How do you market tourism when the world shuts down?

Wanderlove

a pandemic recovery campaign

Wanderlove was an integrated content marketing campaign developed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The campaign pivoted Virginia Tourism Corporation’s strategy from out-of-state audience targeting to promoting safe, low-risk road trips and outdoor experiences for in-state travelers. My work contributed to a multi-channel effort spanning blog content, video production, social media, influencer partnerships, and co-branded activations with partners like Matador and Airstream.

The creative direction of the campaign was designed to be modular for other in-state tourism partners to participate in. We created templates, graphic tool kits, and tutorials for partners, some with minimal budgets and manpower, to create professional-level marketing assets for free.

WanderLove went on to earn back-to-back U.S. Travel Association Mercury Awards in 2021 and 2022 — among the most prestigious honors in U.S. travel and tourism marketing — recognizing the campaign's success in driving consumer engagement and supporting Virginia's tourism industry during one of its most challenging periods.

A collage of outdoors and adventure scenes with promotional text for Virginia travel, featuring cyclists, a car on a road, and wooded trails, with phrases like 'Your Wander Love is calling' and 'Find your WanderLove in Virginia,' along with red buttons saying 'Plan Your Road Trip' and 'Start Planning.'
A woman with curly hair stands on a stone ledge, facing away, next to a black Jeep parked on the road, with a sunset and mountain range in the background. Overlaid text reads "WanderLove" and "Virginia is for Lovers" with a red heart.
A bus shelter with a red advertisement that reads, "Is your WanderLove calling?" The background of the ad features a faint map. Below the main text, there is a call to action to answer the call at Virginia.org/wanderlove, with a small Virginia is for Lovers logo. The bus shelter is on a city street with brick buildings, fire escapes, and street lamps visible.
Collage of four outdoor scenes: a woman riding an electric scooter in front of a mural, a person on a lookout tower overlooking hills, a woman sitting on a sandy beach near the ocean, and two women walking through a vineyard with grapes and leaves.
Mobile phone displaying a travel app with a red background, white text promoting travel ideas, and a question asking where the user is headed this weekend.