How Atlantic City Became a Contender in Sports Destinations

Summary

Aiming to position Atlantic City as the premier sports hub,the ACSC launched a highly targeted LinkedIn campaign, which boosted its reach and engagement within thesports event planning community.

Company Background

Founded in 2015, the Atlantic City Sports Commission operates under Visit Atlantic City with the mission toattract sporting events, conventions, and competitionsto the region. By utilizing the area’s facilities andinfrastructure, ACSC hosts a wide variety of sportsevents year-round, playing a vital role in promoting sportstourism and driving economic growth in Atlantic City.

The Challenge

In the world of sports, competition is as fierce off the field as on it, with cities competing against one another to attract sports events. Being a smaller destination with a limited budget and resources, ASCS needed a cost-effective way to connect with sports event planners and stay competitive against bigger destinations.

The Solution

ACSC’s primary goal was to increase visibility and engagement with sports event planners and rights holders, positioning Atlantic City as an ideal location for hosting a range of events. To achieve this, ACSC partnered with Multiview to launch a three-month advertising campaign on LinkedIn. Utilizing its targeting capabilities like job title targeting and geographic targeting, ACSC was able to identify key sports industry stakeholders and connect with them on the platform where they were most active.

For ACSC's team, campaign success meant more than being seen online. They wanted to know if their ads were reaching the right people. "I don't want to see just impressions. I want to see actual engagement with our content," Karina emphasized. Each month ACSC and Multiview met to analyze performance and optimize the campaign by refining the targeting and testing different messaging. This tailored approach allowed ACSC to maximize its budget while delivering impactful results, ensuring long-term growth in its online presence and event bookings.

I thought Multiview was such a big company that they would not treat a small budget as they would for a bigger destination, but I'm so happy with the level of care our account has received.

— Karina Anthony, Senior Director of Marketing

The Results

Completely exceeding their expectations, ACSC extended the three-month campaign by 12 months. Through the combined effort of organic social and paid campaigns, ACSC achieved a remarkable YTD 140% increase in followers, along with higher than industry average engagement rates. By staying in front of event planners and rights holders with consistent and relevant messaging, ACSC has been able to book more events.  

ACSC continues to optimize its efforts, expanding its visibility in the sports event market while preparing to shift focus toward lead generation in future campaigns.