Formed in 1985, Travel Juneau (formerly the Juneau Convention & Visitors Bureau) is a private nonprofit dedicated to strengthening Juneau’s visitor industry and local economy. Its primary goal is to increase overnight stays from business and leisure travelers, who in turn support locally
owned businesses.
Travel Juneau serves both the City and Borough of Juneau and its partners by marketing Juneau as a destination. Its efforts aim to ensure a more stable, sustainable year-round economy.
| 3.5% CTR Display ads far above industry benchmarks for destination marketing |
5 of 10 Top Referral Sources to Travel Juneau’s website came from Orange 142 campaigns |
Juneau Isn’t a Place to Visit — It’s a Place the Changes You
Both a mountain town and a coastal community, Juneau, Alaska is undeniably the most scenic capital city in America. It’s a rare combination of natural wonder and wildlife hot spot with deep Native heritage. The city’s arts, music, and food scenes stand alongside glacier views, fjords, and miles of trails. Juneau is the beating heart of Southeast Alaska and a place visitors remember long after they leave.
Surface-Level Tourism Limits Positive Impact
Each year, more than 1.7 million cruise passengers flow through Juneau, but most stay just five to six hours. These fleeting visits rarely allow time for meaningful experiences, deeper engagement with local culture, or exploring beyond the downtown core. That short window also limits the emotional connection visitors form with the destination, as well as economic benefits to local businesses.
Marketing a Remote Destination
Juneau’s location is part of its allure, and its challenge. While technically just a two-hour flight from Seattle, it’s perceived as remote, especially by East Coast travelers. Add in the region’s relatively short tourism season (April to October) and long planning lead times, and the marketing equation gets more complex.
Wearing Multiple Hats with Limited Bandwidth
Destination Marketing Manager, Kristi Switzer, leads efforts to attract fully independent travelers (FIT), small groups, and meetings, as well as PR. With a small DMO team, she wore many hats. “Digital marketing was new to me. I needed a partner who would guide me,” Switzer said, “and Orange 142 provided me that expertise.”
Bridging the Digital Marketing Gap
Travel Juneau had done very little digital advertising before engaging Orange 142. Prior efforts were often limited to paid placements next to articles, without clear targeting or performance tracking. Switzer recognized a gap in her own background (she came from craft beer and publishing, where dedicated teams handled digital media), and she needed a partner who could not only execute but also educate and support her through the process. “I was looking for people who knew what they were doing,” she said, “and Cliff and the team really took care of me.”
Kristi Switzer, Destination Marketing Manager at Travel Juneau, moved to the city in 1990 and describes herself as “transformed” by all it has to offer. She’s not alone, many visitors have told her that they too have been forever changed. When she joined Travel Juneau she was tasked with attracting independent travelers (i.e. people who are not part of cruises) and she knew that to succeed, she needed to get the message of Juneau’s transformational effects out to the market.
Reframing Juneau as a Destination, Not a Detour
For Travel Juneau, the goal wasn’t to advertise a spontaneous weekend getaway. It was to inspire dreamers, planners, and return visitors to see Juneau not as a cruise stop, but as a destination worthy of a full vacation. That meant reshaping the narrative: emphasizing transformational experiences, cultural depth, and the city’s unique blend of wilderness, heritage, and culinary discovery. “You leave here never feeling the same,” Switzer said. Orange 142 helped translate that vision into messaging that appealed to travelers seeking something more meaningful than a quick port call.
Targeting the Right Visitors with Data-Driven Precision
Based on Switzer’s direction about the kinds of travelers she wanted to reach, Cliff Ward, Business Development Director at Orange 142, translated those ideas into specific, research-driven audience segments:
» Adventure and outdoor seekers, broken down into nuanced subgroups based on age, psychographics, and income
» Culinary explorers drawn to Juneau’s growing food scene but open to outdoor experiences
» Alaska native cultural enthusiasts, particularly interested in the area’s rich Native history and arts scene
Orange 142 used a blend of web traffic analysis, foot-traffic insights from Placer.ai, and travel-intent data to identify geo-targets like Seattle, Portland, Denver, and Los Angeles—places with easier access and higher likelihood of interest. “We weren’t trying to market to cruise passengers,” Ward emphasized. “We focused on people who either weren’t cruisers or who had cruised before and were open to coming back for a deeper visit.”
Delivering Compelling Creative
Orange 142 took responsibility for campaign assets from start to finish. The team refreshed Juneau’s existing video footage, produced new display, native, and social ads, and aligned every piece with the city’s transformational brand message. With a small staff and no in-house digital resources, Travel Juneau depended on Orange 142 to handle creative execution at scale. “Cliff did all the work,” Kristi noted, emphasizing how critical the agency’s creative support was in bringing the campaign to life.
Providing Bandwidth and Strategic Support
To support Travel Juneau, Orange 142 operated not just as a vendor but an extension of Travel Juneau. Ward handled strategy development, targeting research, creative planning, and optimization, allowing Switzer to stay focused on her many other roles. “Cliff really took the time to understand what I was trying to convey and helped figure out the best way to get there,” she said. “He kept me on track and made sure things kept moving forward.”
Making Digital Work for a First-Time Advertiser
With limited resources in digital marketing, Travel Juneau needed a campaign partner that could deliver full-service execution and performance transparency. Orange 142 deployed a mix of channels, display, social, native, video, and travel-intent targeting, along with fresh creative that showcased Juneau’s transformational appeal.
Performance That Beat Industry Benchmarks
The campaign quickly demonstrated measurable success across channels. Display ads achieved an exceptional 3.5% click-through rate—a result rarely seen in destination marketing. Native placements performed at 1.7% CTR, Meta social ads delivered just under 1% CTR, and in-stream video held strong at 1.24% CTR with excellent completion rates. These numbers consistently outpaced industry averages and validated the audience segmentation strategy.
Driving Meaningful Web Traffic
Orange 142 also became one of Travel Juneau’s top referral sources. “Orange 142 showed up five times in our top ten website referrers,” Switzer noted, far surpassing other marketing vendors. For an organization with minimal prior digital footprint, this represented a step-change in visibility and accountability.
Expanding Awareness Among Independent Travelers
By focusing on adventure seekers, culinary explorers, and cultural travelers, the campaign reached audiences most likely to view Juneau as more than a cruise stop. As Ward explained, “We weren’t trying to market to cruise passengers. We targeted people who either weren’t cruisers or who had cruised before and were open to coming back for a deeper visit.” Early performance suggested strong resonance with those aspirational travelers, positioning Juneau for long-term gains in FIT visitation.
Building Confidence in Digital Marketing
For Kristi, the results were not only about metrics, but also about trust. “Digital marketing was new to me,” she admitted. “But Cliff and the team kept me on track, explained what was happening, and took care of me. That freed me up to focus on everything else I was juggling.” The campaign gave Travel Juneau both immediate returns and a foundation of confidence for future digital investments.
We have extensive experience working with travel and hospitality brands, delivering everything from full website launches to integrated campaigns across web, mobile, CTV, social media, and influencer marketing. Our work helps destinations and resorts attract the right audience, inspire them to visit, and convert interest into bookings.
Orange 142 is a digital marketing and advertising agency offering solutions in media campaigns, marketing services, website development, and marketing enablement. We combine creative strategy with data-driven execution, ensuring every initiative is measurable, optimized, and aligned with our clients’ goals.
Learn more about how we work with Travel & Tourism brands.