Aug 7, 2025
From Sip to Spotlight: Turning a Regional Trail into a National Buzz
2025 NYS Tourism Excellence Awards Honoree: Public Relations Campaign
Join us on Thursday morning in Lake George at the 2025 NYS Tourism Excellence Summit with Natasha Caputo, Director of Westchester County Tourism & Film and Trish Nugent, Senior Vice President - Head of Public Relations & Public Affairs at Mower, to discover how Westchester County turned their new Craft Beverage Trail into a tourism success story—on a modest budget and with maximum buzz.
Learn how niche influencer engagement and authentic storytelling made this regional initiative impossible to ignore.
Why You Should Attend This Session:
- This session will unpack the strategy and results behind Westchester County’s award-winning Craft Beverage Trail campaign.
- Through authentic influencer collaborations, targeted PR outreach, and smart positioning, learn how the team achieved national attention and an ROI of 274%—all with under $20K in total spend.
- You'll explore how focusing on quality over quantity with small-scale influencers created a big-time impact.
Key Takeaways:
- Get inspired by a tourism success story that proves you don’t need a big budget to generate big buzz.
- Learn how to engage small-scale influencers and niche media to reach high-intent travelers.
- Gain actionable ideas to apply authentic, experience-first storytelling to your own marketing.
About Natasha:
As Director of Westchester County Tourism & Film, Natasha Caputo drives Westchester’s thriving $2 billion+ tourism industry. Her efforts to promote Westchester shine a spotlight on the County’s assets and make it a sought-after destination for travelers and film professionals alike. Her successful positioning of the County as a top- tier destination for film production generates $924 million in economic activity.
To achieve this, Caputo leads the development of creative marketing campaigns aimed at business and leisure travelers with impressive results: In 2023, Westchester travel represented 43% of all visitor spending in the Hudson Valley, supporting over 21,000 jobs. The County has also seen a remarkable increase in filming, attracting major productions and supporting 3,103 jobs and $924 million in wages. Caputo’s efforts have cemented Westchester’s reputation as being film friendly — offering diverse locations and extensive resources for productions — while generating substantial economic benefits and job opportunities in the County.
Under her leadership, marketing efforts have earned several recognitions, including her appointment by Governor Kathy Hochul to the New York State Tourism Advisory Council; two Bronze Anvils from the Public Relations Society of America; a PRNews Platinum Award for content marketing; and a Gold Adrian Award from the Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International (HSMAI), which also named Caputo a 2022 “Top 25 Extraordinary Minds in Sales, Marketing, Revenue Optimization and Distribution.”
Natasha has extensive experience in the tourism, entertainment, corporate, and non-profit sectors. She was CMO at Nicholas & Lence Communications, a consultant for brands like Madison Square Garden and American Express. In addition, Caputo served eight years running strategic marketing and partnerships of New York City’s tourism agency, NYC & Company.
About Trish:
Trish Nugent is Senior Vice President – Head of Public Relations & Public Affairs at Mower, a full-service, independent marketing, advertising and public relations agency. With more than 20 years of experience in travel and hospitality, she leads award-winning campaigns for destinations, resorts and travel brands. Trish specializes in elevating tourism narratives through media relations, influencer strategy and content development that delivers both cultural relevance and business results. Her work has been recognized with Bronze Anvils by the Public Relations Society of America among other notable accolades, and she has been a guest speaker for Destinations International.
E: pnugent@mower.com
P:212-284-9935
Westchester County Tourism & Film is Westchester County’s official destination marketing organization. Its mission is to generate economic benefits by enhancing the image and promoting Westchester County as a premier business and leisure destination in the Hudson Valley region. Flanked by Long Island Sound and the Hudson River, Westchester is made up of big cities, small towns, villages, farms and miles of natural beauty. The county is easily accessible by major interstate highways and parkways, its own regional airport, Amtrak and three commuter rail lines and is home to more than 40 hotels and conference centers. www.visitwestchesterny.com
Mower is a 100% employee owned and digitally integrated independent marketing, advertising and public relations agency. Women-led, it has professional staff in 18 cities throughout the U.S., with its greatest concentration in New York State (New York City, Buffalo, Syracuse, Rochester and Albany). With the mission of Making Fierce Friends® between brands, customers and stakeholders, Mower delivers strategic insights and counsel, digital solutions, smart creative and award-winning results to clients in a wide range of industries and service sectors, including Travel & Tourism. It has earned top industry accolades from Clio, Cannes and ANA B2 awards and is the only full-service independent agency ranked in Ad Age, B2B Marketing, PRWeek and Chief Marketer.