Sabrina Flores
Communications
Discover Albany
sabrina@relentlessaware.com
914.619.0312
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Nov. 19, 2020
DISCOVER ALBANY ANNOUNCED AS WINNERS IN 2020 CAPITAL REGION MARCOM AWARDS
#518TulipTracker campaign and 2020 Albany County Visitors Guide receive acclaimed recognition
ALBANY, N.Y. (Nov. 19, 2020) – Discover Albany, Albany County’s Convention and Visitor’s Bureau, has been recognized as winners for the 2020 MARCOM awards. The #518TulipTracker campaign won under the under the ‘Digital Media Campaign’ category and the 2020 Visitors Guide was a finalist under the ‘Printed Publications’ category.
Discover Albany has won two MARCOM awards in previous years and have been recognized as finalists in the past. This year, their highlighted projects were exceedingly effective throughout the peak of COVID-19’s ‘stay at home’ order.
The #518TulipTracker winning campaign had numerous initiatives to help locals celebrate the Annual Tulip Fest despite the cancellation due to COVID-19. Several blog posts were written including one about the origins of the Tulip Festival and its ties to Albany’s Dutch sister city, Nijmegen, Netherlands. The campaign encouraged residents to share photos of spring tulips throughout Albany County with the hashtag #518TulipTracker on social media. In collaboration with City of Albany Office of Cultural Affairs, “Tulip Tuesdays” were created with video content provided by the city gardener. The campaign was complimented by the creation of a self-guided tulip & garden driving-tour by Discover Albany and a Bingo card so participants could check off all the sites they visited. These initiatives received massive engagement on social media.
The 2020 Visitors Guide, inspired by the boon of public art throughout Albany County, includes a special feature, Artful Albany, highlighting the various ways visitors and locals can take in the art scene in Albany County. The guide also includes must-read information on where to eat, what to do and where to stay. Continuing the “Artful Albany” theme, the cover of the guide features a custom cover illustration by artist Cara Hanley with a stylistically matching bird’s eye view map of downtown Albany.
These projects were instrumental in creating safe, fun, socially-distanced entertainment activities for Capital Region locals and visitors alike throughout New York State’s ‘stay at home’ order.
“We were thrilled to be finalists in both the “Digital Media Campaign” and “Printed Publication” categories at this year’s MARCOM Awards. This was a year where we really needed to shift the way we were marketing our destination and get creative,” said Jill Delaney, president and CEO of Discover Albany. “In a normal year we focus on encouraging visitors to come and discover all that Albany has to offer. With the COVID-19 pandemic preventing most visitors from travelling here, we looked at how we could get locals to be tourists in their own backyard. We are very proud of the work that we have done in what has proven to be one of the most challenging years we’ve ever had.”
For more on the Capital Region MARCOM awards, please visit crmarcomawards.com.
For more on Discover Albany, please visit albany.org.
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About Discover Albany. The Albany County Convention & Visitors Bureau, Inc. was established in 1976 to promote the civic and commercial progress of the community through increased development of conventions and tourism. Today, the organization is known as Discover Albany. Discover Albany currently represents more than 300 member businesses and assists each year in hundreds of regional meetings. Discover Albany also operates the Discover Albany Visitors Center, and the Albany International Airport Information Center. The Albany County Convention and Visitors Bureau Foundation was established in 1993 to provide educational opportunities and work with other organizations to secure grants and funding to advance regional travel and tourism projects. For more information, call 518-434-1217 or 800-258-3582 or visit www.albany.org