Few travel brands are as recognizable as I Love New York. But this brand’s visual communications go well beyond the iconic heart mark, and we’ve got the inside scoop. We asked the team at Empire State Development’s Division of Tourism, I Love New York, to share how they draw visitors to New York:
“In our mission to inspire travel to New York’s 11 vacation regions, visual storytelling is at the heart of everything we do. Beautiful and captivating images of regional attractions and destinations are leveraged to generate a positive emotional reaction and motivate people to want to travel to, work and live in New York State.” – Empire State Development’s Division of Tourism, I LOVE NEW YORK
To achieve its mission, the team needs a powerful visual asset management system powering the visual content workflow behind the scenes. They use PhotoShelter to distribute photos and videos to partner organizations and media, both domestically and internationally. Having a cloud-based visual media library helps them promote the New York State brand and support the state’s growing tourism industry. Let’s take a look at what the team had to say about the benefits of visual asset management for I LOVE NEW YORK’s communications workflow.
Access & Delivery
The I Love New York team sources content from a number of photographers and shares visual assets with a wide range of stakeholders. A cloud-based platform allows everyone to access the library, wherever they are.
“The media library is a great asset. We get requests for images on a daily basis and we’re able to respond quickly thanks to ease of searching the library. Distributing assets is also user friendly. We no longer have to send images via email and then wonder if it failed to deliver due to file size.” – Empire State Development’s Division of Tourism, I LOVE NEW YORK
PhotoShelter lets stakeholders choose the file size they need when they download content, and allows the I Love New York team to track stakeholder downloads.
Distribution & Security
Layered permissions settings ensure the team’s visual assets are accessible to people who need to use them, and protected from anyone who doesn’t have permission to view or download assets.
“For frequent partners, like social media and PR firms, we add them to the address book as a group and they have direct access to the library. PhotoShelter allows us to truly communicate our brand and assets around the world, with the security of knowing that the assets are safely archived.” – Empire State Development’s Division of Tourism, I LOVE NEW YORK
Every asset in the library is backed up on multiple servers in multiple data centers, so the team can rest assured the archive is safe.
Engaging Audiences
The I Love NY Pod travels around the state of New York and invites people to explore the state through photos and videos. The pop-up is interactive and colorful, and aims to inspire people to visit other parts of the state in person.
“The I Love NY Pod uses images through every participant touch-point. Photos located on the interior walls and floors highlight major attractions found across the state. The exterior, designed to look like a trunk as it travels across the state, features photos and stickers of attractions found in all 11 of our vacation regions. Each interactive activation uses photos – from our Travel Profile Detector that provides personalized recommendations, to our trivia contest, and the green screen where visitors can select their NYS background.” – Empire State Development’s Division of Tourism, I LOVE NEW YORK
The photos used by the Pod are delivered using PhotoShelter.
The Takeaway
Everyone knows New York City – the Empire State Building, Central Park, Coney Island. But the state of New York has so much more to offer. Visual storytelling is key to the I LOVE NEW YORK communications strategy. Visual content has the ability to change perceptions and encourage travelers to explore a new destination. The team uses photos and videos to highlight a wide range of cities, towns, landmarks and adventures, from hot air ballooning in the Adirondacks to taking in Niagra Falls by boat. And a robust visual media library allows them to take full advantage of the photos and videos in their archive.
“Photos are an integral part of everything we do. As the saying goes, a picture says a thousand words and we have a lot of great things to say about New York. We invite everyone to experience the rich culture and history, delicious food and beverage, creative arts and sciences, abundant natural resources, and much more found in the Empire State.” – Empire State Development’s Division of Tourism, I LOVE NEW YORK
Check out the PhotoShelter slideshow embedded below to explore the state through the lens of I Love New York’s fantastic photography.
Cover photo and all slideshow photos by Darren McGee, courtesy of NYSDED-NYS Dept. of Economic Dev.
