Destination Mansfield tells commissioners digital branding and visitor campaigns delivered strong reach; new website planned

Representatives from Destination Mansfield updated the Richland County Board of Commissioners on tourism performance, the Brand Richland campaign and digital plans.

The presenter (identified in the transcript as the CVB director) said the county generated substantial earned media and shared figures for digital performance: the transcript records a tourism impact figure of "457,000,000," combined annual attendances across several attractions exceeding three‑quarters of 1,000,000, and social media growth that the presenter described as passing 50,000 followers. The presentation cited a recent campaign with high video completion rates and numerous earned stories; one campaign element was credited with generating 35 stories and “over 70,000,000 impressions” for that effort.

Presenter comments also covered a community calendar tool (Yodle) that aggregates local event listings, Brand Richland asset downloads (reported as over 700 downloads since release) and plans to launch a new, more AI‑friendly destination website. Staff described an upcoming shift in campaign focus to motorsports and continued use of short‑form video advertising.

Several numeric items in the verbal presentation appear in the meeting transcript with formatting issues; figures above are reported as read at the meeting. For final, auditable metrics the county’s tourism office and Destination Mansfield maintain campaign reports and earned‑media summaries that can be requested from their offices.