Punta Gorda/Englewood Beach Visitor & Convention Bureau Drive 29:1 ROI and $707K in Estimated Economic Impact

In the past, the Punta Gorda/Englewood Beach Visitor & Convention Bureau primarily focused on print and other traditional forms of marketing for much of their advertising. In 2021, they partnered with Sojern to enhance their marketing plans and implement programmatic digital advertising targeting travel intenders. The focus on travel intent was critical. Due to the success of their initial programs, the team sought to expand their plans with Sojern to incorporate a co-op program to help their local partners reach travelers as they moved down the marketing funnel. Like many DMOs, partner engagement is extremely important to their team. This program would not only boost partner engagement but also help partners, both large and small, reach travelers who were ideal for their specific businesses.

The Sojern co-op match program offered even more with its one-to-one-to-one structure, where the DMO could match partner funds, and Sojern would match the contribution in media value. This gave participants three times the value of their investment on a campaign tailored to their specific goals and needs. This allowed the DMO to better support their partners in reaching visitors and help partners increase revenue for their individual business. “When the team shared the co-op program, with the opportunity to do the one-to-one-to-one match, we knew there was no reason in the world that we wouldn’t want to be a part of it. To be able to stretch our dollars and our partners' dollars, all with Sojern’s support—it's a great program,” said Maureen Morgenthien, director of marketing at Punta Gorda/Englewood Beach Visitor & Convention Bureau.