Visit Topeka Honored with Silver, Bronze Adrian Awards by Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International
Visit Topeka is excited to announce it will be honored for travel marketing excellence by Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International (HSMAI), at the organization’s annual Adrian Awards Celebration being held Feb. 23 in Los Angeles.
The Adrian Awards, now in their 66th year, is the largest and most prestigious competition in global travel marketing. For 2022, Adrian Awards are being presented in advertising, digital, PR/communications and integrated campaign categories, as well as the following “focus categories”:
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Marketing (inclusive marketing that considers diversity in all forms);
Recruitment Marketing (tactics used to attract and retain employees); and
Audience Marketing on New Platforms (marketing programs on new consumer technology channels, including TikTok, gaming and NFTs).
Visit Topeka is being honored with both silver and bronze Adrian Awards for 2022. The destination marketing organization (DMO) will receive a Silver Adrian Award for its Topeka Dino Days Integrated Marketing Campaign and a Bronze Adrian for its Pride Kansas Public Relations Campaign.
Many will remember Topeka Dino Days as an innovative, citywide tourism campaign enjoyed throughout the spring by visitors and locals alike. It included attractions at Great Overland Station, Kansas Children’s Discovery Center and The Topeka Zoo, as well as a base camp at the visitor’s center in downtown Topeka. The Pride Kansas PR Campaign, meanwhile, involved Visit Topeka working with Pride Kansas to sponsor the first openly gay drag racer to compete in the NHRA Nationals at Heartland Motorsports Park in Topeka, ahead of the first-ever statewide Pride festival held here in September.
“I’m incredibly proud of our team and thankful for the community partners — like Pride Kansas, Sprout Creative, Cohort.Digital, Shawnee County Parks & Rec, and our local attractions — that made these campaigns possible,” said Sean Dixon, Visit Topeka president. “Our efforts have made a lasting impact on Topeka, as we work to fulfill our mission of becoming a destination for all.”
The 2022 Adrian Awards adopted “The Next Great Chapter” as its theme to highlight the travel industry’s emergence from the COVID-19 pandemic and encourage contestants to consider the opportunities and challenges that lie ahead.
“The travel industry is thriving once more and poised for new growth,” said Robert A. Gilbert, CHME, CHBA, president and CEO of HSMAI. “The Adrian Awards celebrate the innovation and ingenuity that fuel our success and recognize the hospitality sales, marketing, and revenue optimization leaders whose extraordinary efforts literally ‘open the doors’ to exploration and excitement. They are writing the next great chapter of travel, and HSMAI is proud to honor them.
Visit Topeka’s Adrian Awards come on the heels of other notable honors, including a 2022 Travel Industry Association of Kansas Marketing Award for the Topeka Dino Days campaign. Local partner Sprout Creative was also recognized for its work on Topeka Dino Days with a Platinum MarCom Award, and Dixon in October was named one of Northstar Meeting Group’s most influential meetings industry professionals for 2022.
