Goals and objectives
The “Seattle Bookmarked: Banned Edition” campaign was a collaboration between Visit Seattle and Atlantic Re:think, designed to spotlight Seattle’s literary heritage while addressing the timely issue of book censorship in the United States. The campaign featured prominent Seattle residents reading excerpts from books written by Seattle authors that have been banned or challenged, underscoring the city’s progressive values and cultural richness.
The campaign’s primary objectives were to increase brand awareness and consideration for Seattle as a culturally vibrant travel destination, engage Visit Seattle’s target audience of “Advenculturists” (culturally curious travelers), and reinforce the city’s identity as a hub for intellectual freedom and literary expression. Building on the success of the original “Bookmarked” series, this edition successfully deepened Seattle’s cultural narrative through the lens of banned literature.
Key results included exceeding the video view goal by 13% (847,348 views vs. 750,000 target), achieving a 40% lift in travel consideration among exposed audiences, and maintaining high favourability ratings (86%). The campaign also saw strong engagement from the Advenculturist audience, who made up 63% of all engagements, demonstrating the campaign’s resonance with its intended demographic.
KPI's
Scale and Reach Metrics:
- Video views exceeded the target by 13% (847,348 vs. 750,000 goal)
- Strong geographic reach across top markets: California (#1), New York (#2), and Texas (#3)
- 63% of audience identified as Advenculturists, a 3-point increase from the previous campaign
Engagement Metrics:
- Full-length video completion rates significantly outperformed benchmarks:
- “Brave Face”: 52.50% (vs. 25% benchmark)
- “Ghost Boys”: 48.63% (vs. 25% benchmark)
- “Lawn Boy”: 49.99% (vs. 25% benchmark)
- Campaign engagers were 8.7x more likely to be Advenculturists than other Atlantic readers
Brand Impact Metrics:
- Familiarity: +9% lift (76% exposed vs. 67% control)
- Consideration: +40% lift (59% exposed vs. 19% control)
- Ad Recall: +42% lift (60% exposed vs. 18% control)
- Favourability: Maintained high rating at 86% among exposed users
Campaign Attribute Performance:
- 92% agreed the videos showcased unique Seattle experiences
- 90% said the videos offered a new perspective on Seattle
- 86% reported learning something new about the city
- 86% said they gained new reasons to visit Seattle
Target audience
Geography: Targeted major U.S. metropolitan areas, with strongest reach in California, New York, and Texas.
Demography: Adults with an interest in arts, culture, and travel.
Psychography: “Advenculturists”—culturally curious travelers who seek out progressive, intellectually engaging destinations and value authentic, meaningful experiences.
Strategy
The strategic foundation of “Seattle Bookmarked: Banned Edition” was rooted in a compelling cultural insight: Seattle’s literary identity could serve as a powerful narrative vehicle to explore broader social themes, particularly censorship and intellectual freedom. By featuring banned or challenged books by Seattle authors, the campaign positioned the city as both a literary haven and a bastion of progressive values.
The campaign extended the success of the original “Bookmarked” series by producing video content that blended personal storytelling with literary excerpts. The content was distributed across multiple platforms, with full-length videos featured on YouTube and shorter cutdowns on Meta platforms to optimise reach and engagement.
This multichannel approach allowed the campaign to meet both brand-building and performance objectives. Notably, the campaign achieved significant lifts in familiarity (+9%) and consideration (+40%) while maintaining high engagement among the Advenculturist audience, who were 8.7 times more likely to engage with the content than other Atlantic readers.
Creative idea
The creative execution of “Seattle Bookmarked: Banned Edition” centered on transforming literary readings into visually rich, emotionally resonant narratives. Each video featured a well-known Seattle resident reading from a banned or challenged book by a Seattle author, filmed in the iconic top floor of the Seattle Public Library—a symbolic and visually striking location that reinforced the campaign’s literary and cultural themes.
To elevate the storytelling, the readings were paired with stylised b-roll footage that visually interpreted the excerpts, creating a layered and immersive experience. This approach brought the texts to life while showcasing Seattle’s landscape and cultural identity.
The campaign produced three primary videos—“Brave Face,” “Ghost Boys,” and “Lawn Boy”—each achieving strong viewer engagement, with full-length video completion rates hovering around 50%, far exceeding platform benchmarks. The high production quality and narrative depth aligned seamlessly with The Atlantic’s premium brand and effectively communicated Seattle’s cultural sophistication to the Advenculturist audience.
Channels
YouTube served as the primary platform for full-length video content, with each video generating high engagement and completion rates:
- “Brave Face”: 52.50%
- “Ghost Boys”: 48.63%
- “Lawn Boy”: 49.99%
Visit Seattle also hosted the videos on its own YouTube channel, where each video garnered over 1 million views. Meta platforms, including Facebook and Instagram, were used to distribute shorter cutdown versions of the videos, significantly increasing reach. For example, the cutdown version of “Brave Face” achieved 184,404 views compared to 39,753 for the full-length version.
The Atlantic’s owned channels were also leveraged, with custom destination pages hosting the content and targeting the Advenculturist audience. This multi-platform distribution strategy enabled the campaign to exceed its guaranteed video view goal by 13%, reaching 847,348 total views and successfully targeting key geographic markets such as California, New York, and Texas.
Learnings
What Worked Well:
- The campaign format proved scalable and effective, building on the success of previous series like “Bookmarked” and “Unsettled Territory.”
- Full-length video content on YouTube significantly outperformed benchmarks, demonstrating strong engagement with long-form storytelling.
- The banned books theme proved especially effective in driving consideration, resulting in a 40% lift—higher than previous campaigns.
- The campaign resonated with the target Advenculturist audience, achieving a 63% composition (up 3 points from the prior campaign).
Areas for Optimisation:
- Although favourability remained high at 86%, there was a slight decline (-6%) among exposed audiences, indicating room for message refinement.
- Performance varied across video assets, with “Brave Face” requiring additional support to match the impact of “Ghost Boys” and “Lawn Boy.”
- Cutdown video completion rates were lower than full-length versions, suggesting an opportunity to enhance shorter-form content.
Future Campaign Implications:
- The campaign’s success in driving consideration and ad recall validates the creative approach and supports its use in future efforts.
- Strong performance in metropolitan markets like New York, Chicago, and Dallas indicates potential for geographic expansion.
- The campaign demonstrated that addressing controversial topics such as censorship can drive engagement while maintaining brand favorability.
- The balanced use of full-length and cutdown content proved effective in reaching different audience segments across platforms.
Surprising Insights
One of the most unexpected highlights came from Barry Johnson, the featured reader in “Ghost Boys,” who organically shared the campaign on his own channels, generating significant engagement and amplifying the campaign’s reach beyond paid distribution.