Travelocity's Roaming Gnome Embarks on College Basketball Tour with ESPN
Skift Take
Travelocity's Roaming Gnome is on the road again, this time to draw attention to the cities and towns hosting college basketball games.
For the next six weeks, the Roaming Gnome will highlight the best game food, fan activities, and venues at college campuses in New York, Tennessee, Kentucky, Oklahoma, and North Carolina.
The Gnome will be posting updates on Twitter, Instagram, and Vine that highlight the uniqueness of each destination and capture the energy at each game.
Travelocity also encourages fans to get involved by tweeting travel and basketball tips to @RoamingGnome.
"Our goal is to take advantage of what the Roaming Gnome does best – inspiring people to get off their sofas and to see the world," says a Travelocity spokesperson.
"For a campaign like this, it’s more about engagement than acquisition."
The campaign is part of a partnership between Travelocity, ESPN, and College Game Day. The Gnome will be tweeting about what he learns about basketball and potentially encouraging other fans to visit the cities for live games.
ESPN host Rece Davis has already been seeing tweeting with the Gnome.
Looking forward to traveling to east Lansing for college Gameday. You on your way @RoamingGnome ? Make your way to the bank of the red cedar
— Rece Davis (@ReceDavis) January 23, 2014
And the Roaming Gnome was tweeting this weekend from one of his first game at Michigan State University.
Eating ice cream @dairystoremsu in 17degree weather is how #MSU intimidates opponents. #imscared pic.twitter.com/qUBzWSSTF5
— Travelocity Roaming Gnome (@RoamingGnomee) January 25, 2014
We may all be on different sides for #MICHvsMSU, but at least we're all yelling. #yellingbringsustogether pic.twitter.com/2ZTfDzTqsL
— Travelocity Roaming Gnome (@RoamingGnomee) January 26, 2014