Gainesville Tourism Team Wins 2024 Creative Marketing Award

The Gainesville Tourism Authority was recently recognized for its creative marketing. And the campaign itself was definitely noteworthy.

With its wildly popular “From Gainesville, With Love” postcard campaign, the bureau announced the 2024 Georgia Tourism Awards Ceremony at the Georgia Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB) Annual Conference on February 13th. Winner of the Al Barras Award for Creative Expression. 15th place in Albany. The Al Burruss Award for Creative Expression recognizes individuals or organizations that develop creative community outreach efforts.

Gainesville CVB last won this award in 2019 for its “Free Range GVL” campaign, which “explored” different areas of the Gainesville-Hall County community, the unofficial mascot of the Poultry Capital of the World. We featured chickens that do this.

Postcards sent “all over the world”

Under its latest campaign, the tourism board has designed 12 unique postcards depicting events, attractions, pieces of history and even the atmosphere of Gainesville. The postcards (the designs were posted online but kept secret) were unveiled at city events such as First Friday Concerts, Food Truck Fridays, and Jingle Mingle & the Writing of the Chicken.

During these events, the Mobile Visitor Center unveiled a fun environment (including a mailbox) where guests could sit, write their address, and drop it in the mailbox. The postcards were mailed out for free and images of Gainesville, Georgia were shared across the United States and around the world, to be exact in 45 states and 14 countries.

Gainesville Tourism Director Robin Lynch credits the idea to Lake Lanier Olympic Park (LLOP) Division Manager James Watson. LLOP operates under the Gainesville Tourism Authority along with the Lake Lanier Boathouse, Gainesville CVB, Main Street Gainesville and the Greater Gainesville Sports Alliance.

“What could be better than the feeling you get when you receive a handwritten message?” Watson asks rhetorically. “Did you know that the sender was thinking of you at that moment, no matter where he was?”

He added, “Most places I visit, I pick up a postcard and send it to my grandfather, knowing that even in the digital age, he still appreciates receiving something tangible.” From this experience, I proposed this idea to my team. Through many collaborations, From Gainesville with Love was born. ”

Watson called the campaign “an overwhelming success.”

Postcards have become a “popular product”

The city’s postcard campaign was not only inexpensive to produce and promote, but it also generated excitement within the community and provided collectibles and attention to residents and visitors at local events and when visiting the Gainesville Visitor Center. It has become a product.

The postcard set was in such demand that many people bought it as a Christmas present during Jingle Mingle in November 2023, offsetting the city’s manufacturing costs. Every element was created from scratch in-house, from design and implementation to mailbox setup, mailing and tracking of each card.

“It’s not only inspiring to see so many residents and visitors eager to share a part of Gainesville, Georgia with friends and loved ones across the country and the world, but also… , it was uplifting,” Lynch said. “Who would have thought that such a simple campaign would spark so much conversation and participation?”

The postcard writing campaign will continue in late March at Matt’s on Main in Gainesville.