Brand USA wins Platinum Adrian Award
HSMAI Names Brand USA Winner of 2018 Platinum Adrian Award
Brand USA, the destination-marketing organization for the United States, won a prestigious Platinum Adrian Award last night from Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International (HSMAI) for its 2018 global, public-relations campaign, “Travel Transcends Politics.”
By virtue of winning a Gold Adrian Award from HSMAI for this campaign on Jan. 10, Brand USA was eligible to be selected as a Platinum Award winner at the Jan. 22 dinner reception and gala, hosted by HSMAI at the New York Marriott Marquis. This was the 62nd year of HSMAI’s Adrian Awards competition. The pool of Gold Award recipients in the Public Relations category this year had a record total of 104 winners, including Brand USA.
Additionally, Brand USA won two Silver Adrian Awards for achievements in 2018. One was in the category of Integrated Marketing for Consumers, for its “U.K. Winter Multi-Channel Campaign, 2017-2018.” Brand USA’s promotion of its giant-screen documentary “America’s Musical Journey,” released early in 2018, earned another Silver Award in the Integrated Marketing Campaign category.
“To receive an Adrian Award from HSMAI – especially a Platinum one – is a great tribute to the work that Brand USA continues to do in promoting the United States as an exceptional, world-class destination,” said Chris Thompson, Brand USA’s president and CEO. “Our country’s diverse range of authentic travel experiences, along with the welcoming nature of our citizenry, make the USA an enticing place to visit.”
Brand USA’s Platinum Award-winning campaign showed that even with a transition to a new administration, the United States is still a premier destination for international travelers. Brand USA’s efforts to promote that concept, while also communicating travel policies to travelers around the world, was considered to be critical for the U.S. tourism industry.
Through a compelling media-relations effort that secured an increasing level of positive coverage, Brand USA was able to separate perception from reality, and show how the United States continues to be one of the most aspirational destinations for international travelers. The campaign – which garnered 20 percent more media coverage compared to the previous year – demonstrated that “travel transcends politics.”
Brand USA targeted influential journalists and media outlets throughout its top global markets, in North America, Europe, the U.K., and Asia. The challenge was to counter the flurry of messages from tour operators and other travel-trade sources, which forecast a significant drop in the level of arrivals to the United States.
Two years ago, Brand USA won a Platinum Award in HSMAI’s advertising category for its marketing activity as the nation’s destination-marketing organization.
HSMAI received more than 1,100 entries for its yearly Adrian Awards contest. The awards celebrate outstanding travel advertising, digital marketing, and public-relations campaigns. HSMAI has 7,000 members worldwide and maintains chapters in three regions: the Americas, Asia Pacific, and Europe.