18 Summers of Fun

Mid-April finds many of us counting down the days to summer vacation and taking time off from work or school. For active families, finding that work/fun balance is always in flux, but summer is that time of year for shared fun and R&R. In Idaho, downtime can mean logging off and adventuring on horseback or mountain bike, lake play or fly-fishing in a valley stream.

Tapping the latest insights from US Travel’s Project Time Off program, the 2015 18Summers campaign was launched to inspire families to come and experience Idaho’s unique attractions, places to visit and natural beauty. With over 429 million vacation days going unused across America each year, we knew there was strong leisure travel demand…we just needed to share Idaho’s story.

The initial 2014 campaign centered around sharing the value and importance of taking family vacations and spending time together. The 2015 effort extended these inspirational storylines by following four Idaho families across the state and capturing their adventures, one memory at a time.

The center of the brand experience was a redesigned microsite at 18summers.us, which showcased four documemories, 12 summer giveaways and an all-new Idaho Adventure Finder. The Finder allowed guests to effectively “shop” for their ideal summer destination based on trip inputs including adventure/relaxation type, region and budget

Levering last year’s media results, the new program paired a mix of traditional and innovative digital media placements with travel marketing must-haves including branded video, plus tapping new tech like YouTube’s new promo card feature. Careful attention was placed on overall positioning and harnessing the power of each of our media partners to bring the custom creative executions to life. Examples of this blended approach included native advertising, programmatic media and emailing marketing.

Working alongside our client, Idaho Tourism, and over 60 partners across the state, we hope you enjoy the work and consider Idaho as a new place to visit (or return for more fun). Wherever your travels take you this summer, enjoy the memories along the way.