Go RVing’s Senior Manager Of Strategic Marketing Sarah Neely Selected For 40 Under 40 Class Of 2022

RV PRO’s 40 Under 40 is an extensive lineup recognizing the next generation of RV industry professionals under 40 years old and from across market segments. One of the future leaders recognized by 40 Under 40 this year was Go RVing’s Senior Manager of Strategic Marketing and Data Analytics, Sarah Neely.

Neely first joined the RV Industry Association in March 2017, working as the Senior Manager of Communications and Marketing. During her time in this role, she redesigned the Association’s entire website, transitioned the newsletter to an online platform, and centralized marketing efforts. She was also a major contributor for the Association’s rebranding in 2018, leading a cross-functional team through the process. “The project helped me get to know a lot of people in the organization at the time,” said Neely. “It also helped me learn how to build consensus. There was a big appetite for the rebrand but different ideas on how to best accomplish it. I think we came to a good understanding collectively, and a good product rolled out in the end.”

She later carried these skills over to the Association’s Go RVing team two years later as their Senior Manager of Strategic Marketing and Data Analytics, where her responsibilities include content strategy, social media strategy, and data strategy. She was also the force behind Go RVing’s new website, which was launched in October 2020 and won both the Acquia Engage Award and the Website Design Travel & Tourism Award from Online Media, Marketing, and Advertising Awards in 2021. “Sarah joined Go RVing in October 2019, when our team was dreaming about having a new website,” explained Courtney Bias, Go RVing’s Director of Strategic Marketing & Communications. “We wanted a vivid, living website that had movement and light and Sarah came in, immediately understood that, and jumped in. It felt like she’s always been a part of this team.”

The new website also allowed the Go RVing team to track larger amounts of data for the first time, giving them a better view of the bigger picture. “Having all of this new data available, and the data strategy that our team has been building together, shows us how our media is performing, as well as our website and our social media,” says Neely. “There’s a lot of additional touchpoints and full funnel modeling that we were able to see in the last couple of years that we weren’t able to see before.”

“She always has that bigger strategic vision for the direction we’re heading. We’re building what we need for today but there’s always room for it to grow into something bigger,” added Karen Redfern, Go RVing’s Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer. “She built so much more data into the website that we can tap into. The members can tap into it as well, which is our ultimate goal— putting the members first and helping them get the data they need. It means our decisions are data driven, which is what our team had wanted to achieve.”

For her part, Neely takes on these sizable projects with a large degree of enthusiasm. “I really like the big projects and being able to see the results at the end,” she explains. “I like working on the big challenges because at the end we can look back at our accomplishments and see how far we’ve come. It could be a new process or workflow we improved, or a new brand or website."

One example of a member-specific project that Neely highlights is Go RVing’s industry portal. “That’s a big resource for our members,” she said. “We’ve been able to improve it in a lot of ways on the new website and include a lot more resources. I like being able to continually provide that value to them— we want to give our members resources they can actually use. That’s always rewarding, knowing someone is using what you’ve worked on for months or years.”

Neely’s talent, drive, and genial, teamwork-focused attitude made her an obvious choice when it came time for 40 Under 40 nominations. “Sarah always brings more to the table than you’d ever expect and displays empathy for her team members,” said Bias. “She’s always checking in on everybody, making sure everyone is okay and being there for you if you’ve had a bad day. She’s a very integral part of this team, and we’re really proud that she was selected for the award!”

“I love the team I work on!” Neely added. “That’s one of the most important things— this group of amazing women. They’re wonderful. It’s so nice to have a team where everyone helps each other. We have each other’s back and make sure we’re accomplishing everything that we need to.”

“It’s a big honor to be among the 40 Under 40 class,” she continued. “Hearing the achievements of all of the nominees was amazing. I think the most important part for me is that the people I work so closely with nominated me, and that they took time out of their busy days to do that. Knowing they think so highly of me is what means the most.”

RV PRO’s 40 Under 40 is located in their December 2022 issue here, beginning on page 24. Sarah Neely is recognized on page 42.