Framing the Problem
When you’re responsible for tourism and recreation revenue, you feel softening demand early, long before it shows up in headlines. In Oklahoma, TravelOK saw state park visitation and bookings slip despite 30+ parks and strong natural assets in a crowded post-COVID drive market. Too many residents and regional travelers assumed a “real” summer trip meant leaving the state, putting park revenue, reinvestment capacity, and tourism’s role as a top state revenue driver under pressure.
Identifying the Opportunity
Summer 2023 became the proving ground. Saxum worked with TravelOK to build Best Summer Ever as a statewide platform reframing Oklahoma’s parks as the easiest, most rewarding way to have a “big summer” close to home. The campaign leaned into nostalgia and simple, high-quality experiences, supported by audience insight, segmentation, and creative that spoke directly to families, weekenders, adventure seekers, and regional drive markets.
Our role: In partnership with TravelOK’s principal agency, Saxum provided the strategy and execution spine — insight, creative platform, content, social — so the work felt emotionally true and operationally tight.
Outcome Delivery System℠ — Stack & Solutions in Play
Best Summer Ever moved through ODS as a Clarity → Vision → Momentum build, with Influence layered in to extend reach and credibility.
Clarity
Signal Solution
We grounded the work in audience and market truth, surfacing what would actually motivate an in-state “big summer,” then translating that insight into usable segmentation (families, weekenders, adventure seekers, regional drive markets).
Vision
GTM Solution
We turned insight into a clear go-to-market plan: audience prioritization, channel sequencing, and measurement approach, so the platform could deploy with discipline, not guesswork.
Momentum
Platform → Activate → Pulse Solutions
We built the unifying creative platform (Platform), executed an integrated rollout across channels (Activate), and sustained performance with a steady content and social rhythm (Pulse), so the campaign stayed emotionally true and operationally tight.
Influence
Resonate & Networked
We supported visibility beyond paid/owned through earned-first storytelling and integrated reach, helping the campaign show up as a statewide story, not just ads in market.
Adapt
This initiative did not include any Adapt solutions.
Transformation Arc℠
Strategic storytelling contributes to the bottom line, boosting state revenue and helping secure tourism and recreation as the #3 revenue driver in Oklahoma.
Achieving the Outcome
This vibrant and engaging campaign not only showcased the natural beauty of Oklahoma’s state parks but also tapped into a sense of nostalgia and adventure. By inviting families, couples, and singles to create unforgettable summer memories, the campaign demonstrated that strategic storytelling can significantly contribute to the department’s objectives, boosting state revenue and helping secure tourism and recreation as the #3 revenue driver in Oklahoma.
Best Summer Ever didn’t just perform; it reset expectations for what a place-led campaign can do:
- More than 125k total bookings and $12.6M+ in booking revenue during the campaign period.
- 6% year-over-year increase in park visits, with nearly 300k state park visits recorded.
- Ad-attributed bookings up 30% and ad-attributed revenue up 29%.
- 136M total impressions across paid, owned, and earned, including 61.4M paid impressions, 256K+ clicks, and 39 media placements reaching 70M+.
- 39 earned media placements with 70 million reach.
For state and tourism leadership, Best Summer Ever turned one season into evidence, not opinion, that a clear thesis, a strong creative platform, and an outcomes-based approach can make tourism and recreation function as a true bedrock revenue engine.