Visit The Woodlands was recently recognized by the 30th Annual Communicator Awards. This international awards program is dedicated to recognizing excellence, effectiveness, and innovation across all areas of communication.
The Communicator Awards have two distinctions, the Award of Excellence and Award of Distinction. The Award of Excellence is the highest honor, given to "entrants whose ability to communicate positions them as the best in the field." The Award of Distinction is presented to projects that "exceed industry standards in quality and achievement". Visit The Woodlands received four awards across these two categories.
Award of Distinction: Influencer Marketing | Ambassador Program
Award of Excellence: Print Content - Magazine | #SoWoodlands (now named Pathways)
Award of Excellence: Conference Activation - Branded Experiences | Connect Texas
Award of Excellence: Promotional Collateral - Special Event | "The 9 Wanders of The Woodlands"
"This recognition is a great accomplishment for our team and The Woodlands as a whole," said Nick Wolda, President of Visit The Woodlands. "Our goal is to promote The Woodlands as a premiere destination for business and leisure travel by using intentional marketing, tourism, and sales tactics. Awards like this show us that we are on the right track for bringing visitors to The Woodlands to make memories and boost our local economy."
AWARD OF DISTINCTION: AMBASSADOR PROGRAM
Visit The Woodlands' Ambassador Program encourages leisure visitors to experience The Woodlands through the voice of a social media influencer. Visit The Woodlands works with several influencers throughout the year to create content focused on The Woodlands. Each year, an "Ambassador of the Year" is selected to represent The Woodlands. They visit the area four times throughout the year, and work with Visit The Woodlands' Social Media Coordinator to develop a post about The Woodlands each month.
Along with the Communicator Award of Distinction, this program has won several other awards: a Gold Hermes Award (2023), Platinum AVA Award (2023), and Gold Viddy Award (2022).
AWARD OF EXCELLENCE: #SOWOODLANDS MAGAZINE
#SoWoodlands Magazine (now called Pathways) is a print and digital publication that's published quarterly. Each issue features stories about different businesses and people that make up the fabric of The Woodlands community. Initially, print issues were mailed out to businesses and distributed by hand to hotels and coffee shops in town. After a successful first six issues, Visit The Woodlands and The Woodlands Township are working together to mail Pathways to The Woodlands residents in The Woodlands Community Magazine.
AWARD OF EXCELLENCE: THE 9 WANDERS OF THE WOODLANDS
In October 2023, Connect Texas was held in The Woodlands, bringing together over 200 meeting planners and suppliers for education and networking. To showcase why The Woodlands is a great destination for meetings, Visit The Woodlands created the "9 Wanders of The Woodlands". These "Wanders" were showcased in a flipbook, online, and with signage at the Connect Texas opening night reception. Each attendee was able to take home a flipbook after the conference, giving them an easy way to share The Woodlands with clients and other meeting planners.
Visit The Woodlands received a Communicator Award of Excellence in the Design & Print, Promotional Collateral, Special Event category for the "9 Wanders of The Woodlands."
AWARD OF EXCELLENCE: CONNECT TEXAS
To bring the "9 Wanders of The Woodlands" to life, Visit The Woodlands created an activation for each "Wander" at the opening night reception. Conference attendees could read about the "Wander" using event signage (with a QR code to learn more), and experience it themselves at each activation. For example, a trolley photo op was set up to represent the accessibility of The Woodlands, nature was showcased with a pop-up flower-crown building station, and there was a nod to music and nightlife with live music upstairs and downstairs in The Woodforest Bank Club, along with a special cocktail for the evening - The Waterway.
For the opening reception at Connect Texas, Visit The Woodlands won a Communicator Award of Excellence in the Branded Experiences - Tradeshow or Conference Activation category.
Click here to learn more about the activations and watch the Connect Texas Recap Video.
Author
Visit The Woodlands
The Woodlands Convention and Visitors Bureau (dba: Visit The Woodlands) is the official destination marketing organization responsible for promoting The Woodlands to drive demand for both hotel and retail tax collections. Our mission is to establish The Woodlands, Texas as a beautiful, lively, and welcoming destination recognized regionally, nationally and internationally for first-class business, convention and leisure travel.
