WILMINGTON, Ohio — Destination Mansfield-Richland County earned statewide recognition for marketing and experience design at the Ohio Travel Association’s annual RUBY Awards presentation Oct. 8 at the Roberts Centre in Wilmington, Ohio.
The organization received top RUBY awards for its Gen Z Seasonal Blog Series and a motorsports promotional video. It also earned two Citation of Excellence honors for its digital and marketing campaign, “Motorsports: Two Tracks. Full Throttle.”
Written from the personal perspective of one Generation Z traveler to others, the blog series aimed to engage younger audiences exploring the region.
The motorsports campaign highlighted the area’s racing heritage, leveraging the return of the Mansfield Speedway dirt track alongside the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course to promote Mansfield as the “Motorsports Capital of Ohio.”
The promotional video and digital assets marketed both venues under a unified campaign.
Destination Mansfield staff accepting the awards included Lee Tasseff, president; Kim Miers, marketing and meetings director; Natalie Snyder, communications coordinator; and Jodie Snavely, special projects director.
The Ohio Travel Association’s Recognizing Uncommon Brilliance Yearly (RUBY) Awards recognize excellence in advertising, marketing and experience design within the state’s tourism and hospitality sector.
Sponsored by Ohio Magazine, the competition drew a record 267 entries across 17 categories.
A panel of nine marketing professionals from academia, consulting firms and advertising agencies evaluated entries based on overall concept, creativity and measurable results.
“Competition continues to grow each year, and this year brought a record number of entries,” said Melinda Huntley, executive director of the Ohio Travel Association.
“The winners represent the very best in marketing strategy and experience design, and their work is truly inspiring.”
The awards ceremony took place during the Ohio Conference on Travel, a statewide industry conference.
The Ohio Travel Association is a nonprofit trade organization representing travel- and tourism-related businesses across Ohio.
More information is available at ohiotravel.org.