For Immediate Release:
Ventura, Calif. (April 23, 2026) – Visit Ventura is proud to announce that it has been awarded Best Social Media Campaign at the 2026 eTourism Summit’s prestigious ETSY Awards, recognizing excellence in digital destination marketing and innovation across the travel industry.
The award-winning campaign, “Gifts that Sleigh: Visit Ventura Holiday Giveaway (It’s a Big Dill!),” stood out for its creativity, community collaboration, and measurable impact. What started as a fun concept, playing off the pickle craze, transformed into a high-performing, multi-tiered social media initiative that supported local businesses, inspired overnight hotel stays, and drove destination awareness, with Mr. Dill Pickle as the campaign’s beloved mascot.
Presented by Informa Connect’s eTourism Summit, a leading global conference for destination marketers, the ETSY Awards honor organizations that push the boundaries of digital marketing through strategy, engagement, and results.
“This campaign started with a simple question: what if we leaned into the pickle? What we found was a quirky holiday tradition, the hidden Christmas pickle ornament, that perfectly matched Ventura’s personality. From there, it grew into something much bigger,” said Marlyss Auster, President & CEO of Visit Ventura. “It became a fun, unexpected way to spotlight our local businesses, support our hotels, and drive real economic impact for our community. It’s a great example of how creativity, backed by insight and collaboration, can turn something small into something that truly connects.”
Launched during the 2025 holiday season, the campaign featured a three-tiered strategy including an interactive Where’s Waldo-inspired social challenge, an influencer partnership with Ventura local adventure content creators @theloverspassport, and curated hotel and experience packages with 24 hotels and local businesses participating.
Created entirely in-house by Visit Ventura’s small team, the campaign generated more than 430,000 video views, 11,000+ comments, and significant follower growth across both Visit Ventura and participating partners, many of whom saw nearly four times their typical social growth during the campaign.
“We’ve done holiday campaigns before, and they’ve always been something people really connect with, so bringing this one back felt like an opportunity to do something special,” said Visit Ventura Director of Marketing, Mike Laan. “With a small team, we had to move fast and stay focused on creating something meaningful. From the start, the goal was to support our local hotels and businesses, and that really guided every decision. It turned into one of those rare campaigns where everything just clicked, and seeing how much our community loved it made all the work worth it.”
The campaign’s unexpected star, Mr. Dill Pickle, has made a name for himself and Visit Ventura. After winning the Ventura Mayor’s Choice Award at the City’s annual canned food drive, Mr. Dill Pickle traveled to Louisville to accept the ETSY Award, championing what local community collaboration, passion, and a little bit of fun can do for a destination.
For more information about the eTourism Summit and ETSY Awards, visit informaconnect.com/etourism-summit. To see the full list of winners, visit https://informaconnect.com/etourism-summit/2026-etsy-winners/
