Next phase of Make It Yours, Commerce Corporation's digital ad campaign, calls for more #MyRIStory photo submissions from residents
The Rhode Island Commerce Corporation has announced plans to renew its Make It Yours (MIY) ad campaign for a fall run, set to launch in mid-October. The second phase of the campaign will build on the success of the digital ads the state ran over the summer.
The authentic, crowdsourced nature of the MIY campaign, which featured firsthand photos submitted by Rhode Islanders, resonated with online audiences, earning a click-through-rate five times the industry average after just a month of activity.
The Commerce Corporation is again encouraging Rhode Islanders to make the state's tourism campaign their own by submitting photos and stories with the hashtag #MyRIStory on social media networks like Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
User-submitted images from the initial phase, which will conclude Sept. 30, were utilized in a series of digital advertisements developed in collaboration with local digital design firm Epic Decade. These ads ran on sites that provide information about Rhode Island, as well as search engines, beginning on Aug. 2.
"The MIY ads have given Rhode Islanders the chance to attract more visitors here simply by sharing their passion for our state," said Lara Salamano, the Commerce Corporation's chief marketing officer. "It's been exciting to see such a high degree of participation and enthusiasm so quickly, and, with our new fall campaign, we look forward to collecting even more submissions and introducing more people to all the things there are to love about Rhode Island."
To get phase two rolling, Rhode Islanders were asked earlier this month (via Facebook):
What do you love most about Rhode Island in the fall? Show us! Here's how to participate: 1. Find your favorite images of Rhode Island in the Fall. 2. Upload them to Facebook, Instagram or Twitter. 3. Tell YOUR Rhode Island story in 140 characters or less. 4. Don't forget to tag #MyRIStory. 5. Follow us and check back here to see how others tell their Rhode Island story!
The first phase of the MIY campaign garnered approximately 800 image submissions, 1,880 Instagram posts and 1,164 Tweets, and the #MyRIStory hashtag generated more than 1.1 million Twitter impressions.