Visit Dublin Ohio Encourages You to Embrace Curiosity

Typical tourism marketing calls on visitors to meticulously plan visits around their city’s popular tourist spots. Visit Dublin Ohio and agency Cornett are taking a different approach with a new campaign that encourages travellers to ditch the planning and “just go,” assuring a satisfying, unforgettable experience no matter where they end up.

Created for paid social and OTA, ‘Don’t Plan a Trip to Dublin, OH’ includes :15 videos packed with glimpses of some of Dublin’s family-friendly offerings, including Hayden Falls Park, the beloved Field of Corn sculpture, and a range of dining options. Fixed atop these breezy images is the campaign’s anchoring message: “Don’t plan it. Just go to Dublin, Ohio, and count on it.” Simple, yet effective, the work showcases the Ohio city as a convenient locale where all kinds of families can easily have a great time at any of its many attractions—no hefty coordination needed.

“In a season filled with ‘Plan Your Trip’ and ‘Book Your Visit’ messaging from destinations, the ‘Don’t Plan’ message was a breath of fresh air. And it’s not just a fun and quirky headline,” exclaimed Sara Blatnik, marketing director at Visit Dublin Ohio. “It’s rooted in research of how our target audience is feeling and paired with a product that exceeds expectations in ease and convenience. The juxtaposition of our creative and messaging in a sea of sameness is helping to get potential visitors to stop the never-ending scroll and start thinking about a trip to Dublin.”

Cornett group creative director Jason Majewski added, “Planning a family trip can feel like work. So, we flipped a familiar call to action and didn’t mix the message: in Dublin, unplanning is the new planning.”

‘Don’t Plan a Trip to Dublin, OH’ arrives off the heels of the bureau’s award-winning campaign “The Other Dublin,” which extended an invite to Dublin, Ireland, to visit the Ohio city in exchange for free pints of beer. The stunt earned 32 million impressions and a few visitors who made the actual trek from the “other Dublin” more than 3,500 miles away. Visit Dublin Ohio and Cornett want to continue making waves in the industry by engaging the market in ways that buck traditional tourism marketing trends.

The campaign will primarily run on YouTube, Meta, and TripAdvisor in key markets, including Cincinnati, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Indianapolis, and Lexington.