Brief:
The Brand USA VIP Thanksgiving Media Event provided an opportunity to strengthen relationships with attendees from key UK media titles through one-on-one conversations exchanging 2020 travel feature ideas. The screening of the Brand USA film ‘Into America’s Wild’ trailer served as a tool to effectively communicate to the attending media the themes of ‘exploration’ and ‘self-discovery’ which will be key for Brand USA group trips and Visiting Journalists Programme in 2020.
Action:
Hills Balfour organised a successful Brand USA VIP media event at Soho House hosting 21 attendees from top-tier outlets including The Telegraph, The i newspaper, National Geographic Traveller, Lonely Planet Traveller and Culture Trip. The UK team delivered destination presentations incorporating U.S. stories and travel trends for 2020, as well as Brand USA’s key programmes: United Stories, GoUSA TV, and giant-screen film strategy.
Attendees were given media swag bags that included an Amazon Fire Stick to encourage VIP media to watch Brand USA content and giant-screen films on GoUSA TV. Ten boxes of Thanksgiving cupcakes were also graciously received by editorial teams at media outlets including The Times, The Sunday Times Travel Magazine and The Sun and the screening of the trailer for ‘Into America’s Wild’ was warmly received, paving the way for more messaging around the ideas of ‘exploration’ and ‘self-discovery’ that are the focal point of Brand USA’s 2020 trips.
Results:
We were delighted to receive such positive feedback and these testimonials show that the event was a big success for the media invited.
‘Thank you so much for last night – lovely food, splendid company and excellent to hear more on the U.S., which is – as ever – a huge part of our plans for coverage next year’ – Ben Ross, Head of Print, The Telegraph Travel
‘Thanks so much for a great night last night, the pumpkin pie was delish! Thanks very much and chat soon’ – Cathy Adams, Head of Travel, The Independent
‘Really lovely to see you last night, thanks for having me along. It’s been great working with you this year. Lovely swag bag too :-)’ – Hannah Summers, USA Specialist Writer, The Telegraph and The Guardian