Travel Costa Mesa Wins U.S. Travel Association Top Honors

COSTA MESA, Calif., August 22, 2019 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Travel Costa Mesa, the destination marketing organization (DMO) located in the heart of Orange County in Southern California, was honored this week with two Destiny Awards for its Branding and Integrated Marketing Campaign – "Split Decisions" – during the U.S. Travel Association's E.S.T.O. (Educational Seminar for Tourism Organizations) conference in Austin, TX. The annual awards program recognizes local and regional destinations for their creativity and innovation in developing marketing and promotional programs that enhance positive growth for the tourism industry.

Sixteen Destiny Awards were given out and two went to Travel Costa Mesa. The first award was for a branding campaign in the $500,000 - $1,000,000 marketing budget category selected by a judging panel of marketing experts from organizations including JPMorgan Chase & Co., Hylink North America, Rich Media Exchange, Ogilvy and the University of South Carolina.

The second award was the People's Choice Award, voted on by members of the U.S. Travel Association and fans of Costa Mesa.

"The Travel Costa Mesa team is thrilled to be recognized for our work in destination marketing this year for the unique and vibrant City of the Arts®," said Kim Glen, Director of Marketing. "We're grateful to the U.S. Travel Association and all those who voted for us, and big kudos to the creative talents of our partners at The James Agency, who were instrumental in developing this fun, integrated branding campaign."

Travel Costa Mesa underwent a major brand refresh in 2018 as a result of seeing continued development with hip new urban areas, new public art and rapid growth of the dining scene throughout the city. Having previously focused on and older demographic, it was determined the focus needed be on a younger target market with an effort to highlight Costa Mesa as a trendy, fun and vibrant destination for foodies and weekend travelers interested in a unique experience. The campaign included design and creation of a new logo and tagline, imagery and a heavier focus on digital marketing. Within a year, Travel Costa Mesa saw a 23-percent increase in engagement by its target age market, along with a 22-percent increase in leads to Travel Costa Mesa hotel partners.

Travel Costa Mesa is one of 1,200 DMO members in the U.S. Travel Association, the national, non-profit organization representing all components of the travel industry that generates $2.5 trillion in economic output and supports 15.7 million American jobs. U.S. Travel operates as a 501(c)(6) organization.

A list of all of the entry finalists and more information about the Destiny Awards can be found online.

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Located in the heart of Orange County in Southern California with a population of approximately 113,000, Travel Costa Mesa was established in 1995 with the primary of promoting tourism to the city and to fund programs and activities that benefit the hotel and motel businesses within the city of Costa Mesa. For more information on travel to the city of Costa Mesa, visit http://www.travelcostamesa.com or follow @travelcostamesa on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Travel Costa Mesa is a 501(c)(6).

SOURCE Travel Costa Mesa