Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Tourism Marketing topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Los Alamos reports ad campaign reach, books 36 hotel stays from New Mexico True partnership
Summary
County staff and a marketing contractor reported results from the New Mexico True cooperative advertising campaign, saying the partnership produced millions of impressions, tens of thousands of clicks and measurable bookings; the board discussed next-year funding and production of new video assets.
Los Alamos Lodgers Tax Advisory Board members heard a mid‑year update on the county’s cooperative advertising work with the New Mexico Tourism Department on July 15, during which the county’s marketing contractor summarized campaign results, budget shares and plans for new creative.
The presentation said Los Alamos participates in the New Mexico True cooperative advertising program, which the presenter described as a “2 for every $1” match from the state; the county’s lodgers tax contribution to the cooperative was $15,000 this year, with an additional $7,500 paid for the county’s DataFi tracking subscription. The presenter said the county’s total tourism marketing budget is about $132,500, leaving roughly $110,000 for other marketing work after the state partnership and DataFi fees.
The briefing covered fiscal 2025 results and the award for fiscal 2026. The presentation reported that, for fiscal 2025, the cooperative package exceeded $200,000 in advertising and delivered roughly 8.5 million impressions; the presenter said the state paid $133,614 and the county’s share for the campaign year was about $66,080. The presenter said campaign activity included still‑photo production, a regional micro‑influencer program, managed Google search ads, Facebook static and remarketing ads, content in New Mexico Magazine, and placement in the New Mexico True Adventure Guide and the Denver 5280 magazine.
On measurable outcomes, the presenter said the campaign produced 4,400,000 impressions for some channels and “total clicks of 50,363.” The presentation also described tracking that tied New Mexico True “intender” ads to actual bookings: the report listed 36 bookings, 16 hotel night stays and 629 in‑destination visits attributed to the travel‑intent ads; the presenter said the average lead time was a little over a month and the average stay about 1.6 days.
Looking to 2026, the county was awarded a cooperative advertising package of about $163,500; Los Alamos’ commitment to that package was listed at $54,500. The presenter said the county will invest in new video production in the fall (the last video production with New Mexico True was in 2019), expand the micro‑influencer program to four influencers per year, upgrade the digital package to include Instagram and YouTube, and continue managed search and targeted display placement.
Board members asked follow‑up questions about markets, metrics and budget. A board member asked whether Albuquerque would be included in the campaign’s target markets; the presenter said Albuquerque is handled separately from New Mexico True and that the county’s additional marketing buys target Albuquerque in addition to the cooperative campaign’s Dallas–Fort Worth and Denver placements. A board member requested an explanation of how the travel‑intent return‑on‑ad‑spend metric is calculated; the presenter said she would request that detail from New Mexico True and report back at the August meeting.
The county’s DataFi tracking subscription was cited repeatedly during the presentation: the presenter and county staff said DataFi provides ZIP‑code capture and other visitor metrics, and the presenter used it to summarize top feeder markets, visitor origin ZIP codes and demographic profiles presented in the campaign report.
Board members and staff said the cooperative program’s state match remains a valuable lever for a small local budget. “Two for one is so helpful for small communities,” the presenter said, noting the current match level originated during the pandemic and has continued since.
The board did not take a vote on funding during the presentation; members indicated they would review the full report, which the presenter said is an extensive PDF with links to creative assets, and return with more detailed questions at the next meeting.
