Brief:
- TravelNevada, the state's tourism board, saw engagement rates from a 360-degree video ad that were nearly seven-times higher than standard media spots, according to results shared with Mobile Marketer. The campaign featured an immersive ad showing a group of friends kayaking, hiking and enjoying adventures in the Silver State.
- The latest "Don't Fence Me In" campaign produced a 1% click-through rate (CTR), compared to the industry average 0.15% CTR for travel ads measured by Google's Rich Media Gallery, according to adtech company OmniVirt, which developed the spot. Users spent 60 seconds on average with the immersive ad.
- The 360-degree ad units were distributed on the websites of Expedia, Condé Nast Traveler and The New York Times, among others, and the tourism board plans to continue running the campaign in the months to come.
Insight:
TravelNevada's 360-degree video campaign extend the "Don't Fence Me In" theme of past campaigns that highlight the variety of outdoor activities for tourists who don't plan to visit the state to see Las Vegas.
The state's tourism board is among the advertisers that have run 360-degree video ads to immerse viewers in a virtual landscape and better engage consumers that are growing increasingly ad-fatigued. Takis, the snack brand by Mexico's Barcel, ran an interactive 3D campaign in August showing early results of a 7.7% engagement rate. Nestlé Canada last summer created a 360-degree video for its Kit Kat candy bar on YouTube that generated a completion rate that was more than two times the video-sharing platform's average ad and spurred a 100% lift in ad recall and 35% gain in consideration. These results demonstrate how advertisers can boost engagement with creative content that cuts through the clutter of traditional static ads.
Nevada's outdoorsy-themed campaign appears to target millennials who seek experiences they can share with friends and followers on social media. "Go home with more stories than souvenirs," was the tagline in its 2015 commercials, per The Las Vegas Sun. TravelNevada this month is showcasing outdoor tourist sites to visit during fall, when temperatures are cooler at places like Death Valley National Park or the Fish Lake Valley Hot Springs, per an announcement.
Nevada is highly dependent on tourist revenue, with 14.7% of the state's economy dependent on the travel industry last year. Travel spending grew 3% last year to $63.7 billion, per the Nevada Division of Tourism, signaling a potential uptick in future tourism for the state.
