The Oklahoma Department of Tourism said its recently completed 52-episode RoadTripOK video series generated nearly $11.8 million in projected lodging revenue and a 163-to-1 return on investment.
The Retrospec Films crew visited attractions, accommodations and events in 67 cities and towns around the state, with a several-month break because of the COVID-19 pandemic. They featured 48 restaurants, 20 museums and 13 state parks in videos that were six to eight minutes in length each.
The videos were designed to inspire more day trips from Sooner State residents.
The series produced more than 73,000 bookings with projected lodging revenue of $11,786,096.
Episodes that focused on Route 66 included those for Oklahoma City, Claremore, Clinton, El Reno, Yukon, Elk City, Weatherford, Hinton, Stroud, Depew, Arcadia, Miami and Tulsa.
According to a news release from the agency:
The Road Trip series, which was filmed by Broken Arrow-based Retrospec Films, has resulted in 73,579 hotel bookings and produced a return on investment of 163 to 1, based on the programmatic digital spend of $71,744. Booking and revenue numbers are provided by ADARA, a pixel attribution tracking service that provides up-to-date data through agreements with travel brands — including major hotel brands and airlines — to help understand travel patterns, trends and behaviors.
The department’s YouTube channel, YouTube.com/TravelOK, has gained 12,967 subscribers since the series launched. The episodes, which have also been posted at RoadTripOK.com and on the department’s social media channels, have been particularly popular with viewers between the age of 25 and 34. That group makes up 38.7% of the series’ YouTube playlist views.
The series has also helped boost the department’s social media followings, with the Road Trip videos drawing more than half a million views on the department’s Facebook page, Facebook.com/TravelOK.
The department’s Instagram account, which can be viewed at Instagram.com/TravelOK, has also seen a boost from the series, gaining 16,974 subscribers since the series launch. The Road Trip videos have 177,950 views on Instagram.
Oklahoma Tourism and Retrospec announced last fall they would launch the year-long series of weekly films about various road-trip destinations in an effort to raise the Sooner State’s tourism profile.
The entire series is worth watching if you have a few hours to kill. But the finale that was uploaded last month is a good starting point:
I imagine tourism departments in other states are taking notes from Oklahoma’s RoadTripOK effort.
(Image of the Retrospec film crew inside the Route 66 shield sculpture in downtown El Reno, Oklahoma, courtesy of Oklahoma Tourism)
Illinois…are you listening?