Follow Your NOLA

New Orleans knows how to party. But in a place where 1 out of every 7 jobs relies on tourism, Bourbon Street alone wasn’t going to grow the economy for the city. The New Orleans Tourism Marketing Corporation (NOTMC) partnered with 360i to go beyond the Mardi Gras beads and transform how people think of New Orleans, inviting visitors to discover the city’s rich history, culture, arts, and more. Our tagline doubled as a call to action from the city itself—Follow Your NOLA.

The campaign resulted in visitors exploring the city more than ever, with an increase in repeat visits, longer stays, and one of the busiest tourism seasons in a decade. In our launch year, we reached over 600 million people, drove a 20% increase in year over year website visits, and totaled over $4 billion in visitor spending in the first half of the year alone. Follow Your NOLA is still going strong today, acting as a rallying cry for the city by visitors and locals alike, with over a million organic uses of the hashtag across social and counting.

Our re-brand reflected NOLA’s warmth and authenticity, with a look and feel inspired by local sights, sounds, colors, and textures. From TVC to print ads to a food truck that served up surprise NOLA experiences, we invited people to discover New Orleans in their own unique way.

Communications drove visitors to our custom itinerary creation tool and interactive map on followyournola.com, inviting them to keep exploring.

Agency: Dentsu/360i Director: Rick Merecki Editor: Jim Ulbrich

Coverage: American Advertising Awards (Best of Show & Gold - Integrated), WEBBY Award (Travel Honoree), Adweek, Adweek, Voice of America, Austin Chronicle