In order to combat longstanding misconceptions that the state of Minnesota is just too cold and dreary to be a vacation destination, Explore Minnesota Tourism worked with agency Colle+McVoy to bring “samples” of Minnesotan destinations to potential tourists.
The campaign featured two 8-by-8-by-8-foot steel shipping containers, transformed to resemble a canoe trip in the state’s Boundary Waters region and Minneapolis’ iconic First Avenue music club. Participants could have their picture taken as they pretended to row the canoe or play an actual drum set and share via social media. The containers, dubbed “MNstagram booths”, have popped up at events in Chicago, Denver and Kansas City resulting in 1.25 million total impressions. The campaign achieved a hands-on, interactive, shareable, and press-worthy activation with a modest state tourism budget that could never have gone the distance in traditional media outlets like television.
Now it’s up to tourists to go the distance and really visit the state of Minnesota.