Photo courtesy of Visit Sarasota County.

Living in a vacation destination comes with its perks, like always seemingly being the place your family and friends want to visit. As the host, though, the pressure is on you. Because as they’re creating their itinerary, who do they lean on for the go-to recommendations, rely on as their regional expert, and count on as an all-access tour guide? The local, of course.

Word of mouth will always be one of the strongest forms of marketing, especially from you and your neighbors. After all, you frequent the businesses opening their storefronts from dawn to dusk, discover the “hidden” gems (although, they were never invisible to you), and, in turn, set the tone for the charm and character of your slice of the community.

Our team at Visit Sarasota County takes a similar approach—listening locally, thinking globally—to ensure our tourism marketing is representative of our entire region, with a finger on the pulse of what matters most within each of our distinct neighborhoods.

To glean this insight, our bureau makes a commitment to partner with six of our regional Chambers of Commerce to create a united front for economic development, focused on collaboration, not duplication, and stretching our precious public funds from Tourist Development Tax even further.

Over the years, these partnerships—with Englewood, Greater Sarasota, Longboat Key/Lido Key/St. Armands, North Port, Siesta Key, and Venice—have expanded significantly in scope. Many of our Chambers include our Visitor Guide in their own mailings and drive visitor attention to kiosks in their lobby, with brochures advertising our entire destination. Two Chambers even house our brick-and-mortar Visitor Centers—one in Downtown Sarasota and the other in Downtown Venice. Industry advocacy, data sharing, and emergency preparedness are also deeply rooted in our work together.

This past season, however, we asked each Chamber for something more: their local insights. For our latest seasonal marketing campaign running March through the end of this month, we leaned on these business leaders to provide input and creative materials (think images, messaging, and the like) to build an advertising campaign that authentically captured and communicated the story of their region, exactly how they’d like to tell it.

In what we’ve dubbed a “Regional Spotlight Campaign,” our bureau invested $12,000 in promotions with each Chamber—an investment totaling $72,000 for this specific messaging. Digital ads directed visitors close to clicking the “book” button in key markets across the U.S. to a chamber-curated selection of recommendations.

All our Chambers responded enthusiastically and contributed their own character to the campaign. Englewood embraced an identity of “Refreshingly Real, Authentically Florida.” North Port signaled “Ease in Abundance,” showcasing Warm Mineral Springs and other natural escapes. Venice’s “Unwind and Explore” messaging shined bright next to photos of Venice Beach. Siesta Key celebrated their recent U.S. News & World Report ranking with the tagline, “Beauty Abounds on the Nation’s Best Beach.” Longboat Key tapped into coastal charm with “Island Life is Within Reach,” leading with images of resorts and shopping. And Greater Sarasota urged visitors “don’t wait, paradise is only year round.”

Just as visitors rely on locals to point them toward the experiences they won't find in a brochure, this campaign relied on the voices of those who know each community best. While we won’t have the full results of this campaign until June 30, the interest we’ve seen in our entire County has been encouraging. The primary objective—to invite tourists to consider Sarasota County as a collection of unique, must-experience destinations, so they realize all they didn’t do and want to return—was surely accomplished, thanks in large part to all our Chamber partners.

While these annual partnerships certainly give us another opportunity to enter new rooms and shake new hands, at their core, they do so much to underscore the interconnectedness of tourism, economic development, and quality of life. And for this message, there’s more than one go-to guide—and we’re grateful, and stronger as a community, for it.

Erin Duggan, CDME, is President and CEO of Visit Sarasota County.

Photo courtesy of Visit Sarasota County.