State Snapchat campaign focuses on Chattanooga's outdoor experiences

VML Art Director Mars Denton paddle boards Thursday, July 20, 2017, on the Tennessee River at the Market Street Bridge in Chattanooga, Tenn. A group of three from VML went paragliding, bouldering, slacklining, paddleboarding, kayaking, climbing and mountain biking during a visit to Chattanooga.
VML Art Director Mars Denton paddle boards Thursday, July 20, 2017, on the Tennessee River at the Market Street Bridge in Chattanooga, Tenn. A group of three from VML went paragliding, bouldering, slacklining, paddleboarding, kayaking, climbing and mountain biking during a visit to Chattanooga.

In the space of about 48 hours, a three-person crew from VML, a national marketing and production agency with an office in Nashville, managed to go paragliding, bouldering, slacklining, paddleboarding, kayaking, indoor climbing and mountain biking during a visit to Chattanooga.

They documented it all on Snapchat in order to share their adventures with the world, or more specifically millennials. It was done as part of a new Snapchat channel that the Tennessee Department of Tourist Development created to attract people to the many things to do here in the state. It has proven to be a big hit, according to Brian Wagner, assistant commissioner of marketing.

"We are excited to have this medium," he said. "We are seeing an 18-to-1 return on our investment, meaning for every dollar we spend, we are getting $18 back. The cost to the state is the expense of putting our people out there and the expense of planning, so it's a relatively small investment

As part of the campaign, VML, which is the agency of record for the state, has previously done Snapchat packages focused on the Memphis World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest, Bonnaroo in Manchester, Dollywood in Pigeon Forge and Secret City in Oak Ridge. The latter was chosen by viewers when they were given a say in what they wanted to see focused on.

VML staff members, with help from the state office as well as local visitor bureaus and businesses in the featured cities, chose the other locations. In Chattanooga's case, focusing the Snapchat project on the outdoor opportunities within a short distance from downtown was the obvious choice.

On Friday of last week, the crew gathered at Coolidge Park, where Seth Bigham of L2, a local business that rents paddleboards and kayaks, was giving the VML crew - creative director Betsy Jemas, art director Mars Denton and associate producer Kelli Shannon - a few tips on using the equipment.

He was also telling them about a cave in the cliffs under the Hunter Museum of American Art and the walking trail on Maclellan Island.

"Everyone thinks the river is going to be crowded with boats or that the current is really strong," he said. "It can be strong, but this is a great place to paddleboard."

"I can't get over how warm the water is," Jemas said.

Bigham explained that it is because the water that TVA sends through the Chickamauga Dam into the Tennessee River is from the top of Chickamauga Lake and is warmed by the sun.

Wagner said the state launched the channel in October with help from country superstar Garth Brooks. Only fans who applied through the channel could get tickets to a special concert by Brooks. The channel had almost 600,000 views in the first few days and 8 million within three weeks.

The other projects haven't gotten nearly that many views, but they have gotten in the 250,000 to 500,000 range in some cases. The Snapchat projects are promoted and linked on other social-media outlets to draw traffic.

Contact Barry Courter at bcourter@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6354.

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