Joe Vargo Email & Phone Number

Columbus, Oh, Us

Columbus, Ohio Metropolitan Area

Programmatic lead for tourism client engagements; marketing leadership for owned media Develop paid media strategies for new and existing tourism clients that enhance brand value and achieve KPIsPlace, monitor and optimize client media; report on results Streamlined and standardized processes for client onboarding, reporting, project management and media executionTrain account managers to enable programmatic salesLead agency responses to digital marketing, branding and website development RFPsCreate user-focused strategies for web builds based on client inputs, primary research and search dataDeveloped and launched digital products, including SEO and video production packages that are right-sized for client base

Columbus, Ohio

Senior marketing leadership to the destination marketing organization for Greater ColumbusDirected and advised leisure marketing initiatives and integrated marketing campaigns, including agency relationship, advertising, influencer marketing and PRKPI: 92 million marketing impressionsKPI: 630,000 social media interactionsManaged and advised on city branding initiative, LifeinCbus, including creative development, social media, paid advertising and influencer marketing; campaign netted both national media attention and marketing awardsLed strategic marketing pivots during COVID-19 crisis and supported local small businesses and attractions, leading to an increase in local web visitation during travel’s toughest yearDirectly responsible for strategy, development and content for experiencecolumbus.com, named one of the best tourism websites in the world; led two site redesigns based on consumer insights and digital analyticsKPI: 1.5 million unique site visits in 2019Led strategy and content for organization’s social media channels and blogKPI: Organic site traffic up 25% YOY for 4 consecutive yearsDeveloped and served as marketing lead and community liaison for the Columbus Coffee Trail and Made in Cbus Trail encouraging visitation to multiple local retail establishments KPI: 15,000 trail redemptionsLaunched direct-to-consumer channels, including live chat, chat bot, Alexa Flash Briefing and SMS, tripling consumer-led engagements in 2020Synthesized SEO and SEM strategies, consumer research, industry trends, focus group findings, digital metrics and ad performance to perpetually hone marketing messages and creative

Directed organization’s digital strategy, including social media, and digital analyticsManaged organization’s blog, resulting in a 500% increase in readership over 4 years. Contracted with freelancers, maintained comprehensive editorial calendarsKPI: Blog readership increased 500% in 4 years

Managed Ohio Tourism's marketing programsDirected $3 million agency contract, resulting in an ROI of 13 state and local tax dollars for every dollar spent on consumer advertising in 2009Oversaw Ohio’s international tourism marketing program with a focus on media relations, resulting in $3.5 million in earned media coverage overseas since 2008KPI: $3.5 million in earned media coverageManaged a multicultural marketing agency contract focused on media relations, promotions and social mediaContributed to Ohio Tourism's initial social media marketing development, including roles in content creation, blog development, social media strategy and measurementDeveloped and implemented an integrated, social media-led campaign that exceeded all goals for industry participation, consumer engagement and sales

- Promoted Ohio as a vibrant tourism destination by writing and editing news releases, website content and e-marketing copy- Produced consumer-focused email newsletters to tout Ohio’s stand-out tourism destinations and experiences- Oversaw development of a new, customized e-marketing program that reached 250,000 consumers interested in traveling to Ohio- Managed and maintained the Division’s catalog of images for state and media use

- Wrote news releases and magazine feature stories- Organized news conferences- Managed relationships with local and regional media, community members, colleges and hospitals- Developed and edited video news releases