CASE STUDY
Discover Gila County
“Building a destination isn’t about creating a logo or launching a website. It’s about uniting communities behind a shared vision and inspiring people to experience a place they never knew existed.”
How Razor Thin Media Built One of Arizona's Most Award-Winning Rural Tourism Marketing Programs
CLIENT
Discover Gila County
Life of Brand
8 Years
Type of Project
Tourism
Website
discovergilacounty.com
The Challenge
When Razor Thin Media partnered with Gila County in 2018, the region had everything travelers were looking for—towering pine forests, pristine lakes, scenic rivers, historic mining towns, world-class outdoor recreation, and authentic small-town charm.
What it didn’t have was a unified voice.
Nineteen diverse communities—including cities, towns, and unincorporated areas—each had their own identity, attractions, and stories to tell. But there was no countywide tourism strategy, no destination brand, and no coordinated effort to market Gila County as a premier Arizona travel destination.
Tourism marketing was fragmented. Individual communities promoted themselves independently, businesses lacked a unified platform, and travelers had no single resource to discover everything the region had to offer.
There was:
- No destination marketing organization.
- No comprehensive tourism website.
- No coordinated digital marketing strategy.
- No unified destination brand.
- No long-term vision for growing tourism.
While Arizona’s larger destinations were investing millions into tourism marketing, one of the state’s most spectacular and diverse outdoor destinations remained largely undiscovered.
The opportunity wasn’t simply to build a website.
The opportunity was to build an organization, create a brand, unite nineteen communities, and establish a destination marketing program capable of driving tourism and economic growth for years to come.
Services Provided
- Destination Brand Development
- Tourism Strategic Planning
- Organizational Development
- Public/Private Partnership Strategy
- Website Design & Development
- Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
- Professional Photography
- Cinematic Video Production
- Social Media Strategy & Management
- Google Ads & Digital Advertising
- Streaming Television Campaigns
- Content Marketing
- Visitor Guides
- Event Promotion
- Business Listings
- Email Marketing
- Performance Analytics & Reporting
- Ongoing Strategic Consulting
Our Solution
Rather than approaching the project as a marketing campaign, Razor Thin Media partnered with local leaders to create something that had never existed before.
Together, we helped establish Discover Gila County, a 501(c)(3) public/private tourism organization dedicated to promoting the county as one destination while celebrating the unique character of each community.
Instead of offering isolated marketing services, Razor Thin Media designed and implemented a complete destination marketing ecosystem.
Today, Razor Thin Media continues to serve as the strategic marketing partner behind Discover Gila County, continuously refining, expanding, and optimizing every aspect of the program.
Building More Than a Brand
One of the greatest challenges wasn’t marketing.
It was bringing nineteen communities together around a shared vision.
Each city, town, and unincorporated area had its own personality, priorities, and stakeholders. Rather than replacing those identities, we created a destination brand that strengthened them.
Discover Gila County became the umbrella under which every community could benefit from regional marketing while still maintaining its own unique character.
This collaborative approach created stronger partnerships, increased visibility for local businesses, and amplified the county’s collective voice.
Industry Recognition
- Best Marketing Program
- Best Tourism Website
- Website Excellence
- Search Engine Optimization
- Social Media Excellence
- Economic Development Marketing
- Partnership Excellence
- Arizona Office of Tourism Awards
- Arizona Association for Economic Development Golden Prospector Awards
- National Association of Counties Achievement Awards
- Arizona Game & Fish Department Partnership Recognition
Today, Discover Gila County is recognized as one of Arizona's premier rural destination marketing programs.
People don’t fall in love with destinations because of advertising—they fall in love with stories. Through thousands of professional photos, cinematic videos, travel guides, seasonal campaigns, itineraries, blog articles, business spotlights, and social media content, Razor Thin Media has strategically showcased the authentic experiences that make Gila County unique while driving search visibility, inspiring visitation, and strengthening tourism across the region.
The Results
01
- 725,000+ Unique Visitors
- 4.9 Million+ Page Views
- 81% of traffic generated organically through Google Search
- SEO performance significantly exceeding industry benchmarks
02
- 36,000+ Followers
- Engagement rates reaching up to 30 times industry averages
- Millions of annual impressions
03
- 9.7 Million+ People Reached
- Millions of streaming television impressions
- 96%+ video completion rates
- Tens of thousands of visitors driven directly to the website
04
Tourism now generates more than $375.8 million annually in visitor spending, supporting local businesses, creating jobs, and strengthening the economies of communities across Gila County.