VisitPITTSBURGH, the official tourism promotion agency for Pittsburgh and Allegheny County, has received a 2018 Adrian Award from the Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International (HSMAI) for excellence in website design and development. Adrian Awards honor outstanding advertising, digital marketing and public relations in hospitality and tourism marketing.
The David L. Lawrence Convention Center, whose site was intentionally designed to have similar components to the VisitPITTSBURGH site to show the close working relationship between the two organizations, also received an Adrian Award.
VisitPITTSBURGH’s marketing team worked with Tempest, a travel marketing agency, to elevate its website with an innovative and modern new design that showcases the Pittsburgh experience. The new site tells the story of Pittsburgh’s rich heritage, vibrant arts and culture, sensational food, iconic sports and community of neighbors ready to share what the city has to offer with visitors from around the world.
“It is a great honor to receive an Adrian Award, and we have to give credit where credit is due—to our beautiful city,” says Tom Loftus, chief marketing officer for VisitPITTSBURGH. “We have an awesome product to promote and now we have an attractive and innovative website. Our marketing web development team did an excellent job managing this project with our friends at Tempest.”
The reinvented website draws visitors in with a bold, interactive slideshow of photography and video featuring some of the city’s leading attractions. From there, the site is thoughtfully organized so that finding a map, booking a hotel or planning things to do in the city can be done with ease. The city’s unique neighborhoods are explored even further with a page on each that offers an introduction to the area, what’s it’s known for and things to do there. The goal is to direct visitors to the information they are looking for in the most efficient and effective way possible.
Since the remodel, the fully responsive website has attracted more than one million visitors from mobile and desktop devices, executed 11 high-impact marketing campaigns and generated $1.42 million of partnership revenue. The number of website sessions has increased by 47 percent, and the blog program has also experienced tremendous success with a 190 percent increase in readers.
In Pittsburgh, we’re all neighbors. And with 90 unique neighborhoods that make up the city, there is something new around every corner. Between diverse and exciting arts programming ranging from eclectic theater to experimental visual arts and the rich sports history of our City of Champions, which can be experienced at museums like the Clemente Museum or at any of the city’s iconic sports facilities, it’s clear to see that Pittsburgh has quite a story to tell. For more info, visit VisitPITTSBURGH.com. Photo credit: John Martinec
