Brand USA Newsletter - April 2020

Brand USA Marketing Campaigns

As part of Brand USA's plan to deliver hope and optimism to our partners and industry with a "stay home, stay inspired" message to re-engage people on our social media channels while they're home travel dreaming and looking for entertainment, we’re creating opportunities to share some of the dynamic content available on our GoUSA TV platform and encourage you take a virtual road trip across the USA.

Some of these marketing campaigns you've heard about before, and some may be brand new. Take some time and familiarize yourself with Brand USA's marketing campaigns: 'Virtual Road Trip,' 'United Stories,' and 'GoUSA TV.'


Virtual Road Trip

roadtrip

Over the past month the Visit The USA Instagram account has taken its followers on a virtual road trip. This is a way to share the beauty of the United States with people while everyone is social distancing. So far, Brand USA has featured 28 states and numerous different destinations within each state. The photos being used are user-generated content (UGC) from locals and visitors. 

With the Virtual Road Trip campaign, Brand USA is also having people who have been featured in other campaigns such as 'Ask a Local,' 'Hear the Music,' and 'United Stories,' and "Into America's Wild" share what they love most about their hometowns. This campaign will be running until May and once Brand USA has featured all 50 states, five territories, and the District of Columbia.

To start us off, on April 6, Robin Barnes (@neworleanssongsbird) from our 'Hear the Music' campaign (available to stream on GoUSA TV) shared her hometown of New Orleans, Louisiana.

On April 22, Mikah Meyer (@mikahmey) had a stop in Minnesota to showcase why he selected the state to live in and his favorite spots and things to do. While Mikah has traveled the world visiting all 419 U.S. National Parks, he has found his home in Minnesota and wants to tell our audience why.

Then on April 28, Omar Aragones (​@omararagones) also from 'Hear the Music' (available to stream on GoUSA TV) showcased his favorite Motown music and why he chooses to call Detroit, Michigan home.

Next up in mid-May, Ariel Tweto (@arieltweto) of our third giant-screen film, "Into America's Wild," will be showcasing her favorite spots in Alaska and how she remains entertained with her mom during quarantine--Alaska style!

As of mid-April, 'Virtual Road Trip' metrics include:

  • Total Posts: 450 (includes Language localizations)
  • Total Views (Instagram and Facebook Story Views): 2.9 Million
  • Total States Visited: 28
  • Total Cities Featured: 19
  • Total National Parks/Attractions Featured: 71
  • Total Responses/engagements from Partners: 37 total

FOLLOW VISIT THE USA ON INSTAGRAM.


United Stories

United Stories

In January 2019, Brand USA launched the award-winning 'United Stories' campaign: a mobile content creation lab that travels the United States capturing warm and welcoming stories told from local perspectives. This content has inspired international travelers to visit the USA. Accomplished content creators, storytellers, and influencers have visited various points of interest, events, and attractions across the country in visually arresting vehicles branded with #UnitedStories

Check out the latest United Stories videos by clicking on the below links:


GoUSA TV

trails and trailblazers

Travel isn’t just an industry, it’s part of the human condition. Whether to find oneself, experience another culture, or just relax and unwind, the desire to discover the world is hardwired into our DNA. As times have changed, the ways travelers form perceptions of a place have changed too, from stone tablets to books to movies to tablets again. Yet one thing has stayed the same: our need to share experiences via storytelling.

GoUSA TV taps into the power of entertainment to ensure USA destinations will be top of mind when people are ready to book again. The shows on the channel cover our entire country and feature a wide range of themes. GoUSA TV viewers will see originals we’ve created, plus contributions from destination partners and licensed content from Discovery, Atlas Obscura, Tastemade, and others.

In April, Brand USA added several new GoUSA Originals including “California Pop.” The series, created with Visit California, follows friends on a quirky road trip through California. In “Trails and Trailblazers,” Astronaut John Herrington and Alaskan Pilot Ariel Tweto take viewers kite surfing, hiking in our National Parks, and to many hidden gems. With “Lucky In Love,” British couples flip a coin to determine their next experience in the USA.  

GoUSA TV offers destinations the unique opportunity to present their own video storytelling to a global audience seeking travel entertainment from the comfort of home. Interested? Get details by clicking here: Brand USA Contest Invites DMOs to Submit Storytelling Videos for Streaming on GoUSA TV.

Brand USA created a 'GoUSA TV Social Media Roadblock' filled social media with USA travel content on Thursday, April 23 at 12:00 PM EDT. Participants were asked to cut and paste a post, video link, and hashtags to their social channels and invite colleagues, friends, and followers to download and watch GoUSA TV.

GoUSA TV is geared to inspire the world to visit the USA, and during this stay-at-home time, organic views of GoUSA TV in the USA alone have reached nearly one million with a session duration of more than 7 minutes.

FOLLOW GOUSA TV ON INSTAGRAM, TWITTER, AND FACEBOOK.

For many more GoUSA TV shows, download the GoUSA streaming channel and app iOS, Andriod, Roku, Amazon Fire, Apple TV, or Google Chromecast.