Lake of the Woods Tourism Wins Awards at Explore MN Tourism Conference
Lake of the Woods Tourism received two prestigious awards at the 2020 Explore Minnesota Conference in Alexandria, MN this week.
The first of the two state awards was in the category New Event of the Year presented for the 2019 World Ploughing Contest. Competitors and guests from 28 countries converged on the Lake of the Woods area and Baudette, MN. This international event travels to a different country each year and won’t be back to the U.S. for another 30 years. Lake of the Woods landed it and nearby Baudette, MN was the focus of the Ploughing World for an entire year.
Lake of the Woods reached an agricultural demographic through a non-fishing venue and exposure to the Lake of the Woods area was the goal.
The event was featured in multiple segments through the media, including outlets from the nearby Midwest to those in distant international markets. Capturing media, both big and small through print, digital, social, TV and radio outlets was the focus. 
Judges commented that they took notice of this once in a lifetime international event which welcomed 7,000 attendees and garnered international attention to the Lake of the Woods area for a non-fishing activity.
The second award was presented to Lake of the Woods Tourism for a Niche Targeting Campaign. On January 3rd, 2019, Lake of the Woods Tourism joined Devils Lake, ND Tourism for a marketing / PR faceoff event called Walleye Wars. The purpose of this event was to draw awareness and provide education about ice fishing in both markets.
The ice fishing event was introduced with a Facebook Live video broadcast from the 2019 St. Paul Ice Fishing Show.
Every hour from the fish house, both teams featured a different guest from the community on Facebook Live and discussed aspects of the area along with current fishing results.
Results were astonishing. Earned media earned across the U.S. was 16 million. Social media reach was 500,000. Facebook Live video views were 240,000.
Judges were excited they partnered with a competitor for mutual benefit. Positioning the event as a faceoff for ultimate ice fishing bragging rights guaranteed an earned media payoff and the PR results for this event were amazing. It received regional coverage as well as pickups from USA Today, The Washington Times and The San Francisco Chronicle.
“We certainly appreciate being recognized with these two prestigious awards by Explore MN Tourism,” explained Joe Henry, Executive Director of Lake of the Woods Tourism. “There are a lot of people who contribute to our successes and we appreciate each and every one of them. Willie Walleye will be proud!”
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