Case Study: Port Aransas & Mustang Island brings visitors back after Hurricane Harvey with SlingShot

Port Aransas & Mustang Island boosts engagement over 600% with SlingShot

The customer, Port Aransas & Mustang Island, faced a severe challenge after Hurricane Harvey caused over $1 billion in damages and devastated its tourism industry. The primary obstacle was overcoming the widespread perception that the destination was ruined and not open for visitors. Vendor Slingshot was engaged to manage an advertising and marketing campaign to address this.

Slingshot implemented a multi-faceted media campaign named "Come Back" to rebuild awareness. The solution utilized TV sponsorships, out-of-home (OOH) advertising, print in Texas Monthly, targeted streaming audio, and interactive digital units to demonstrate the island's recovery. The campaign successfully evolved over time and pivoted again during the COVID-19 pandemic with nimble messaging. The results were highly positive, with one social initiative seeing a 600% increase in engagement and replies expressing eagerness to return, effectively converting awareness into actual visitor trips.