How Visit Colorado Springs Drove $384,317 in Economic Impact With Their Free Crafts & Drafts Passport.
How Visit Colorado Springs Drove $384,317 in Economic Impact With Their Free Crafts & Drafts Passport.
A trip to Colorado Springs can feel like a journey to a mountain paradise, custom-made for those who appreciate the outdoors.
Colorado’s second-largest city and its surrounding area have long been a sought-after destination, namely for the majesty of Pike’s Peak—nicknamed “America’s Mountain”—and for its natural beauty and outdoor recreation.
But there’s definitely more to Colorado Springs than Pike’s Peak. When it comes to craft beers, spirits and brews, the southern Colorado city is a veritable treasure trove, which is a reputation it’s had to fight to establish amid a crowded craft beverage landscape throughout the state.
“Because the state is literally and figuratively saturated in craft beverages, Colorado Springs is often overlooked in favor of other, more established drinking destinations such as Denver, Boulder and Fort Collins.”
-Melissa Williams, Marketing Manager at Visit Colorado Springs
Standing Out In A Region And Marketplace Crowded With
Craft Beverages Of Every Kind
Visit Colorado Springs considered its options in how best to promote the quality and volume of its libations landscape. “Although Colorado Springs is known for its world-class hiking and biking trails, we really wanted to better establish ourselves as a premier craft beverage destination” Melissa Williams said, adding “Nothing pairs with an outdoor excursion quite like a hand-crafted refreshment.”
“Although Colorado Springs is known for its world-class hiking and biking trails, we really wanted to better establish ourselves as a premier craft beverage destination. Nothing pairs with an outdoor excursion quite like a hand-crafted refreshment.”
-Melissa Williams, Marketing Manager at Visit Colorado Springs
To stake their claim as a bona fide contender for recognition as a top craft beverage destination, Visit Colorado Springs partnered with Bandwango to release a 100% FREE Crafts & Drafts Passport.
This mobile passport—easily accessible without the need to download an app—was full of drink deals and discounts within the greater Colorado Springs region. It heralded an easy, new way to appeal to visitors by showcasing the sheer breadth of the region’s handcrafted beer, spirits (even moonshine!) and coffee..
Aligning Marketing Objectives With Desired Outcomes To
Create Raving Fans
For its second year, Visit Colorado Springs wanted to up the ante in a big way. The 2018 Crafts & Drafts passport saw more merchants, highlighted more craft beverage establishments and gamified the whole experience with giveaways like a chance to earn a free T-shirt and even a grand prize getaway.
For Visit Colorado Springs, the marketing objectives for the Crafts & Drafts campaign were to:
Draw More Visitation
to region’s craft beverage establishments
Position Colorado Springs
as a premier craft beverage destination
Provide Value
to brewery, distillery
For its second year, Visit Colorado Springs wanted to up the ante in a big way. The 2018 Crafts & Drafts passport saw more merchants, highlighted more craft beverage establishments and gamified the whole experience with giveaways like a chance to earn a free T-shirt and even a grand prize getaway.
The marketing team at Visit Colorado Springs told us that although they had the vision and strategies in place for something like this, they lacked the technology to get it up and running.
Understanding, as well, the limitations (and expenses) of a more traditional approach, they knew they didn’t have the budget to print and distribute physical passports, plus, “that would significantly hinder our reach in terms of getting the passport to our audience,” Williams said.
“If it weren’t for Bandwango’s technology, capabilities and amazing team, this passport would likely have never come to fruition.”
-Melissa Williams, Marketing Manager at Visit Colorado Springs
Ultimately the DMO was looking for a way to host the passport on a digital platform but wanted to avoid yet another common hurdle of hiring a developer to create an app, which was considered out of the question for them. As Williams, again, noted: “We were at a standstill until we found Bandwango.”
More Than 7,800 Distributions And 6,600 Offer Redemptions To Visitors From 49 out of 50 States
Once the campaign officially launched, distributions started “pouring” (ha ha!) in almost instantly, indicating early enthusiasm for the product, and a hard-working marketing strategy by the DMO’s advertising agency, Orange 142.
Local Press started picking it up, writing or broadcasting about Crafts & Drafts as public interest grew. The word got out, and folks from near and far began redeeming their passports at the various venues on the passport by the thousands. The campaign won awards and the Crafts & Drafts Passport was even featured as one of the top 15 Unique US Ale Trails by The Beer Connoisseur.
Campaign Impressions
37% higher than their initial goal
6,834,509
Social Views
facebook and instagram
104,369
Unique Redemptions
79% higher than est.
5,499
CTR
34,824 clicks
.51%
Sweepstake Entries
24% higher than est.
6,187
Passport Downloads
79% higher than est.
7,289 so far!
Landing Page Sessions
conversion rate of 20%
34,824
“This helped us to display our value to partners and the community as a whole and there’s a growing sense of pride in the region when it comes to craft beer, distilled drinks and specialty coffee. This continues to bring more business and revenue into the region.”
-Melissa Williams, Marketing Manager at Visit Colorado Springs
Fostering A Sense Of Local And Community Pride Is The
Ultimate, Sustainable Result
Not only have the results been higher than expected outcomes, the general excitement among visitors and locals of the Colorado Springs craft beverage scene has been nothing less than ecstatic.
Quotes from Customer Service Emails:
“The campaign was great fun. Got us out to try new places and local beer.”
“This pass has been so sick!
I appreciate you and everybody else involved in setting it up.”
Provable Economic Impact, Greater Merchant Buy-In, And
Measurable ROI
As Visit Colorado Springs informed us, the additional funds that were generated through the program went directly into the local economy.
Here are some other exciting results, per Melissa Williams:
“Through the Crafts & Drafts Passport, we secured 10 new craft beverage partners, resulting in increased revenue that went directly into our organization. We were able to display great value and earn trust from partners through the popularity of the passport and the frequency in which it was being used.
Our highest redeemed location had 1,022 unique redemptions. That’s 1,022 additional customers who came in to spend money at their business. In total, the locations averaged 198 redemptions each in just 90 days.”
-Melissa Williams, Marketing Manager at Visit Colorado Springs
Assesment of ROI
Based on Longwood’s research, it can be determined that overnight visitors spend an average of $150 per day while day visitors spend $59 per day. From our passport redemptions, we can confidently report that 24% were out of town visitors and 76% were in-town or day visits.
This equates to an estimated:
$384,317
in economic impact.
30 Cents
cost per dollar
231%
ROI
Contact sales@bandwango.com to request more information or schedule a demo.
