Looking for some inspiration to shake things up and get people talking about your destination? Start with these five destination marketing organization (DMO) marketing campaigns. 

From famous faces to psychic horse whisperers, these innovative campaigns have captured the attention of millions. Let’s explore the creative marketing tactics of Switzerland Tourism, Visit Omaha, VisitLEX, VISIT Milwaukee, Visit Eau Claire, and Visit Norway — and even a stray cat in Poland. Get ready to be inspired.

1 Roger Federer, Trevor Noah, and 82 million views for Switzerland Tourism

Grab a cup of coffee and get ready to dive into this marketing campaign by Switzerland Tourism. Start with the Switzerland-by-train video featuring celebrities Roger Federer and Trevor Noah, then check out the road trip through the Alps with Federer and Anne Hathaway from 2022, which has racked up more than 103 million views. 

The Grand Train Tour of Switzerland merges the most beautiful panoramic lines into one unique route with 11 large lakes, five Unesco World Heritage Sites, and 795 miles of magnificent views in between …

 

 

2 VisitLEX Presents: The World’s First Travel Review By Horses

People love Lexington, but what do their world-famous Thoroughbreds think about life in the Horse Capital of the World? VisitLEX invited Lexingtonian Carrie Kenady, a renowned psychic medium, to use her powers of extrasensory perception to get the unbiased opinions of native and visiting Thoroughbreds at beautiful Mill Ridge Farm.

Whether it’s the sweet taste of the bluegrass or the eagerness to play in the spring weather, hear what they have to say about life in Lexington …  

 

3 Joshing Around With Josh From VISIT Milwaukee

When the paths of two Josh Albrechts cross, there’s only one logical thing to do — start a podcast! That’s the thinking behind the new free-form podcast and vlog starring Josh Albrecht, vice president of marketing and communications at VISIT Milwaukee, and Josh Albrecht, on-air talent and executive producer of radio’s 97.3 The Game. See what happens when the two Joshes meet…  

 

Listicle 4 - Update Go On a Curd Crawl with Visit Eau Claire

We featured Visit Eau Claire’s Horseradish Hop in our recent article, “7 not-your-mama’s trails & tours (that even your mama will love,” but horseradish is not for the faint of heart. Perhaps to counterbalance the bitterness, the DMO is also hosting a Curd Crawl. Cheesy? Maybe, but Wisconsin is all about cheese, so locals and visitors alike are on a quest for the best cheese curds in Eau Claire. The more you eat, the more swag you get, a decal for four visits, and an “I crawled for curds in Eau Claire, WI” t-shirt. 

Of course, one must train for it …

 

5 13,000 Reasons to Visit Northern Norway

Every DMO can list reasons people should visit — but how many can (or choose to?) list 13,000 of them? Visit Norway created the world’s longest travel review when it gathered reviews about northern Norway from social media platforms and had comedian Truls Svendsen read them out loud — for four hours …

 

Short Version

 

Long Version

BONUS: Do the Stray Cat Strut with Gacek in Szczecin, Poland

It’s not a “marketing campaign that worked” because of any planned DMO effort. Rather, the city of Szczecin, Poland, got lucky when a friendly stray cat started getting lots of social media attention. Despite having the world’s oldest still-operating movie theater and Waly Chrobrego, an elevated walkway dating back more than 100 years, the tourist attraction people seem most excited about these days is Gacek, a stray cat that’s become a local — make that international — celebrity. He’s got over 1,000 five-star Google reviews.

@hotspotmedia "If I could have a dinner with anyone in the world, I would fly again in an instant to feed him," said one visitor #cat #catsoftiktok #attraction #tourism #hotspotmedia ♬ Pieces (Solo Piano Version) - Danilo Stankovic

Does your DMO have a great marketing campaign you’d like to share? Drop us an email!

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