CATEGORY
Destination Marketing (Tourism)

ABOUT THIS PROJECT
Research, brand development, full integrated marketing program: advertising, digital, social media, content marketing.

SITUATION
Acworth, GA is a picturesque town (pop. 22,000) located 30 miles NW of downtown Atlanta. Thanks to city government and citizens, has experienced impressive economic and residential growth in the last decade. In mid-2014, Acworth partnered with FMG to attract more visitors and tourism dollars to the City and local businesses.

APPROACH
The suburbs/exurbs surrounding Atlanta are rich with “day-cation” destinations. Professional sports, major lakes, mountains, parklands, and many attractive and historic downtown areas with shops and restaurants dot the landscape.

Faced with a rich and varied competitive landscape, Fenning Marketing Group (FMG) conducted a quantitative research study to understand current awareness of Acworth, its location, and its stature among popular local tourist destinations.

FMG crafted a brand vision which focused on not just the tourism “assets” that the City possessed but also the emotional experience that people had when they visited.

Next, FMG designed a multi-year marketing plan and managed execution of an integrated program to build the Acworth Destination brand, and grow tourism dollars.

RESULTS
FMG is now in its ninth year of partnership with Acworth Tourism. The City has seen increases in tourism-related revenues and anecdotal feedback from businesses has been strong. Tactical marketing successes included increases in Web traffic of over 80%, substantial increases in social media followers, and amplified media coverage. Paid search marketing has yielded an average of 11% CTR. Acworth has collected awards and southeastern recognition for its success in building a vibrant tourism destination.

PLANNING, PROJECTS AND CAMPAIGNS