Fancy That: Visit Savannah Partners with Fashion Companies to Promote the Destination

The team at Visit Savannah has always thought of the Georgia destination as a chic place to visit. A recent partnership with high-end women’s clothing line LoveShackFancy just made it official.

In August, LoveShackFancy debuted a limited-edition capsule collection at Saks Fifth Avenue locations featuring Savannah-inspired color schemes and branding. Ironically, Saks doesn’t have a location in Savannah so locals interested have to order online.

Custom fabric names include “Hidden Garden,” inspired by the city’s courtyards, and “Taylor Square,” a nod to one of Savannah's 23 historic squares. Tags feature both the logos for LoveShackFancy and Visit Savannah, and online shopping portals linked back to the DMO’s website.

“There’s overlap here between people who are interested in Saks and high-end retail shopping experiences, and Savannah,” said Lauren Cleland, Visit Savannah’s vice president of strategic marketing at Visit Savannah. “It’s perfectly aligned.”

According to Cleland, 56% of travelers booking trips to Savannah are women either coming to town for a girls’ weekend or romantic getaway with their partner. Leaning into the demographic is an example of the DMO playing to its strengths.

Promotion included:

• A dedicated landing page
• Website marketing, including a homepage link to the activation
• Mobile app
• Email marketing
• Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, LinkedIn posts
• Hosting a launch event
• Merchandise display

It’s hard to argue with the results, which include more than $100,000 worth of the line already being sold.

A report from DMO details the vast attention the partnership attracted during its first month, from August 19 to September 15. There were nearly 29 million estimated total impressions from efforts on Saks’ website and social media, email campaigns, and influencer/brand promotions.

Additionally, more than 200 publications covered the crossover, generating $1,336,036.03 of estimated media value, according to Visit Savannah.

Runway to the Launch

This summer’s blockbuster campaign was months in the making.

Last year, Visit Savannah purchased two display windows at the flagship Saks Fifth Avenue store in New York City. The move was arguably the splashiest marketing effort in a destination that Savannah successfully engages with tourists. Cleland estimates about 15%-20% of the DMO’s marketing is directed at the Big Apple, including display ads and influencer campaigns.

“It’s about disrupting in new ways that people are not expecting to complement what we're already doing in the more traditional spaces,” said Cleland of the Saks’ windows, which were extended beyond the original run due to the high engagement levels.

That success sparked the part of Cleland’s “shopaholic” side.

Not only is she a fan of LoveShackFancy’s products, but she also marvels at the brand’s success with ancillary products like a branded Stanley and hair gel. Cleland made it her mission to make LoveShackFancy Visit Savannah’s first step into non-traditional brand partnerships.

Cleland reached out to her contact at Saks to facilitate a meeting with LoveShackFancy. The middleman added a new layer to the approach, suggesting Saks also be brought into the campaign.

The DMO flew in New York-based influencers Coco and Kaye Bassey to visit Savannah while modeling the clothing line, capturing images and videos for the media blitz.

More than Meets the Eye

Cleland is one of many individuals who love to shop, but melding the habit with her marketing expertise is sound strategy. Retail analysis shows that 44% of travelers pack with aesthetics in mind and 45% of Generation Z who say social media trends influence their travel purchases. Moreover, 82% of younger travelers seek one-of-a-kind items that reflect their personal narratives.

“We can't help but think about it in terms of what my Instagram feed is going to look like when I’m there,” Cleland said of vacationers.

Visit Savannah, like most destinations, covets younger generations with strong buying power who seek out experiences when traveling.

Of course, Generation Z and Millennials are more likely to be traveling for the next several decades than their elders. But the benefit is also immediate in Savannah’s case.

In 2024, Savannah welcomed 12.9 million visitors—7.2 million overnight guests and 5.7 million day-trippers—contributing to a record-breaking $6.3 billion in total economic impact, according to the 2024 Tourism Economics Report.

To welcome more guests, new hotels are opening and the Savannah Convention Center recently underwent a major expansion.

“We have more hotel rooms to fill, so we have to find new demand,” said Cleland. “We have to get in front of new audiences.”

Photo Credit: Visit Savannah