Introduction

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VisitPITTSBURGH, the official tourism development agency for Pittsburgh and Allegheny County, is focused on attracting tourists to Pittsburgh and driving measurable economic impact. Partnering with Sojern since 2019, the team implemented highly targeted multichannel ad campaigns across display and native. These campaigns have not only boosted visitation and hotel stays but also highlighted Pittsburgh’s unique appeal - especially to travellers drawn to its vibrant arts institutions, nationally recognised culinary scene, legacy sports team and outdoor adventures.

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Objectives

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The VisitPITTSBURGH team looked to activate digital marketing campaigns to drive awareness and hotel bookings and ultimately, economic impact to Pittsburgh. They sought to get their message in front of the right audiences that would appreciate all that Pittsburgh had to offer, primarily travellers who were seeking experiences centred on arts, culture and the outdoors. On top of that, they wanted to spotlight their recent recognition as a top destination by USA Today with a targeted campaign.

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Reaching these niche audiences at the right time with the right message required advanced audience targeting capabilities, access to travel data and a partner who could help them stand out among other destinations. While marketing efforts aimed to bring tourists to Pittsburgh, the ultimate goal was to convert these visitors into overnight hotel stays. Showing positive ROI, tracking campaign performance, and demonstrating measurable economic impact were essential for success. With limited resources and stiff competition from other destinations, VisitPITTSBURGH turned to a data-driven partner to make their vision a reality.

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Solution

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VisitPITTSBURGH partnered with Sojern in 2019 to leverage targeted digital advertising to drive reach, engagement, hotel bookings and economic impact. The team ran multichannel campaigns across programmatic display and native, targeting US prospective travellers. The campaigns utilised advanced audience targeting, layering affinity and keyword contextual targeting audiences with Sojern’s travel intent data to deliver hyper-relevant messages to their ideal travellers, in addition to highlighting them as a top travel destination.

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To ensure the campaigns resonated with the right audience, Sojern designed compelling ads that cut through the noise of a crowded travel market.

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“There's a lot of competition and noise in the marketplace. Sojern helps VisitPITTSBURGH break through that noise to ensure it’s reaching travellers effectively and early on in the travel buying cycle. When travellers start to research or purchase their next travel experience, Sojern makes sure VisitPITTSBURGH’s message gets to the consumers it wants to attract to promote Pittsburgh and stay top of mind. Sojern makes the process seamless from campaign launch to optimisation,” said Jerad Bachar, president/CEO at VisitPITTSBURGH.

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With Sojern’s Economic Impact Report, VisitPITTSBURGH was able to measure the impact of the campaign’s efforts. From April to June 2024, the campaigns delivered impressive results:

● $1,425,018 in estimated economic impact
● 19:1 ROAS
● 1,212 total hotel reservations booked

“Sojern really stands out from an analytical standpoint, helping VisitPITTSBURGH prove ROI in a very sophisticated way. Having partners like Sojern helps ensure that the ROI on advertising continues to grow. The partnership has shown positive growth year after year, and Sojern ensures VisitPITTSBURGH gets what it needs out of its investments,” Bachar said.

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“Sojern has been a critical partner for a number of years and has done a phenomenal job for the organization. It has VisitPITTSBURGH’s best interests in mind. The biggest benefit of working with Sojern is its fundamental understanding of exactly what a destination organization does, given its long history of supporting DMOs. Sojern understands VisitPITTSBURGH and the consumers it’s trying to reach. That knowledge is absolutely critical. It makes the process so much more seamless. The team is amazing and is seen as an extension of VisitPITTSBURGH’s own.”
- Jerad Bachar, President and CEO

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This article was written in partnership with Sojern.