Steller Wins Best Emerging Tech Integration

We’re thrilled to share that Steller and Visit Cincy have taken home the Best Emerging Technology Integration award at this year’s eTourism Summit eTSY Awards!

This recognition celebrates the innovation behind our collaborative campaign that moved social media viewers from inspiration all the way through to trip planning and booking, bridging the gap between content and commerce in the travel space.

Watch the video below to see how Steller Connected Content Campaigns work and read on for the award and campaign details.

Most influencer campaigns end with a like or a share. Our campaign with Visit Cincy went further, proving that influencer content can be more than awareness—it can drive measurable travel intent and bookings.

We strategically selected two influencers with highly engaged audiences, one from a drive market (Cleveland) and one from a fly market (Atlanta), to visit the destination and create compelling content. We select creators not just for their reach and audience but for their ability to tell compelling stories—stories that would make the target audience want to book a flight or hit the road.  In total, the two influencers, and an amplifying influencer, posted 57 pieces of content across Instagram and TikTok.

Beyond social media, the influencers also created video-infused, bookable itineraries on Steller, connected to their social content through DM automation. Their social posts provided a snapshot of the region, while their Steller itineraries offered a deeper dive, featuring:

• In-depth videos for each stop
• Geo-tagged locations on an interactive map
• Essential travel details for a seamless trip-planning experience

The magic of this campaign is that the content is connected meaning there is a direct connection between social content, AI & UGC video powered itinerary planning tools, and behaviorally triggered marketing automation. It’s designed to move audiences from inspiration to booking.

• Engagement on social media triggers an automated DM that directs users to the itinerary.
• From the itinerary, users are encouraged to save, share, or begin planning their own trip.
• Each action triggers marketing automation, guiding potential travelers through the planning and booking process—even if their trip is months away.
• This automation keeps the Cincy Region top of mind, nurturing prospective travelers until they’re ready to book. If an itinerary stop is bookable AI automatically generates a booking button so it can be booked right on the traveler’s itinerary.

The influencer-created content and itineraries are also fully integrated into VisitCincy.com through Steller Connect. There, it continues to engage prospective travelers, connects to the itineraries and moves them through the booking journey, ensuring long-term impact. The influencer content becomes evergreen instead of a one and done post.

The campaign truly redefines influencer marketing by making content actionable, measurable, and directly tied to bookings.

The eTSY Awards recognize the year’s most innovative and impactful digital tourism marketing campaigns. Judged by industry and digital marketing experts, submissions are scored across five areas: Creativity, Innovation, and Content Quality; Effectiveness; Audience Engagement; Integration of Channels; and Measurable Results and Data Utilization.

Steller was up against tough competition for this award, including three AI-based integrations. While AI is making headlines, and Steller offers AI trip planning as well, travel is ultimately personal and emotional. You can’t replace the human element in planning.

Authentic, real traveler stories are what truly inspire people to book a trip, and Steller has made those stories actionable and bookable. Destination marketing organizations are under increasing pressure to prove their impact, and Steller’s connected content platform delivers, offering more than a dozen metrics that show how social posts drive real economic impact and bring travelers to destinations.