Nothing’s more American than a road trip to fun destinations across the country. But with so many amazing places to explore, it can be overwhelming for travelers to plan their ultimate getaway. That’s why Valero has launched The All-American Road Trip, a website designed to excite the imagination and inspire vacationers to hit the road in pursuit of their dreams.
Conceived by digital agency Last Exit Group, The All-American Road Trip site conjures the spirit of the open road with powerful interactive elements, eye-catching graphics and thorough descriptions of destinations near and far. Along with detailed route maps, destination finders, driving directions and itinerary tools, visitors will find tips, tricks and time-savers to make planning any size trip easy and fun. Listings of local restaurants, hotels/motels, campsites, rest stops, and more are all at travelers’ fingertips.
The All-American Road Trip’s destination finder allows users to select a region of the United States and discover major cities, national parks and points of interest, including the locations of Valero stations and convenience stores along the way. With the itinerary maker, users can designate their point of origin and their chosen destination to generate customizable routes, directions, local features and helpful links. They can then print or save their map and itinerary or send it to their mobile phone for easy reference.
The All-American Road Trip maps are powered by Google Maps and populated with Yelp reviews for suggestions on local stops.
Thanks to The All-American Road Trip’s seamless integration with Facebook, travelers can also post their itineraries for their friends to view and comment upon. And once they’re out on the open road, they can instantly share their adventure with pictures and video on Facebook and Twitter. Friends can follow their progress across America via updates tagged by time and location.
“With money tight at home, more and more families and individuals are rediscovering the joys of the classic road trip,” commented Dave Parker, SVP Marketing, Valero Energy Corp. “Americans have always enjoyed creating their own agendas and setting out on free-spirited adventures in the comfort of their own vehicles. The difference today is that with this new website, they can plan their whole trip out in advance and bring their friends, family, and fellow travelers into the experience with the site’s social media integration.”
Paul Newnes, Partner and Managing Director for Last Exit, commented, “We’re very excited about the functionality and immersive experience The All-American Road Trip site offers. It’s a one-stop source where drivers can plan their trip from start to finish, with all the necessities of gas, food, lodging and entertainment provided to them in an appealing and engaging experience.”
Furthering the experience, Facebook and Twitter pages are dedicated to The All-American Road Trip to promote the microsite and engage in conversation with fans. The social media platforms will be used as communication tools among users of the microsite – to share ideas and tips/suggestions on road trip planning, etc., to tell their favorite road trip story, or simply to find out more information about the All-American Road Trip microsite itself. Bringing the microsite into the social media realm creates a complete community to share what most people consider an ultimate experience.
