Destination marketing is about more than promotion; it’s about shaping identity. For over six years, BLKDOG has partnered with Washington County Tourism to craft a brand that reflects the county’s authentic character and connects visitors to its people, places, and experiences. Through branding, campaigns, and community collaboration, Washington County has evolved into a recognized tourism success story.
ABOUT
Nestled between the Adirondacks, the Capital-Saratoga Region, and Vermont, Washington County, NY, is rich in cultural heritage, outdoor recreation, and small-town charm, but it wasn’t on the radar for most travelers. With no traditional hotels, the county needed a visitor strategy that leaned into day trips, weekend getaways, and a growing short-term rental market backed by an Airbnb occupancy tax agreement. The tourism team was ready to tell a bigger story; they needed a partner to bring it to life
DELIVERABLES
- Tourism Brand Development
- Website Design + Management
- Paid Media Strategy & Campaigns
- Content Creation (Social Media, Blog, Photo + Video)
- Email Marketing
- Event Development & Hosting
Since 2018, BLKDOG has served as Washington County’s full-service Tourism Promotion Agency, overseeing brand, web, content, media, and on-the-ground activations. We rebuilt the brand around authenticity and access, launched and continually improved a mobile-first, SEO-forward site, and put story at the center: from How It’s Made features that spotlight the county’s true farm-to-table process to experience trails that turn curiosity into bookable weekends.
We complemented this with targeted digital, social, and connected-TV media, plus community events that knit together businesses and visitors.
TYING OUTCOMES TO SPEND
Compared to other areas of the northeast, Washington County’s base tourism budget is modest. Strategic spending across strategy, web, content, social, email, design, photo/video, and media purchasing/print, the budget is designed to protect always-on channels that support ROI (organic content, social distribution, and conversion-friendly UX).
Complementing this is a limited window of ARPA funding focused on growth initiatives: 250th anniversary campaigns, programmatic/CTV expansion, new video, event support, and map updates. Together, these investments fuel the exact levers that moved the needle in 2024 (organic discovery, video engagement, trip planning) while widening the top of funnel with premium media.
Content & SEO → +36.3% organic users; 9/20 top pages are blogs.
Video → 837.5k full plays drive awareness and time-spent with brand stories.
Email → +28% list growth powers low-cost, high-intent trip nudges.
Guides & UX → 2,248 mailed guides + clearer “Stay” paths convert interest into itineraries and short-term bookings.
The impact has been measurable and sustained: Unique website users grew again in 2024 (8.8% YoY), while pageviews climbed 30.9%, with 22.6% of users arriving via Google search and 58% via Facebook/Instagram. Critically, organic search users rose 36.3% YoY after reinvesting in editorial content: Nine of the top twenty pages were blogs, evidence that content spend compounds. Email subscribers expanded 28% and video delivered scale: 837.5k full YouTube plays in 2024.
Washington County’s events and campaigns continue to mobilize locals and visitors alike, from the Flannel Fall Crawl to “Meeting of the Minds” business sessions.
Brand clarity plus disciplined, evolving investment produces durable growth.
Washington County proves that when a destination aligns its spend with how visitors actually discover and plan—SEO and social for discovery, video for storytelling, email and guides for conversion—awareness becomes arrivals, and arrivals become local revenue in lodging and food and beverage. That’s destination branding doing real economic work.
The county’s transformation is now a statewide benchmark:
NYSTIA (2024) Excellence in Tourism Marketing: Trails & Itineraries
NYSEDC (2024) Marketing Best in Class: Branding & Awareness
NYSTIA (2025) Excellence in Tourism Marketing: Innovations & Strategies
Like the trails and stories we’ve helped bring to life, our work with Washington County Tourism connects visitors to authentic experiences. From award-winning campaigns to community-driven events, we’ve built a brand that celebrates place, strengthens partnerships, and positions the county for lasting tourism growth.
BLKDOG
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