The organisation’s senior vice-president of integrated marketing talks to Robin Searle about her confidence in the UK market and the importance of the trade
The new marketing chief of Brand USA says she is bullish about prospects for the UK market as she hailed the travel trade as the organisation’s “sales team on the ground”.
Staci Mellman joined Brand USA in November as senior vice-president of integrated marketing, following almost 12 years with Visit Florida, most recently as chief marketing officer.
She now leads the organisation’s global marketing activity, following the departure of Tom Garzilli in February following 10 years as chief marketing officer.
Mellman said her experience of inter-state marketing at Visit Florida had offered her an insight into Brand USA’s collaborative approach to promoting the destination.
And she said a strong start to the year gave her confidence in Brand USA’s projections that the UK market is set to grow rapidly from 3.4 million visitors in 2022 to 4 million in 2023, 4.9 million in 2024 and 5.7 million in 2025.
Mellman was speaking as Brand USA prepares to host its UK & Ireland Megafam from April 19, with 60 frontline travel sellers joining six itineraries in the West, Midwest, Deep South, East and North East before a grand finale in New York City.
The organisation has also ramped up trade activity with the second stage of a Road Trips USA campaign running with Travel Weekly and highlighting more than 30 sample itineraries to inspire travel agents and tour operators.
“We think of the trade to a degree as our sales team on the ground,” Mellman explained. “We want to help our partners be the best and educate and inform them not just on the areas they know, so they can surprise and service their clients.
“The Megafam is an unbelievable opportunity to experience aspects of the destinations that are new to them, and we want to immerse them in the people and culture of the places they get to visit.”
UK confidence
Brand USA also continues to work closely with trade partners on co-op marketing campaigns, Mellman added, with UK partners including Flight Centre, Travelbag, Ocean Holidays, Gold Medal, First Class Holidays and Carrier.
She said: “I feel very confident (for the UK market). Our trade partners are reporting a very strong Q1 and business has been back to pre-pandemic levels for some, with some claiming their best January on record.
“This is making me feel very confident about the rebound of travel, particularly from the UK. The US is a key destination for many people and thankfully they are looking at more destinations (within the US) to visit.”
She added: “We are seeing strong demand to California, New York and Florida, as you would expect, but we are also seeing a lot of interest in places such as Hawaii and the South, particularly for the luxury traveller.”
Accessibility focus
In addition to Brand USA’s existing marketing pillars, Mellman said she is committed to increasing the organisation’s focus on accessible travel, a subject she championed in her time at Visit Florida.
She said: “When I was at Florida I was trying to position it as a top destination for accessible travel, and it opened up the opportunity. Accessible travel is not just people who are wheelchair users, there’s a huge spectrum of travellers we can be more mindful of in the travel planning process.
“If we can elevate the knowledge that travellers have of the experiences they can have in the US then we will naturally be able to attract a lot more travellers looking for accessible experiences.
“There is already so much happening in the US, so as Brand USA we can aggregate that and tell those stories on behalf of the United States.”
London calling
Another core focus for Mellman in the coming year is the return of Brand USA’s UK & Europe Travel Week to London in October, following its first continental edition in Frankfurt last year.
Mellman said the event was expected to attract buyers from across Europe to connect with US destination exhibitors alongside a Media Forum and a CEO Summit which will be attended by up to 50 DMO chief executives.
“The three different components of the event give us a great opportunity to bring people together for business meetings, interviews, round table discussions and enrichment experiences,” she said, adding: “We are excited to be coming back to the UK and back to London.”