For 2019, Arizona was looking for unique ways to leverage the 100th Anniversary of the Grand Canyon National Park and drive additional tourism to other parts of the state..

The brief to the agency was simple: Find a new way to use social media that highlights visitation while creating an atmosphere that would allow for a greater reach of earned media coverage.

Measurement would be the level of engagement within the social media channel selected along with the quantitative and qualitative value of earned media the campaign garnered.

Our creative development focused on the stories we tell our friends and family after visiting a place. The power of offline storytelling is something we wanted to bring online in a unique way.

When we discovered it was Barbie's 60th Birthday itlead us down a rabbit hole on her Instagram account. The way her followers engaged with her and Barbie's influence with them was compelling. After all she is one of the most well known women in the world. Over the years the Barbie brand has found a way to not only remain relevant but she has found new audiences in Millennials and Gen Z alike.

Hence, the Barbie Arizona road trip was born. Our pitch to Mattel clearly went over well. They had never done anything like this before and jumped at the chance to engage Barbie's fans in a different and positive way that align with their values.

The @BarbieStyle Instagram account has more than 2 million real followers. The level of engagement was significant as compared to any other Instagram Influencers. Plus, her audience was mostly Millennials and a large percentage of Gen Z.

In order for Arizona to continue to be relevant in terms of future travel, these two audiences are key. It is critical for the state be have a reputation that is in line with youth, fun and adventure.

With Instagram's massive growth with these two generations combined with Barbie's unique approach made it a perfect creative avenue to explore.

With Mattel on board, we tapped into their team for the production of Barbie's photoshoot. Like any celebrity, Barbie travel with a photographer, an assistant, a wardrobe/props person and of course a stylist. Over the two-month pre-production process we worked with the Office of Tourism, Mattel, Grand Canyon Conservancy and several other city visitor bureaus to select the right locations for Barbie and a couple of her friends visit to Arizona.

The campaign ran only on Instagram and lasted only as long as a typical trip to the state someone would take.

However, because of Barbie's reach and the global appeal of the Grand Canyon, the campaign went international in terms of engagement by her fans. It was also supported and the content amplified by the state agencies involved. Plus it gained a huge boost in earned media.

The campaign reached a global fan list of followers. Each post received 10's of thousand of likes and shares. It followed the Arizona Governor's plan to have more public/private engagements that highlight the state.And more than 40 separate earned media articles were written about the campaign's success.

• 4.2 Million Instagram impressions

• 103,355,000 media impressions

• 425,000 engagements

• 83% Net follower growth increase