Winona, MN — [11/7/2023] — Visit Winona, the destination marketing organization for Winona, Minnesota, is thrilled to announce that it has been honored with the 2023 Innovation Award by the Upper Midwest Convention and Visitor Bureau Association (UMCVB) for its stand-out “Miami of Minnesota” marketing campaign. This award recognizes the campaign’s creativity, impact, and humor-driven approach that has made it a resounding success in elevating Winona’s appeal as a unique travel destination.
The “Miami of Minnesota” campaign leverages Winona’s location on the Southeastern Minnesota border to draw a parallel to Miami’s geographic location in Florida, which is roughly in the same position. It then parodies so-called similarities between the cities with a fictitious list of attractions that include an alligator theme park that offers swim-with-alligator experiences and a hybrid flock of northern flamingos that give rides to children. The campaign is anchored by a real website, miamiofminnesota.com, that offers completely ridiculous descriptions of myriad attractions in Winona’s fictional “Gator Park.” Every link on the website leads to a landing page on Visit Winona’s actual tourism website.
By infusing humor into its destination marketing, Visit Winona was able to cut through the clutter of the tourism marketing industry and gather enormous engagement, which officials believe has contributed to the record-setting web traffic and lodging receipts experienced since the campaign’s introduction. “With its arts scene, gorgeous scenery, extensive outdoor recreation opportunities and ideal location near five major metros, Winona is a really great place to visit,” says Visit Winona marketing director and campaign creator Cynthya Porter. “But as a smaller destination in a very large tourism market, we had to be strategic about how to use our budget to capture attention so we could attract visitors. By making people laugh with a campaign that became viral, we not only got an unprecedented amount of engagement with our marketing, but also built brand affinity and brand loyalty among people who appreciated the unconventional approach to selling a destination.”
Aside from the Innovation Award, the Miami of Minnesota campaign has received regional and national recognition, being featured in outlets such as the Star Tribune, KSTP Channel 5 Eyewitness News and Morning Show, the Dave Ryan Show on KDWB, a half dozen radio stations and podcasts, and on the channel of a TikToker who gathered nearly a half million interactions for the campaign through her account.
For more information about Visit Winona and their award-winning “Miami of Minnesota” campaign, visit http://www.visitwinona.com or contact Cynthya Porter at [email protected].
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About Visit Winona:
Visit Winona is the official destination marketing organization for Winona, Minnesota, dedicated to promoting the city as a premier travel destination, enhancing the local economy, and fostering community pride.