Association takes message to campaign trail
U.S. Travel Association headed to both political conventions to push its Vote Travel campaign, and used what it calls a "nontraditional approach" to reach delegates.
Launching Vote Travel 2.0, U.S. Travel wants the notion to resonate that the conventions could not be possible if it weren't for the travel industry's $1.9 trillion in economic output and 14 million U.S. jobs. Outreach at the each convention included:
- Vote Travel-branded key cards at Marriott hotels in Tampa, Fla. (pictured) at the Republican convention and Charlotte, N.C. for the Democratic convention.
- Vote Travel Digi-Clean microfiber screen cleaners to everyone renting a car from Hertz and Enterprise. The screen cleaners were on Vote Travel branded cards containing statistics on the economic impact of the travel industry;
- Back-of-the-house tours for policymakers and delegates at Marriott hotels;
- Street marketing teams distributed t-shirts, squishy buses and buttons in both cities;
- Taxicabs received Vote Travel air fresheners;
- Convention bus drivers wore Vote Travel buttons;
- Through a partnership with taxi company Uber, delegates who entered the "Vote Travel" code received a $20 discount on their first Uber ride.
- Twitter trivia contest for delegates, to promote the economic impact of the travel industry. The winner received a trip to Las Vegas.
- U.S. Travel sponsored Toast to Charlotte and Toast to Tampa receptions, in partnership with AH&LA and the National Restaurant Association. Details: www.travelindustry.org.
