The holidays are almost upon us and we have exciting news to share: The Island’s destination marketing organization, Visit Bainbridge has teamed up with two of our region’s most watched news outlets to deliver a new high-visibility promotional holiday campaign for our community. That core initiative is supported by placement digital and online media that is designed to reach the regional drive market as well as fly-in markets as far away as Boise, Phoenix, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Sacramento, Spokane and Portland as well over the border into British Columbia, Canada.
The advertising on these platforms is a holiday edition of the ‘Find Your Island’ campaign which was rolled out regionally along the West Coast and Southwest states in September. The campaign, aimed at attracting overnight and daytime trips, encourages visitors to ‘stay awhile’ to explore Bainbridge’s shopping, food and wine, lodging, arts and culture, and incredible outdoor recreational opportunities – all wrapped in a signature tagline, ‘There’s always the next boat.’
“We are extremely proud of the efforts put forth by this community to collectively plan for and welcome visitors to share in our special holiday traditions on Bainbridge Island,” Executive Director of Visit Bainbridge Island Chris Mueller said. “It has been a privilege to lead such a dynamic group or organizations and individuals and to utilize our Lodging Tax grant funds to create a cohesive and unified campaign designed to further the island’s economic recovery.”
Advertising Campaign Features:
- Q-13 FOX Digital & Television Ads – On Wednesday, November 10th, a digital campaign began showcasing what our island community has to offer to visitors seeking a special experience this holiday season. The Holidays on Bainbridge Island promotion includes 30-second television commercials throughout the rest of the year alongside digital advertising on the Q-13 Fox website.
- KING5 Homepage Takeover – From Friday, November 26th through Sunday, November 28th, Visit Bainbridge Island will partner with KING5.com in a high-impact digital homepage takeover campaign featuring three days of banner ads promoting the Holidays on Bainbridge Island campaign. The ads will link directly to a special Holiday Homepage on VisitBainbridgeIsland.org and will serve as a collection point for individual events, celebrations, accommodations, and activities island wide.
- Social Media – A special holiday hashtag has been launched – #bainbridgeholidays – to capture the unique moments the island celebrates this time of year. Please share this with your social media teams – we hope the entire community will post, tag, and share images on Instagram to generate homegrown, authentic content.
Why Is This Important?
This campaign is the result of months of planning and input from Visit Bainbridge’s Tourism Marketing Advisory Group (Bainbridge Chamber, Downtown Association, Lodging Association, Arts & Humanities Bainbridge, Parks Foundation, Bloedel Reserve, KiDiMu, BIMA, Tour Bainbridge, and the Winery Alliance – along with Kitsap Transit and PacWesty). It is the first promotion of this kind to unify the Island under a single holiday destination campaign aimed at post pandemic recovery. Exclusive images for the campaign were created by Bainbridge photographer Keith Brofsky, under creative direction from Islander Andie Mackin.
How Was This Funded & What Are The Projections?
The Holidays on Bainbridge campaign amounts to a $10,000+ direct investment from Visit Bainbridge’s 2021 Lodging Tax Grant allocation.
More than 1 million impressions are expected by December 25th, bringing new levels of interest in visiting Bainbridge Island during the (traditionally slower) winter visitor season.
Want to Learn More and/or Get Your Business Included?
- Sample an online preview of the #bainbridgeholidays Digital Campaign
- See a full calendar of seasonal Island events and lodging at VisitBainbridgeIsland.org
- All events are also shared and promoted via the community calendar at Bainbridge Currents online.
To add your holiday activities, please contact Chantelle Lusebrink, Sr. Marketing and Communication Manager for Visit Bainbridge Island