Brand USA is to develop new marketing and promotional activity around local neighbourhoods and pop culture, as it enhances its consumer and trade communications with the launch of a new-look website.
The themed material will be developed and promoted over the next 12 to 18 months alongside existing content on road trips and the great outdoors, as the marketing organisation looks to target key inspiration factors for visits to the US.
A new website will personalise content for consumer visitors to allow them to search for relevant content, in addition to promoting content based on three visitor ‘personas’ – those looking for excitement, to ‘get away’ or to have authentic experiences.
Content being developed for the new site including images, videos and itinerary recommendations will also be made available to the trade via a tool kit to be launched next year, with other trade activity unveiled at WTM including the development of new online training modules, agent incentives and an extension of the number of agents hosted on Brand USA’s annual MegaFam.
Tom Garzilli, Brand USA chief marketing officer, said: “We have seen strong growth in the UK market and we are bullish about that continuing despite some of the headwinds we face.
“Our job is to inspire consumers to think about the US as a destination and give the trade the tools to convert that interest into sales, so we will continue to invest to make that happen.”
Other planned Brand USA activity includes the production of a big-screen film focusing on America’s music heritage, which is due to be released in 2018 following the success of its first film, focusing on National Parks, which was released last year.
Tracy Wirth Lanza, vice-president of integrated marketing, said: “This new activity and content is part of the evolution of how we talk about the USA as a destination. When we launched in 2012 we had a one-size-fits-all approach, and technology developments means we need to move on from that and not only inspire potential visitors, but also tell them how they can experience the wealth of possibilities available in America.”
See also: WTM 2016: Brand USA unveils enhanced trade activity