We invited five accomplished makers from around the country to experience the creative pulse of Seattle firsthand for a series called “Been There, Made That.” Each episode follows the journey of a different maker—a singer/songwriter, children’s book illustrator, architect, ice cream maker and wallpaper designer—as they explore the sights, sounds, smells, tastes and textures of Seattle before returning home to create something unique to their craft inspired by their travels. “Been There, Made That” documents their experience from discovery to inspiration to creation.

Instead of just telling people about Seattle, we created VisitSeattle.TV where people could watch full episodes of “Been There, Made That” and other Emerald City entertainment. We also made all content available on Visit Seattle’s Amazon FireTV app. We directed travelers to the content with videos and banners on sites that people already turn to for vacation inspiration like Matador, YouTube and Instagram. We launched the work in September 2016 and ran it through February 2017, to pique interest during Seattle’s off-season. And while our efforts were national in nature, we geo-targeted urban markets that would help us reach Advenculturists across the country, from Los Angeles and San Diego to Boston and New York.

“Been There, Made That” garnered over 2.25 million views. Plus, time spent on branded content pages was twice the benchmark. The series also contributed to the overall success of Visit Seattle’s campaign and helped our content hub become the main driver of organic traffic for the brand with over 14.7 million video views in 2016. Our content produced over 40 million minutes of watch time on YouTube alone, averaging a 67% completion rate. Visit Seattle’s website saw astronomical growth with an increase in site sessions, page views and hotel searches, particularly from key markets across the country—all on a regional budget. As for keeping our hotel partners happy? We put more heads in beds than ever before. Proving it’s possible to build a brand through a pure content play, accomplishing far more for the brand than any traditional tourism campaign ever could.