The Ultimate Sunblock
VisitErie
A local view of
something extraordinary.
Opportunities like this only come along every couple of hundred years, so the VisitErie and Red House teams seized the day and looked to capitalize on the 2024 total solar eclipse. With eclipse visitor estimates ranging from 50K to 200K people, the event was a marquee opportunity to attract new visitors to the region, and showcase the destination that Erie has become.
With months of proactive creative and media planning, Red House leveraged Erie’s most recognizable attraction (Presque Isle), a sandy peninsula that arcs out into Lake Erie with historic lighthouses, 13 miles of sandy beaches and iconic sunsets. The result netted award winning creative that include event planning, brand marketing, public relations and visitor retargeting strategies that were all executed in the run-up to the April eclipse.
Fun and branded solar eclipse glasses were distributed and provided to thousands of participates and visitors.
As an eye catching installation we constructed massive versions of our eclipse glasses and placed them around the city.
Red House provided a strategic media and communications plan targeted to attract new visitors to the the region. Including a series of out of home boards.
We created a comprehensive social media campaign featuring stories, posts, stickers, and more.
Official Eclipse Merch included stickers, coasters, a shirt from Erie Apparel, mugs from Moose Head Pottery, even an official Total Eclipse Schwarzbier Black Lager from John Russell Brewing Company.
Awards, accolades, and approximately more than 100,000 visitors, the Eclipse was a stellar success for VisitErie and Red House.
Results
The results were overwhelming. More than 100K people traveled to Erie that weekend, with 100% hotel occupancy, representing Erie’s largest visitation weekend in city and county history! This level of visitation proved an 105% increase in visitor spending, hotel demand rose 60% and spending on food increased 123%. The media results were equally impressive delivering 5X platform benchmark averages.
We'll see ya for the next one, Erie.
