Travel Vertical is an authority on destination marketing, so when they wrote an article celebrating Visit Winona’s response to Squarespace’s new Super Bowl ad campaign starring Winona Ryder, we couldn’t help but take notice.
Writer Laurie Jo Miller Farr asks the question in the headline of her piece, How Did a Small Town in Rural Minnesota Get a Super Bowl Ad They Never Asked For? She writes, “Honestly. Super Bowl ads now run up to $5.6 million for a 30-second spot,” going on to say, “Look how tiny Winona, MN (population 27,000) scored for the win without the big bucks. A priceless opportunity…”.
Miller Farr takes a look at Visit Winona’s quick response to the international campaign by creating a website of their own to mirror the website Ryder created for Squarespace, asking, “So, how to grab onto the coattails, add to the narrative in a tongue-in-cheek fashion that demonstrates gratitude for the exposure while generating a more positive perspective of the town?” She then examines Visit Winona’s solution, writing, “Act fast. Super Bowl digital assets for the Squarespace ad were released last Tuesday morning and by Thursday, Visit Winona had its strategy and response in play. Tourism officials created a campaign that riffs off the actor’s “WelcometoWinona.com” with its own similarly styled Squarespace webpage, “WelcomeToTheRestofWinona.com.””
Miller Farr also talks to Visit Winona’s executive director Pat Mutter in the column, quoting her as saying, ““Winona Ryder is a beloved figure in Winona and we appreciate being part of her story.”” Mutter continues, ““The beauty of this campaign is that everyone will have their own version of what True Winona is, and we are looking forward to sharing those with the world too.””
You can read the full article here
You can also take a look at Travel Vertical’s glowing review of a Visit Winona Fall 2019 campaign here
Read more about Squarespace’s ad campaign starring Winona (the actress) and Winona (the city) and watch the videos here