DIGITAL PROJECTS
Customizable Travel Itineraries
2019 Travel Weekly Magellan Award Winner
While working at Travel Leaders Group, I pitched the idea to create a new content format that would provide Vacation.com with more luxury travel content, and also provide consumers with customizable travel packages that were also appealing for travel agents to sell. Working with marketing team members and Arke, an external tech-marketing company, I was able to create a new template to produce more than 15 itineraries. A few customizable itineraries were included as part of lucrative campaigns for suppliers and tourism boards, such as Holland America, the Italian Government Tourism Board, and the Singapore Tourism Board. Consumers were also able to choose, save and share their favorite activities featured in an itinerary to provide a better travel-planning process.
My Role
Supervised the end-to-end planning and execution of the new itinerary template, which included working with a backend developer and Arke’s designer and frontend developer
Consulted CEO of Travel Leaders Group, supervisor, and the director of operations to ensure the itinerary UX and format was tailored to the needs of consumers and travel agents
Guided designer to make tweaks to the proposed itinerary template and its UX design based on feedback from travel agents and key marketing team members
Worked with the frontend developer to make sure creating an itinerary in Sitecore (CMS) was a smooth and user-friendly process
Led QA process for the final version of the itinerary template before its release and implementation in Sitecore
Built the first itinerary using the new template and worked with backend developer and designer to correct minor issues before the release or worked with product manager to have necessary fixes scheduled as part of future code releases
Cross-Functional Collaborators
Designer, Frontend Developer, Backend Developer, Project Manager, Research & Analytics and Digital Marketing
Travel Channel Cities App
2014 Webby Mobile & Apps Winner
This Webby-winning app was as an upgrade to the existing Travel Channel Layover Guide, which allowed users to follow in the footsteps of world traveler and celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain. In this upgraded iteration, the Travel Channel Cities App was a travel guide app that included an itinerary tool for users to create their own self-guided tour based on what they wanted to see and do in a selected city. Maps, video, travel tips, popular landmarks and points of interest – including restaurant addresses and phone numbers – were an integral part in making this an innovative trip-planning app.
My Role
Used SEO research, web analytics and existing site content to determine the 25 cities featured on the app, such as New Orleans, Rome, Rio de Janeiro, Paris, and Singapore
Led editorial team in curating content used on the app, including photos and point of interest info
Managed staff that hired freelance writers and photographers in selected cities, and handled freelance contract negotiations
Wrote, edited, and submitted all final copy and professional photography to Rockfish, an external design company, to use in the Travel Channel Cities App
Cross-Functional Collaborators
Mobile, UX and Design, Development, Research & Analytics, Marketing and Rockfish
Most Haunted Live
2009 Cablefax Award Honorable Mention for Best/Online Mobile Extras for a Linear Show
2008 Cablefax Award Winner for Best/Online Mobile Extras for a Linear Show
Most Haunted Live, a 7-hour broadcast of a paranormal investigation, was a company-wide tentpole initiative scheduled every October at Travel Channel. It was not only a live broadcast, but television viewers could hop on the cable network’s website, TravelChannel.com, for an immersive digital experience that included interactive maps of the investigation site; eight live-streaming cameras to watch the ghost-hunting team; and a live chat for users to interact with the talent, investigators and other fans. This required a strategic roll-out of a pre-event website with limited features to a full TV show website with all the unique bells and whistles, including integrated ad sponsorships. In 2008, more than 4 million users visited this innovative website — at the time, that was the most traffic TravelChannel.com had ever seen in a two-day period.
My Role
Managed the digital arm of this project, which included end-to-end planning and execution of the Most Haunted Live interactive experience, the companion to the 7-hour TV broadcast
Supervised the design and development of all digital assets, including a pre-Most Haunted Live site to promote the event with talent bios, articles, photo galleries, and promo video
Guided the planning and launch of the Most Haunted Live website, which included its innovative features, such as the interactive maps of each investigation site, live chats with talent, and SMS text polls
Worked with an external company to setup live-streaming feed on TravelChannel.com, to allow users to follow specific parts of the live investigation via strategically placed web cams
Delegated responsibilities to team members to efficiently run all digital operations of the project at the office (Maryland) and at the broadcast hub (Pennsylvania) during the live event
Cross-Functional Collaborators
TV Programming, Engineering, Marketing, UX and Design, Product, Research & Analytics, Project Management, Development, Ad Sales and External Partners
The Traveling Type Blog
2013 Cablefax Award Honorable Mention for Editorial Excellence
As the Managing Producer of original travel content, I was assigned the task of creating the first blog for TravelChannel.com. The Traveling Type was designed to cover travel news, travel trends and pop culture posts with a travel spin. Writing was primarily assigned to full-time staff, but freelance travel writers and bloggers also contributed to the blog. The Traveling Type was also used as a marketing tool to promote TV show content, TV show premieres, seasonal travel content, annual initiatives (e.g. Beach Week and The Trip Sweepstakes) and popular franchises (e.g. Travel’s Best and Daily Escape). This digital venture would garner more than 600,000 visitors in three years, making it a valuable tool to increase organic traffic and expand the cable network’s brand awareness.
My Role
Wrote, edited and published content for the blog, and posted content submitted by full-time staff, freelance travel writers and bloggers
Worked with my copyeditor to create a comprehensive style guide that the internal team could use, and that we could pass along to external contributors when necessary
Worked with the Marketing Team to create a social media strategy to promote time-sensitive posts and blog franchises, such as Our Type of Traveler
Used SEO research and Google Analytics to drive the blog’s editorial strategy
Collaborated with the Development, Project Management, UX and Design Teams to customize the blog with TravelChannel.com’s header and navigation, as well as to make necessary functional and aesthetic updates
Worked with Ad Sales to create advertorial blog posts as part of sponsored content packages for reputable brands and partners
Cross-Functional Collaborators
Editorial, UX and Design, Development, Product, Project Management, Ad Sales and Research & Analytics
