Mendocino County needed to establish a brand to differentiate itself among DINKs and WOOPs from other popular California destinations and increase visitation (heads in beds) during spring and fall shoulder months.

An integrated marketing campaign consisting of new branding/positioning, print advertisements running in Via, National Geographic Traveller, Sunset, and CondeNast Traveller, online advertising, direct mail, email blasts, advertorials, airport kiosks, Search Engine Marketing, rack cards, a 24-page brochure and a microsite promoted breathtaking ocean views, hiking and biking trails, unpretentious wineries, whale watching and many other reasons to visit this largely undiscovered, unspoiled gem.

The online ads generated 2,186,640 impressions and over 28,000 visits to the microsite and maintained a solid .13% CTR (well above the industry standard for non-enhanced rich media). The print campaign generated 8,828,000 impressions, over 500 visits to the microsite, and over 6000 response cards received (an outstanding response). Based on the overall marketing budget, response, and customer acquisition conversion rates, the campaign achieved a Return on Investment (ROI) of 17 to 1.