• Brief: Turn Tennessee into a top destination for families by leveraging kids’ influence on trip planning.

OBJECTIVES: - Inspire family travel to Tennessee by building intent to travel and driving bookings.

- To reach kids and tap into their influence, we knew we had to make something that they cared about — and thus, speaking through toys came to life.

IDEA: To get kids interested in visiting Tennessee, we turned the state’s best-rated family vacation destinations into toys. Then we put them in a 96-page toy catalog that we shipped to 100,000 families in our key target markets.

All 39 custom toy sets were featured in this shoppable toy catalog. By scanning any page’s QR code, parents could order the toy on that page and book a vacation to the real-life destination.

The catalog also had activity pages for kids to complete, postcards to send back to family and friends, gift wrapping paper, and much more. All of it featured a cohesive illustration design.

By turning the state into something kids already wanted, we got kids asking to go on trips to Tennessee. And we helped parents book a better vacation and give “the best gift ever.”

STRATEGY: Despite kids being the driving influencers behind family vacations, we realized parents often struggle to include their children in the planning process, causing challenges in deciding where to go.  

Knowing 66% of parents would rather give their kids the gift of experience, we encouraged parents to “gift the trip.” We also empowered kids to explore Tennessee’s top attractions with our toy catalog, while helping parents book a better trip.  

To reach our ideal influencer, we had to reach the right parents. Within our target market, we curated a list of families with kids under 10 by using a one-to-one opt-in consumer database. 

Additionally, we sent out our catalog to those who signed up on the Tennessee tourism site, and even allowed digital downloads.

As kids flipped through the catalog, QR codes allowed parents to buy, book, and further explore the toys and destinations — ultimately driving over 30,000 trip bookings. 

EXECUTION: Reimagining Tennessee as a toy brand came to life in every aspect of the execution, from the toys we made to the creative messaging to the mailing lists we used for distribution.  

The idea was simple: turn Tennessee into toys to get kids interested in visiting.  

As for the execution, that wasn’t quite as easy. 

We started by designing custom models with a popular toy brand, producing 39 complete building-block sets each with their own unique packaging.  

Then, we put them in a shoppable toy catalog, which was sent to 100,000 families in our key target markets. From the catalog, kids and parents could shop the toys, book a trip, and discover our animated short videos. 

The catalogs hit mailboxes in early October (right before other toy companies’ catalogs arrive in the mail) and continued throughout January. 

RESULTS: By relating to kids on their terms, we got families booking trips and visiting Tennessee. In just a few short months, the business impact on our tourism goals was significant:

• 30,169 trips booked

• $10,866,733 in hotel revenue

• $15 to $1 ROAS

During the prime gift-giving season, Playcation generated 406.8 million earned impressions, entering toy conversations beside companies like Amazon and Target.

The catalog had strong QR code engagement, outperforming popular publisher benchmarks by 662%, all leading to deep exposure to Tennessee content.

Furthering our reach, users engaged with our digital catalog, spending, on average, 25% more time than they do on Tripadvisor, & watching nearly 2.5 years’ worth of our 30-second videos.

Our custom state-inspired products resonated with consumers, resulting in 11,190 toys sold and gifted for memorable experiences. With the first tourism toy catalog under our belt, we hope to inspire experiences for years to come.