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Visit Carson City unveils FY26 media plan emphasizing digital ads, DataFi analytics and arts promotion
Summary
Marketing director Lydia Beck described a $310,500 FY26 media plan focused on paid digital channels and analytics, a return to DataFi for advanced analytics funded by grants, and a dedicated advertising contribution for arts and culture and Mark Twain Days.
Lydia Beck, Visit Carson City's marketing director, presented the fiscal‑year 2026 media plan during the July 14 board meeting, outlining a digital‑first strategy and a grant‑supported analytics buy.
Beck said the FY26 media plan totals $310,500, with roughly 76% allocated to digital advertising — paid search, paid social, online video, display and remarketing — and the remaining dollars reserved for a mix of print and cooperative placements. "We increased our lodging referrals generated by paid digital channels by 120% year over year," Beck told the board, and she said paid social and email drove a large year‑over‑year web visit increase in June.
The presentation included a return to the DataFi analytics and ad platform, funded in part by the state's rural marketing grant that Peterson reported earlier. Beck said the DataFi buy will be broader than prior years and will include display, native and geo‑conquesting ads to reach audiences in towns with similar travel interests.
Beck described an internal approach to "boosted organic" social posts (promoting organic posts that perform well) and a heavier ad cadence from October through February. She said the campaign will prioritize converting interest into bookings and lodging referrals and will refresh the winter and nostalgia creative that performed strongly in FY25.
The board also approved a separate $25,000 advertising contribution tied to arts and culture programming and a $10,000 contribution earmarked for Mark Twain Days, creating a $35,000 total arts promotion pool that Visit Carson City and partners will use on paid social, display and online video.
Marketing staff highlighted creative assets and visitor engagement tools: a newly installed souvenir penny press at the visitor center; a stock of new B‑roll and imagery captured for ad and content use; and a proposal for custom Carson City chocolate molds to be used as gifts for tour operators, journalists and influencers.
Beck said paid search conversion rates exceeded 14% during recent campaigns and that one lodging reel accounted for about one‑third of lodging referrals while an e‑mail spike produced thousands of site referrals the team was still tracing.
Why it matters: The media plan and analytics buy are intended to sustain and grow overnight visitation and lodging referrals, helping inform where marketing dollars are spent to produce measurable bookings.
