From Clicks to Crowds: The ROOST Story of Turning Data Insights into Record-Breaking Summer Tourism

Client Profile

The Regional Office of Sustainable Tourism (ROOST) is the Destination Marketing and Management Organization (DMMO) for several counties in Northern New York. Serving a large portion of the vast Adirondack Park—the largest state park in the U.S. and an area larger than Yellowstone, Glacier, and Yosemite national parks combined—ROOST's mission is to promote and manage this massive region through a unified, regional effort. With a focus on traditional and digital marketing, public relations, and electronic media, ROOST continuously evolves to stay ahead of a dynamic and ever-changing tourism marketplace.

ROOST 1ROOST is the Destination Marketing and Management Organization (DMMO) for Lake Placid and Essex County, Hamilton County, Saranac Lake, and Tupper Lake in New York. Image Credit: SaranacLake.com, AdirondacksUSA.com, LakePlacid.com (ROOST)

The Challenge

In an environment of shifting travel patterns, ROOST recognized the need to move beyond traditional marketing. Rather than simply absorbing news about the latest tourism trends, they sought to proactively influence market demand. With uncertainty surrounding their historically strong Canadian audience, ROOST needed to identify and tap into a new, high-quality opportunity market to sustain and grow visitor numbers for summer visitation. They needed a data-driven approach to ensure their marketing spend was as impactful as possible.

The Solution

Leveraging visitor intelligence from Zartico, ROOST was able to pinpoint quality opportunity markets that showed significant promise. The data identified Florida as a key target, leading ROOST to develop a focused advertising campaign tailored to this audience.

Several factors made Florida an ideal choice for ROOST:

  • New Connectivity: The Plattsburgh Airport had recently added a direct flight to Orlando, opening up a new and convenient travel path.
  • Established Connection: The Adirondack region has a strong relationship with "snowbirds"—visitors who spend their summers in the north and winters in the south. This provided a natural, established network to build upon.
  • Data-Backed Interest: ROOST's own data analysis confirmed a growing interest from Florida-based audiences, making the decision a strategic and data-driven one.
  • A Contrasting Message: The extreme heat of Florida’s summer offered a perfect opportunity for ROOST to position the Adirondacks as a refreshing mountain escape with warm days and cool nights.

The Campaign

From June 11 to August 12, 2025, ROOST ran a targeted retargeting ad campaign focused on Florida. The campaign's core message centered on the unique, refreshing contrast the Adirondacks could offer from Florida’s sweltering summer climate. The goal was twofold: to drive direct bookings and to encourage snowbirds to extend their word-of-mouth recommendations to their Florida friends, creating a valuable ripple effect of awareness.

ROOST - AdsROOST’s summer retargeting ads invited Floridians to escape the heat and discover the refreshing contrast of the Adirondacks.

Campaign Success

The results of the Florida campaign were a clear indicator of success, demonstrating the power of leveraging data to inform marketing strategy.

  • Clicks: The campaign generated nearly 20,000 clicks.
  • Click-Through-Rate (CTR): At 4.82%, the campaign's CTR was more than double the performance of ROOST’s next top-performing summer campaign.
  • Lift: 149.40% increase in arrivals and spend from Florida during the campaign

Key Takeaways

By taking a proactive, data-informed approach, ROOST successfully identified and engaged a new and highly receptive market. The campaign not only delivered outstanding results in direct clicks and CTR but also initiated a long-term strategy of building brand awareness and fostering a community of advocates in a new region.

This success story proves that with the right visitor intelligence and insights, destinations can effectively influence visitor patterns and create a ripple effect of sustained growth.

Header Image Credit: LakePlacid.com (ROOST)

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