The Value of an Integrated Marketing Campaign to Grow Interest in Visiting the U.S. National Parks

Author

Hermine Granberry, University of MississippiFollow

Date of Award

Spring 5-13-2023

Document Type

Undergraduate Thesis

Department

Integrated Marketing Communication

First Advisor

Dennis Irwin

Second Advisor

Mark Dolan

Third Advisor

Kurt Streeter

Relational Format

Dissertation/Thesis

Abstract

When the centennial celebration of the National Park Service was approaching in 2016, the National Park Service launched a two-year campaign to only commemorate the last century of NPS, but to also reconnect Americans with the parks. Ten years have passed since the initial creation of the campaign. This thesis researches the value of how another integrated marketing campaign could increase visitation to the U.S. National Parks in the future.

Through evaluating the previous Find Your Park campaign and current trends in travel and vacation, this research investigates not only future campaign ideas but also the use and incorporation of augmented reality and further social media engagement for the National Park Service to reach a broader audience.

To understand the industry perspective of marketing a national park, an interview was conducted with the Director of Marketing and Communications at the Grand Canyon Conservancy Mindy Riesenberg. A survey was also designed to understand University of Mississippi students’ visitation to a national park in the last five years and their travel habits.

Through the course of this thesis, the application of integrated marketing techniques in conjunction with a future nationwide campaign was recommended to increase awareness of the U.S. National Parks and therefore increase visitation to the parks.

Recommended Citation

Granberry, Hermine, "The Value of an Integrated Marketing Campaign to Grow Interest in Visiting the U.S. National Parks" (2023). Honors Theses. 2960.
https://egrove.olemiss.edu/hon_thesis/2960

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