San Marcos Convention & Visitor Bureau earns marketing awards

The San Marcos Convention & Visitor Bureau earned two Idea Fair awards from the Texas Association of Convention and Visitor Bureaus during their Annual Conference, held virtually, on Aug. 12.

The SMCVB won a first place People’s Choice Award for its COVID-19 messaging, alongside a second place People’s Choice Award for its cooperative marketing campaign.

“While we are thrilled to take home both awards, it’s especially meaningful to win first place for our COVID-19 messaging,” Director of Destination Services Rebecca Ybarra said in a statement. “Our team went from promoting San Marcos as a summer destination to creating educational and entertaining campaigns to promote our local businesses while keeping our residents and visitors safe during the pandemic. To be recognized for these efforts is significant.”

The SMCVB’s COVID-19 messaging combined educational information, photos of visitors and locals wearing masks while out exploring, and humorous videos promoting the safe support of local businesses.

The cooperative marketing campaign (2019) and was a partnership with Downtown San Marcos meant to drive visitors to the heart of San Marcos. The advertisements used imagery of local boutiques, restaurants, events, arts and live music to depict San Marcos’ status as an easily navigable cultural hub.

TACVB’s Idea Fair promotes excellence in destination marketing. Goals of the awards are to generate awareness of the quality work done by TACVB members as they promote their destinations to leisure and business travelers. The People’s Choice competition allows tourism industry peers to weigh in on their favorite campaigns.