The Gainesville Tourism Department was recently recognized for creative marketing — and the campaign itself was definitely something to write home about.
For its wildly popular “From Gainesville, With Love” postcard campaign, the department received the Al Burruss Award for Creative Expression, presented during the 2024 Georgia Tourism Awards at the Georgia Association of Convention and Visitors Bureaus (CVB) Annual Conference Feb. 13-15 in Albany. The Al Burruss Award for Creative Expression recognizes an individual or entity that develops a creative community public relations initiative.
The Gainesville CVB last received the award in 2019 for its “Free-Range GVL” campaign, which featured the Poultry Capital of the World’s unofficial mascot — chickens “exploring” various parts of the Gainesville-Hall County community.
Postcards sent ‘across the globe’
(Gainesville CVB / Facebook)
Under the latest campaign, the Tourism Department designed 12 unique postcards illustrating an event, attraction, piece of history — even the vibe of Gainesville. Postcards — the designs for which were teased online but kept under wraps — were revealed at City events like First Friday concerts, Food Truck Friday, and Jingle Mingle and the Lighting of the Chicken.
During these events, the mobile visitors center unveiled a fun environment — mailbox included — for guests to sit down, address and write a postcard note, then drop it in the mailbox. Postcards were mailed for free, and a little bit of Gainesville, Georgia, was shared around the United States and across the globe — 45 states and 14 countries, to be exact.
Gainesville Tourism Director Robyn Lynch credits Lake Lanier Olympic Park (LLOP) Division Manager James Watson with the idea. LLOP operates under the Gainesville Tourism Department, along with The Boathouse at Lake Lanier, Gainesville CVB, Main Street Gainesville, and Greater Gainesville Sports Alliance.
“Is there anything more gratifying than that feeling of receiving a handwritten message?” Watson asks rhetorically. “Knowing in that moment that wherever the sender was, they were thinking of you?”
He adds, “Most places I visit, I pick up a postcard and send it to my grandfather because, in the age of digital, I know he still enjoys receiving something tangible. Because of this experience, I pitched the idea to our team. Through lots of collaboration, ‘From Gainesville, With Love’ was born.”
Watson calls the campaign an “overwhelming success.”
Postcards became a ‘hot commodity’
Not only was the City’s postcard campaign inexpensive to produce and promote, but it stirred excitement within the community, so much so that they became collectibles and a hot commodity for residents and visitors to snag at local events or by visiting the Gainesville Visitors Center.
Postcard sets were in such demand that many purchased them as Christmas gifts at Jingle Mingle in November 2023, which offset the City’s production costs. Every element was created in-house from scratch, from the design and implementation to the mailbox setup to mailing and tracking each card.
“It was not only exciting but uplifting to see so many residents and visitors eager to share a piece of Gainesville, Georgia, with their friends and loved ones across the country and globe,” Lynch says. “Who would have thought that such a simple campaign would spark so much chatter and involvement!”
The postcard writing campaign continues with Mutts on Main in Gainesville in late March.
