvirginiabeach.com).
Evolution of the Virginia Beach Story through Public Relations
The media landscape has shifted over the past few years, a change led by the evolution of social media channels and their role and repositioning as news channels in their own right. We know that today, destinations’ stories no longer live in just one particular place. They run the gamut from print to digital and from multi-page spreads to the micro-brief – in the form of 140-character tweets and in-the-palm-of-your-hand photos. They no longer focus on the obvious or the general but rather on the heart and the essence of what’s unique, authentic and unexpected. Just as media is focusing on the deeper story, so are travelers, who more than ever are seeking raw, unfiltered experiences. Led by the millennial generation, travelers are looking for destinations that speak to them in surprising ways, which provide them with the opportunity to explore, unearth and make the most of their experiences. Ultimately, we knew that Virginia Beach’s story had to connect in a way that’s far stronger than just introducing consumers to it; rather, it was the right time to ensure Virginia Beach was inspiring them through its own personal stories.
Fittingly, Virginia Beach’s story also evolved over the past few years, with the destination positioning itself as a stronger-than-ever year-round destination that appeals to a broader gamut of travelers, with three distinct beach experiences and an array of new attractions and offerings not highlighted in the past. The destination’s evolution of its “Live the Life” brand provides further supported the need for a new public relations message founded on the brand’s pillars and delivering on the brand’s promise.
In 2014, we strategically committed ourselves to the goal of generating features in top-tier national media to help change the perception of Virginia Beach as a travel destination, highlighting its three-beach experiences, year-round appeal and unexpected, off-the-beaten path offerings. We thus set out to make Virginia Beach the creator of its own content and stories, allowing the destination to be its own reporter, sparking the story ideas we want told. Targeting a variety of national outlets, a mix of print, broadcast and online media channels with a national audience, as well as niche audiences with specific interests (such as travel, food, fitness and style), we aimed to create sustainable and engaging content for proactive media outreach. Attention was also placed on regional media and media in top-performing feeder markets, complementing paid media efforts in those markets and layering in our messaging to maximize the brand’s reach and consistently highlight its message. Through a multi-layered media relations approach that included proactive outreach, desk-sides, press visits and social media engagement, we set out to, for the first time ever, pursue the type of top-tier media that a top-tier destination adequately deserves.
We Are the Storytellers
As our public relations strategy has evolved, we’ve focused more on creating original story ideas and generating engaging content in an editorial-ready style – beyond our direct outreach to media. We felt strongly that the former Virginia Beach press room and blog (“Shorelines”) needed to be improved. While their visitation was high, bounce rates exceeded 85% and the time on site was down to less than 15 seconds, indicating that there was an interest in getting there but not enough there to keep them engaged and coming back.
Given the brand’s “three beaches” evolution, which was paired beautifully with the evolution of the destination’s website, the timing for the improvement of the press room and the blog was fortuitous. We thus set out to:
- Improve a visually outdated content experience by removing the barrier between the way a consumer absorbs content and the resources that a travel writer requires for generating interest press – which is ultimately seen by consumers and planners alike
- Offer a clear connection to the Virginia Beach brand that speaks to the dreaming, planning and advocacy stages of destination marketing
- Leverage the existing popularity of the press room, as well as the native marketing efforts for driving traffic to the blog, to diminish bounce rate and inspire consumers to plan a trip to Virginia Beach, while also keeping writers engaged with the content
- “The Daily Life” launched on Aug. 15, 2015
Overview of Public Relations Results to Date (FY15 through FY16TD)
The strength of our strategy has become clear, as our outreach has taken shape in the form of coverage – really great coverage – in “wish list” outlets, with articles echoing Virginia Beach’s brand messaging and highlighting the destination’s three beaches, beyond-the-beach appeal, unexpected attractions and brand-new offerings. Undoubtedly, the story ideas birthed out of our public relations approach have become the resonating stories for the likes of The Associated Press, the New York Daily News, Travel + Leisure, Budget Travel, AFAR.com, Garden & Gun, USA Today, The Washingtonian, The Huffington Post and NBC Washington’s Worth the Trip, just to name a few. Even more impressive has been public relations’ ability to editorially reposition Virginia Beach as an ideal destination for the fall and winter months – coinciding with the overarching marketing strategy of year-round appeal. Currently, we’re already in conversations with additional top-tier publications, focusing on the destination’s unexpected attractions, such as the area’s emerging artisanal scene and culinary experiences. At the moment, we’re awaiting such coverage in the likes of Southern Living, The Local Palate and Coastal Living, just to name a few.
- 2014: $7.9 million | 1.4 billion | 408 total hits
- 2015: $12.6 million | 885.6 million impressions | 431 total hits
- 2016 (Jan., Feb.): $2.5 million| 50.9 million impressions | 19 hits
Additionally, “The Daily Life” has taken off as our go-to content channel, allowing visitors, locals and media alike to dream of Virginia Beach through our curated content, blending our public relations story angles with social media appeal. The following are key analytics since its launch in mid-August 2015.
- 32,303 total users
- 43,943 sessions (72.21% of which are from new visitors to the site!)
- Time on site has increased to approximately 1 min., with a 54.85% bounce rate, which continues to decrease
Our Top 5 Accomplishments (FY15 through FY16TD)
- Media coverage has focused on quality over quantity, and the results speak for themselves, with editorial inclusions in top-tier publications with a higher market value
- The editorial positioning of Virginia Beach as a year-round destination has paved the way for inclusion in fall- and winter-focused features, as well as mentions of off-the-beaten path experiences
- Virginia Beach is now the creator of its story, with public relations curating content and storylines across a variety of channels, most notably with the successful launch of The Daily Life
- Integration with the marketing discipline has further extended the reach of public relations, providing a cohesive approach to messaging across all channels, both paid and earned
- Over the past year, the social media function has been housed exclusively under public relations and with one team, providing the opportunity to more readily leverage and personalize content across all channels and extend public relations messaging
Overview of Where We’re Going
As the media landscape and travel trends continue to evolve, Virginia Beach’s public relations will need to continue to stay focused on creating original story ideas and generating content in an editorial-ready style that speaks not only to media but also inspires and moves consumers alike. Over the past year and a half, we have already begun implementing this approach, and we only see the trend expanding from here.
As social media continues to remove the barriers between storytellers and story consumers, it’s now more imperative than ever to be nimble in our communications; to create real-time content, compelling content; to engage in a way that feels personal and authentic and worthy of remark. In an often overwhelmingly cluttered space, it falls on brands to articulate their story through originally curated content – a mix of messaging, photography and videos – and the understanding that these are being consumed in micro-brief environments, such as Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, Snapchat, etc. In an age heavily dominated by the millennial traveler, this content needs to be desirable and aspirational, compelling them to share, something they do very well – so as long as they feel they’re being enriched by it or living out an experience that’ll give them self- and instant gratification.
Public relations will continue to inform the development and propagation of this content, serving as the informed and discerning curator, which can curate content that’s as riveting for a potential visitor as for a top-tier freelance writer. This ultimately cements social media as a seamless extension of public relations and public relations as an equally integrated component of brand marketing. To that point, story ideas and content birthed by public relations have already begun complementing paid media efforts through native advertising initiatives.
