Eastern Sierra Wins Big at Visit California Poppy Awards

** This is an update by Lara Kaylor Director of Communications  Mammoth Lakes Tourism**

Area agencies collectively take home three awards

 Eastern Sierra, Calif. (February 24, 2020) — Earlier this month, the Eastern Sierra triumphed at Visit California’s biennial Poppy Awards contest. This competition honors the best and brightest of California tourism promotion and awards are bestowed in even-numbered years as part of Visit California’s Outlook Forum conference.

To kick off the evening, the Bishop Chamber of Commerce & Visitors Bureau, Inyo County, Mammoth Lakes Tourism and Mono County walked away with the award for Best Cooperative Marketing Campaign for the collaborative efforts to promote fall colors in the Eastern Sierra.

“I really love that the Eastside was recognized for our cooperative effort on the fall color campaign,” said Tawni Thomson, Executive Director of the Bishop Chamber of Commerce & Visitors Bureau. “There are honestly no boundaries between us when it comes to the visitor experience. Our guests identify all of us as the Eastern Sierra and the success of this campaign proves that working together can produce a great outcome.”

The agencies partnered to capitalize on the area’s lengthy fall colors season. The concept was particularly clever, as elevation changes cause the different partners to experience peak colors throughout autumn, which allows the area to market a lengthy season without bringing destinations into competition with one another.

“It’s a great honor to be recognized for our long-standing partnerships to promote the fall season to our visitors,” said MLT’s Executive Director John Urdi. “I am proud of our efforts and even prouder of the results for our Eastern Sierra communities. Winning the Visit California Poppy award for best cooperative marketing program is just the cherry on top.”

Judges declared that the campaign provided impressive occupancy increases across the cooperation and was a great concept that joined competitors in an effective campaign for a low investment. The judges also appreciated the use of multiple marketing tactics that they felt have potential for further applications.

The award was given as a tie with another joint cooperative campaign between San Francisco Travel Association and San Diego Tourism Authority.

Additionally, Yosemite National Park along with Yosemite Gateway Counties — Mono, Tuolumne, Mariposa, and Madera were selected as the winner in the surprise inaugural category, Excellence in Destination Stewardship for their collaborative digital influencer campaign. The funding for the campaign was received as a grant from Yosemite National Park for the purpose of encouraging travelers to arrive on off-peak days or seasons, take public transportation into the valley, and to arrive early if taking your own vehicle.

“Both of these Poppy Awards really affirm the top priorities for all the agencies involved — one, regional collaboration and two, sustainable tourism through stewardship and best practices,” said Alicia Vennos, Economic Development Director for Mono County. “We also share these honors with our local business community and all those who joined the effort and used their own channels to help promote the Eastern Sierra Fall Color Campaign and the best ways to visit Yosemite Valley. I congratulate everyone involved for a fantastic team effort.”

And the final icing on the Eastern Sierra cake was Bishop winning the award for Best Overall Brand Identity (with a budget under $1 million), beating out Visit Carmel and Visit Santa Maria County.

“Our team was so proud to bring home the Poppy for Best Overall Brand Identity,” Thomson said. We’ve really got a great group of local professionals that are passionate about telling Bishop’s story to our guests. We love our Small Town with a Big Backyard slogan as it resonates with locals as well as our guests.”

Poppy winners are selected by a panel of industry marketing experts in nine categories ranging from best public relations campaign, to best digital campaign to best cooperative marketing campaign.

Earlier this month Sierra Wave reported  our region was nominated for several Poppy Awards. We will have additional information next week from the local winners.

These results provided via Visit California and Tawni Thompson Bishop Chamber Executive Director.

Congratulations everyone!

The 2020 Visit California Outlook Forum at the Marriott Marquis San Diego Marina in San Diego, California, February 11, 2020.

Photo by Visit California Outlook Forum

And the winners are …

Best Overall Brand Identity – Less than $1 Million Bishop Chamber of Commerce & Visitors Bureau Best Cooperative Marketing (Tie) San Diego Tourism Authority San Francisco Travel Association & Mono County Tourism Mammoth Lakes Tourism Explore Inyo County Bishop Area Chamber of Commerce & Visitors BureauDestination Stewardship Yosemite Gateways: Mono County Tourism Yosemite Mariposa County Tourism Bureau Visit Yosemite Madera County Yosemite National ParkBest Overall Brand Identity – $1 Million – 8 Million Visit Laguna BeachBest Overall Brand Identity – $8 Million and Up Greater Palm Springs Convention & Visitors Bureau Best Content Marketing Initiative (Tie) North Lake Tahoe Visitor Bureaus & San Francisco Travel Association Best Digital Campaign North Lake Tahoe Visitor Bureaus Best Influencer Campaign San Francisco Travel Association Best Public Relations Campaign – Destination Humboldt County Visitors Bureau Best Public Relations Campaign – Business San Francisco International Airport Best Social Media Campaign Los Angeles Zoo

2020 California Dreamer award was also presented.

The 2020 California Dreamer award is presented to an individual who embodies the California spirit — innovators, entrepreneurs and risk-takers who inspire others in their communities and around the world. This year’s California Dreamer is a legendary skateboarder, entrepreneur and the founder of the Tony Hawk Foundation — Tony Hawk!

Tony Hawk was nine years old when his brother changed his life by giving him a blue fiberglass Bahne skateboard. By fourteen he’d turned pro, and by sixteen he was widely considered the best skateboarder on earth. World Champion for 12 years in a row, Hawk continues to skate demos and exhibitions internationally, making him the most recognized action-sports figure in the world. Tony is a role model for fans of all ages. His Tony Hawk Foundation has given away over $7.9 million to over 600 skatepark projects throughout the world. Tony’s foundation helps finance public skateparks in low-income areas in all 50 states and other parts of the world through their partnership with Skateistan, providing a safe place to skate. Skateparks that received financial assistance from the Tony Hawk Foundation currently serve more than 6 million kids annually.