Claiming Pennsylvania’s Fall Supremacy Through Bold Destination Marketing

CLIENT

Visit PA

PROJECT

Full Funnel Advertising Strategy

SPOTLIGHT ON

Advertising & Campaign Development

A haunted hotel room, a confident commercial and a custom “Swagon” that rolled in record engagement. Here’s how we established PA as the ultimate fall getaway.

THE CHALLENGE

Pennsylvania needed to break through the crowded fall tourism market and establish itself as the ultimate autumn destination for 72+ million people within a four-hour drive of the Commonwealth. Despite having historic haunts, unparalleled vibrant foliage and one of the longest leaf-peeping seasons in the world, Pennsylvania hadn’t captured its fair share of fall travel revenue in the past.

OUR APPROACH

  • Create a bold campaign, “It’s Fall-ier in Pennsylvania,” confidently claiming PA’s superiority over competing destinations
  • Produce a dynamic TV spot, shot at Bucks County’s Shady Brook Farm (2024’s #1 leaf peeping destination by Priceline), showcasing sensory fall experiences
  • Launch a mobile experiential tour with a custom “Swagon” deployed to 18 events across key drive markets, delivering PA fall experiences directly to target audiences
  • Develop a Ghostly Getaway contest, transforming a historic Philadelphia hotel room into a haunted experience for fright fanatics — and reinforcing PA’s status as one of America’s most haunted states
  • Execute an integrated media strategy that combines streaming video, outdoor advertising, paid social and influencer partnerships across target markets
  • Target strategic drive markets, allocating 80% of budget to out-of-state audiences in NY, NJ, DC, MD, DE and VA

THE IMPACT

  • Generated massive reach, delivering more than 146 million digital impressions and 42 million video completions with 83% completion rate
  • Drove significant web traffic, achieving a 67% increase in total website users year-over-year and 69% increase in new users
  • Drove meaningful visitation, including 147,000 observed visits from paid media exposure
  • Captured out-of-state audiences, successfully decreasing in-state web traffic by 3%
  • Achieved record engagement that generated nearly 280,000 consumer interactions through the short Swagon tour

why it matters

This campaign proves that bold positioning combined with immersive experiences can transform regional tourism perception. By confidently declaring Pennsylvania as “fall-ier” than anywhere else and backing it up with data-driven activations, we established Pennsylvania as the undisputed champion of East Coast autumn travel, driving measurable economic impact while creating lasting brand differentiation.