Going Viral With Nebraska

Nebraska had a serious “brand apathy” situation. From 2013-2017, the state ranked as the least likely state for people to visit (#50) in the annual MMGY Portrait of American Travelers surveys. In order to counter this low ranking, Nebraska Tourism Commission made a bold move and unveiled a new self-deprecating campaign, “Nebraska. Honestly, it’s not for everyone.” The state decided to take a big risk and only focus on the type of traveler Nebraska is for – those who aren’t craving loud and bright nightlife or thrive on the thrills of theme parks, but rather individuals who are inquisitive, want to explore and appreciate wide open spaces.

What We Did

The campaign – which didn’t officially launch until April 2019 – was unveiled at the Nebraska Tourism Conference in October 2018. TURNER set about driving awareness of this unconventional approach from October through December 2018.

The wry, counter-intuitive campaign nearly publicized itself, creating a buzz that engaged and captivated the nation. TURNER saw a PR opportunity to further amplify coverage by newsjacking our own coverage. In addition to pitching top outlets for larger features, we also paid close attention to what was already being covered and how. When LIVE with Kelly and Ryan mentioned how the ingenious campaign slogan can be applied almost anywhere – commenting how “Kelly isn’t for everyone” and “This show isn’t for everyone” – we took note that they drink coffee on air and sent custom mugs with their names inside a graphic of the state that included the campaign slogan. The show aired yet ANOTHER segment in December talking about Nebraska with the mugs on display.

Results

This campaign was for everyone, with coverage going far beyond expectations. The campaign scored 237 broadcast hits, 149 radio mentions & 1,082 online articles. These resulted in an ad value of more $7.1 million, larger than Nebraska Tourism’s entire annual budget and more than three times its paid media budget. And did we mention that this all took place before the campaign even officially launched in April 2019?

• The state is now 48^th from 50^th of desirable places to visit for the 1st time in 5 years (MMGY Portraits of American Travelers survey).
• Nebraska received a 317 percent increase in visitor guide in the days immediately following the October 2018 campaign announcement, compared to an average October day; general requests up 20 percent (not including bulk distribution).
• Web traffic to www.visitnebraska.com was up 195 percent year-over-year for the seven days following the announcement and overall usage is up 30 percent to date.
• Nebraska set an all-time lodging tax revenue record with June 2019 as the highest month ever ($15+ million in lodging revenue); June visitor spend was $75 million higher than ever before.