Thanks to the fiscal troubles that have beset U.S. states since the recession, in 2010, Connecticut’s official tourism budget was exactly $1. This year, the tourism industry has a new hero: Gov. Dannel P. “Dan” Malloy, who’s made good on a 2010 election campaign promise by marshaling legislative support for a two-year, $27 million tourism branding/marketing initiative. The state had managed to pull together a summer tourism campaign in 2010, using $1 million contributed by the private business sector plus $1.6 million in public funds and support services. But when Malloy took office in 2011, Connecticut had been literally thrown off the map: The Discover New England tourism organization had removed the state from its Web site map after Connecticut failed to pay its annual $100,000 membership dues. Now, hopes are high. In mid-May, the state unveiled its new branding and integrated marketing campaign, themed “Connecticut: Still Revolutionary.” Development of the positioning -- which focuses on the state’s rich history as one of the original 13 colonies, plus its history of being a cradle for innovation –- started with a challenge from Malloy. The governor asked the state’s Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD) to strive for a campaign that could emulate the huge, long-running success (or “legs”) of rival New York State’s “I Love New York” campaign. Extensive consumer research started in January, when New York City-based lead agency Chowder, Inc. began focus groups in Philadelphia, New Jersey, Boston and Austin, Tex., to gather travelers’ perceptions of Connecticut. The research showed that the state “was not on people’s radar,” Randy Fiveash, director of the state’s office of tourism, told New London, Conn.-based newspaper The Day. “We needed a rallying cry, a vocabulary.” Starting in February, DECD helped further define the state’s key differentiators by seeking input from state residents -– the people who not only have the deepest insights about the region, but are themselves key targets for spending their vacation dollars by exploring new parts of the state. (Residents are “our most important consumers,” in the words of Connecticut DECD commissioner Catherine Smith.) DECD ran an online “What’s Your Connecticut Story?” contest asking residents to describe the Connecticut people, places and experiences that they love most. About 200 entries were submitted, more than 20,000 people voted for their favorites, and the contest helped draw about 240,000 visits to the site, according to The Day. Each potential creative direction drawn from the research was reviewed and tested, Smith told NBC Connecticut. The resulting first phase of the campaign, running through Labor Day, spans television, radio, print, digital and out-of-home. The creative is exemplified by a two-minute trailer video on YouTube, as well as 30-second TV spots edited from the same shoots. The videos convey Connecticut’s unique milieu by combining shots of families enjoying visits to major attractions such as historic Mystic Seaport, the nearby Mystic Aquarium and the Essex Steam Train, plus shots of Goodspeed Opera House, Gillette Castle and Southeastern Connecticut’s native American-owned casinos -- interspersed with footage of the state’s beaches and other natural beauties. The spots are backed throughout by a song commissioned for the campaign, “Better With You,” sung by University of Connecticut student Dinelle Glaze, accompanied by the Hartford Symphony Orchestra. The two-minute video kicks off with footage of Glaze singing in front of the orchestra, immediately conveying the quality, effort (and expense for original creative/production) that went into the videos/ads. According to CT Mirror, the state spent $500,000 on its new “revolutionary” logo and other creative, with most of the remainder going toward media buys. To maximize their impact, the TV ads began airing during May sweeps week, on shows including “House,” “Dancing With the Stars,” “Celebrity Apprentice” and “Modern Family.” Other efforts in the campaign highlight the state’s history of innovation, referencing its key roles in the Industrial Revolution (through Hartford’s Colt gun factory and Eli Whitney’s invention of the cotton gin near New Haven), as well as later developments such as Igor Sikorsky’s pioneering of helicopters in Stratford starting in the late 1930’s. In announcing the branding campaign, Malloy stressed that the state has been a leader in stem-cell research, and will soon host a new center for personalized medicine from Jackson Laboratory, an international leader in cancer biology, genomics, human genetics and molecular epidemiology. In addition, he pointed out that ESPN is headquartered in Connecticut, and that NBC Sports is moving to the state. All of which was meant to underscore that the campaign has a double-duty mission: Attracting new businesses, as well as more tourists. The campaign is “not just about tourism…it’s about getting our step back in Connecticut,” he said. The campaign is supported by a relaunched site. In addition to featuring a link to the two-minute “Still Revolutionary” video, the site offers a “Don’t Miss” area with links to the state’s visitors’ guide, plus info about everything from its key historical and summer events, to practical tips on beach rentals, hiking trails and “green” hotels. In addition, the site provides an enewsletter opt-in; an invitation to become a “Connecticut ambassador”; links to the state’s Facebook, Twitter and RSS feeds; specifics about key attractions and transportation logistics/directions; info about meetings/group events; and a tool to send e-postcards that feature various Connecticut scenes. The stakes are high. In 2011, with a much-smaller marketing expenditure, Connecticut’s tourism industry generated about $11.5 billion in consumer spending and $1.15 billion in state and local taxes, as well as employing about 111,000 people (nearly 7% of the state’s total jobs). Of course, for all of the research behind the new tourism branding/marketing initiative, only time will tell whether it can deliver the hoped-for results of generating three times the $27-million investment in tourism revenues. (Malloy noted that the “rule of thumb” is that investment in tourism marketing and support generally yields a three-to-one return.) Real-life case studies also helped support the arguments for pumping up tourism marketing. For example, the keynote speaker at last year’s Connecticut Conference on Tourism cited research on the decline in tourism in Colorado after that state cut investment in tourism. But all states are now competing more fiercely than ever for domestic (and in some cases, international) tourism dollars -- and, like Connecticut, many have become far savvier about their targeting and creative approaches, whatever their budget sizes. In becoming the first state (among only 13 possible candidates) to embrace its central role in founding the nation and fighting the Revolutionary War as its core branding propositions, Connecticut believes that it has identified the Holy Grail of all effective tourism campaigns: the state’s core differentiators. While western U.S. states might be able to trump Connecticut on sheer scenic grandeur, the Constitution State can offer great natural beauty combined with its pioneering national historic significance, the deputy commissioner of the state’s DECD, Kip Bergstrom, told The Day. “Connecticut is not a theme park or a resort,” he said. “History is all around us.” Malloy expressed a similar view of the state’s new positioning. “For centuries, we have been the home of literary greats, innovators and natural wonders -- an incredibly diverse array of products and talent, all right here in Connecticut," he said. “We are a beautiful state, and we are very proud of our history, even as we look toward our future. It's time we did a better job of telling that story.” The campaign’s implementation of these themes is unquestionably sophisticated. The question is whether, however well-presented, those themes and images will resonate strongly enough to make vacationers use their now generally much-smaller vacation budget dollars in Connecticut instead of in one of the scores of other states intent on luring them into their borders. If Connecticut can demonstrate that the campaign indeed helped snag some new businesses, as well as substantially increased tourism revenues, Malloy’s advocacy of it will pay off for the state -- as well as perhaps for his own reelection prospects. (The governor has successfully pushed many potentially unpopular fiscal cost-cutting measures, while also championing increased investment in areas such as job-creation and education.) Chowder, Inc.’s partners in the new Connecticut campaign include Fleishman-Hillard public relations and two Connecticut-based agencies, Media Storm (Norwalk) and The Harrison Group (Waterbury). Film production work was done by Connecticut-based companies.
Although Americans aren’t spending any less on vacation this summer, they are spending the money differently, according to a Harris Poll. About 7 out of 10 plan to spend the same or more on vacation as they did last year. They are focusing on “staycations” at home due to high airfare and gas prices and instead are planning to visit local amusement attractions including water and theme parks. The poll, conducted on behalf of Kalahari Resorts, reveals that 70% of Americans are planning a summer staycation. In addition, 69% plan to spend about the same or more money on getaways with their friends and families over last year. For American families with kids in the household, 82% are planning a summer staycation. Of those respondents, 64% plan to enhance their getaway with a visit to a nearby amusement attraction. These results indicate that despite high gas prices, American families are shaking off the lingering effects of the recession and many are planning to upgrade their staycation by spending money on simple perks that will improve their overall experience. "We're glad to see that while consumers are still carefully considering their summer vacation plans in the current economy, most are choosing to spend a little more on destinations and activities that will bring families and friends closer together," said Kalahari spokesperson Travis Nelson in a release. "This survey shows that American families can still economize while creating quality, shared experiences and memories that will last a lifetime." Other activities planned by families on their summer staycations include nearby festivals or concerts (46%), a local museum (41%), eating out more at restaurants (36%), spa treatments (20%) and golf outings (13%). Eleven percent have other planned activities and 6% do not plan to spend on activities that cost money. Kalahari Resorts in Sandusky, Ohio and Wisconsin Dells, Wis. are African-themed properties that are privately owned by the Nelson family and are home to indoor waterparks. Data for the survey was collected online within the United States by Harris Interactive on behalf of Kalahari Resorts from May 9-11 among 2,100 adults age 18 and older. This online survey is not based on a probability sample, and therefore no estimate of theoretical sampling error can be calculated. Respondents for this survey were selected from among those who have agreed to participate in Harris Interactive surveys. The data have been weighted to reflect the composition of the adult population.
Not quite a year after Hurricane Irene pulverized the Green Mountain state, Vermont is sharpening its summer tourism efforts, with a “Why Vermont?” campaign that includes mobile, video, and a special pitch to Boston Red Sox fans. In an effort to drive traffic to VermontVacation.com, the state has been focusing on national audiences throughout the spring, since it has found most summer vacations are planned by Memorial Day. (Those efforts include a contest to win a vacation for two at a genuine working dairy farm, as well as other prizes of … cheese.) TV ads were placed through Google DISH Network and Outside TV, and supported by 15-second digital spots. Online, it’s running display and text ads on Google and YouTube, promoting the state's plentiful hiking, biking, camping and golf opportunities. And a new mobile page features quizzes, contests and quick planning links. For the remainder of the summer, it says it will continue to reach out to those within driving distance, focusing on family-oriented vacations aimed at those with household incomes of $75,000 or more per year. And since people in neighboring Massachusetts are the most likely to visit Vermont, the state is intensifying its partnership with the Boston Red Sox, sponsoring NESN’s First Pitch, as well as Red Sox Vermont Day at Fenway, scheduled for Aug. 5. Online, those regional efforts will also be supported through Google Content Network/YouTube, as well as local sites. In addition to focusing on Massachusetts, especially Boston, it is also targeting New York and its suburbs, as well as Montreal. Geotargeted media include Verve Wireless and Pandora. Tourists make some 13 million annual trips to Vermont, spending an estimated $1.4 billion. In addition to extensive damage from Irene, the state has also suffered from declining participation in skiing, snowboarding and golf.
Philadelphia is, for the first time, putting the spotlight on its top-tier museums arrayed along the newly polished necklace of Benjamin Franklin Parkway. While the "With Art Philadelphia" campaign is timed with the opening of the new Barnes Foundation museum, the campaign encompasses the Franklin, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, outlying galleries, and ultimately events, food, and culture, in a two-year campaign. The effort is spearheaded by the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corp (GPTMC), but involves over a dozen civic and cultural partners. Meryl Levitz, president and CEO of the GPTMC, talks to Marketing Daily about the Barnes, the new campaign, the revitalization of the Ben Franklin Parkway, and the big tourism picture in the City of Brotherly Love. Q: Are Philadelphia's tourism opportunities challenged at all by the city's proximity to New York and Washington, D.C.?A: Actually it's become the opposite: New York is our largest feeder market for visits, so our location has become an asset, especially for these recessionary times where people are doing the math and finding out how much time and money they want to spend traveling. Experience taught us that there is a ready market in New York. Q: Have you ever promoted the Benjamin Franklin Parkway with a campaign before? A: The Parkway has been there forever, but until the last few years it has not been activated the way that it is now. It has been relit, and re-landscaped. There are now sidewalk cafes, a new park, two new gardens, a new great museum. Before it was a place where you said: "Sure, it's pretty; now what do I do here?" It has become more of a destination, and we feel it is time to promote it as such. Q: How about the major, established Parkway museums? Is "With Art Philadelphia" a first for a unified museum campaign promoting the Parkway’s museums?A: We have never promoted them all together like this, especially over a period of time. We have some huge museum promotions, and a number of different special exhibits that were time-limited, but this is an enduring look at a collaborative that came from the institutions themselves. In past days where they might be somewhat competitive they have now banded together and said, "Let's look at the opening of Barnes as a starting gate rather than as finish line." Q: Does that mean that even though it starts with the Barnes, the focus will change?A: Yes, there are a few ways we have spanned out. One is to go more deeply into other museums we feel are blockbusters every day. And this halo around the Barnes can also be extended to them. Another extension is the number of things that are going to happen for the first time on the Parkway: an outdoor installation that's happening in September, a synchronized laser program where you can activate it via your voice via cell phone. Another extension is to not only showcase the keepers of art, but the current makers of art, who are in neighborhoods all over Philadelphia. The third direction, which "With Art" will move into over time, is the intersection between the visual arts and the performing arts. You will see a glimpse of this on Sept. 28 when the Opera Company of Philadelphia does "La Bohème," which will be simulcast on Independence Mall, with the paintings used in the garret scenes coming from the Barnes, and the Philadelphia Museum of Art. And it will also encompass the Philadelphia International Festival of the Arts in 2013. Q: How does the Barnes catalyze all of this, or at least inform it? A: I think the Barnes designers looked at the context into which they were putting it and combined it with "Barnesian" principles, if you will: they came up with the gallery-in-a-garden, garden-in-a-gallery idea so that it gave something to the Parkway as well as absorbing the most beautiful features of the Parkway. It doesn't look like it was just put there, but that it has always been there. Q: How about the media strategy for all of this, going back to that question. How is that different than the regional focus?A: This is a national and international story, so for example, we have a group of international bloggers we are bringing in. We met with them in Paris with our governor and the trade mission. This whole campaign was one of the themes of the trade mission for national and international visitation, not only for the Barnes but also for the city. On digital and social media, The VisitPhilly.com, and www.uwishunu.com (Philly’s official tourism blog) sites have reached millions of people from every state in the union. The Google AdWord grant we have been a really wonderful thing; Philly is on the "mattering map," so to speak. If we had more funding, we would also heavy up in Texas, Illinois, California, Florida and Michigan because these are states with possibilities for us because of the traffic we have seen from them online. Canada is huge for us, as are the UK, France and Germany and increasingly, Brazil.
First, there was the “vacation.” Then there was the “staycation.” This summer, indoor water park resort proprietor Great Wolf Lodge will be splitting the difference, looking to catch the burgeoning trend of “nearcations.” “The ‘nearcation’ is [a vacation] closer to home, but it’s also adding value to your trip,” Susie Storey, director of communications for Great Wolf, tells Marketing Daily. “It’s really about maximizing your time and your value and spending your time together.” With company estimates suggesting 42 million American households with children live within 300 miles of one of the 10 Great Wolf Lodge resorts in in the U.S., the idea of a “nearcation” seemed a no-brainer, Storey says. She adds that many families are looking to take shorter (four or five-day) vacations that stretch over a long weekend, lending more appeal to getting away somewhere closer to home. “We know families in America don’t have the time to take the big long vacations,” Storey says. “For us, this ‘nearcation’ idea isn’t just about being close to home -- it’s about being somewhere the family can be close together.” Over the Memorial Day weekend, the AAA estimated 30.7 million Americans took driving vacations (up 0.4% over last year) and that many of those travelers would take shorter trips than in the past (642 miles versus 792 in 2011). Memorial Day Weekend travel is often used as an indicator for the entire summer travel season. Great Wolf Lodge won’t be promoting the idea of a ‘nearcation’ in its summer marketing, Storey says. Rather, the trend falls in with the closeness and togetherness the company has been promoting for some time. “In many ways, we’ve already been ahead of the curve,” she says. “We’re really saying we recognize families are focused on having limited time and value is very important. What we can do is provide that time to spend with your family.”
Halfway to oblivion, are we? Or to salvation? You be the judge. Seven years ago, amid flying spittle and other signs of deep agitation, a notorious crank predicted the end of network television by 2020. Audience hyper-fragmentation, DVR ad avoidance, online competition and the immutable law of supply and demand were conspiring, this guy claimed, to undermine broadcast’s business model. These were obviously the ravings of a lunatic -- one too irrational to comprehend that the society and the culture simply cannot live without CBS, NBC, Fox, ABC and CW. They are so much a part of our lives -- and our habits, and our memories, and our cultural iconography -- how could they possibly disappear? When the man in the tinfoil hat replied that desire for the status quo has nothing to do with economic viability, people just rolled their eyes. Or edged away in discomfort. One of them was David Poltrack, head of research for CBS, who dismissed the notion on the grounds that -- duh -- network TV is too big to fail. “If, in fact, that current system deteriorates to the point that advertisers and marketers abandon it,” he was quoted as saying in 2005, “I don't see anything that's going to replace it in the entire marketing infrastructure of the country, and the economy is going to be diminished, and that's a lot bigger problem than just a network television problem.” Precisely -- which is why the crackpot vision was too apocalyptic to be taken seriously. I remember this all vividly, because the crackpot is me. Now seven years have elapsed since I first articulated The Chaos Scenario. Let’s just see how insanely wrong I was. Back in 2005, the major networks’ audience had been shrinking for a decade to a mere 16.5% of TV households in prime time. That’s for all five of the nets put together. Seven years later the aggregate rating is down to an optimistic 13.5% -- optimistic because that number includes DVR time-shifters, who skip past commercials. For advertisers, those viewers may as well not exist. Removing them from the ratings, only 11.5% of households are watching network shows live in prime time. The other 88.5% are doing something else. Oh, and the number of TV households itself declined last year for the first time in two decades. In the most recent Nielsen numbers, HUT was down by a million despite overall population growth. Oh, and in the first quarter of 2012, NBC -- despite a Super Bowl bonanza -- showed an operating loss. Oh, and ubiquitous, low-budget singing and dancing competitions –- the programs that have kept the nets afloat because of relatively large audiences and relatively low production budgets -- are showing alarming signs of fatigue. Both Fox’s "American Idol" and ABC’s "Dancing with the Stars"scored their lowest-ever ratings in their season finales. And after the public finally loses interest altogether, there is nothing cheaper to replace the talent shows with. The only remaining step down is security-cam feeds. So, one might ask, with all of the key metrics trending catastrophically downward, how have the Big 5 managed to keep the lights on till now? Can it just be the cheapo programming? No, it’s the cheapo programming combined with what I call the Chaos Alphabet: desperate CMOs buying GRPs at insanely inflated CPMs because if you’re an advertiser who craves reach you are otherwise SOL. In the economics of scarcity -- and what economics aren’t? -- the scarce commodity has become mass itself. The disappointing 17.8 million viewers "Dancing With the Stars" earned for its two-hour finale still won the broadcast ratings week. So CMOs are still lining up at the TV upfronts with wads of cash and saying, “Please gouge me” -- in the same way motorists are willing to pay $10/gallon at the last gas station before Death Valley. To some brands, even the incredibly expensive Incredible Shrinking Mass Audience is better than no mass audience at all. TV fragmentation has made them crazy. The obvious beneficiary of all this disarray should be the Internet, and sure enough, its share of the advertising pie continues to grow. There was even an online Newfront market this spring, which could be a sign that online programming can now sit at the grown-up's table. The nets are, of course, trying to become a part of the online ecosystem, like the buggy-whip manufacturer investing in the nascent driving-goggles industry. But will the eventual integration of the Big 5’s infrastructures and the online platform create the hybrid that saves everybody? Mind you, I’m a certified Cassandra, but I can’t see how. . CBS, ABC, NBC, CW and Fox will lose audience share to the Web at a much faster pace than they’ll gain revenue from it -- because as an advertising medium, not to put too fine a point on it, the Internet sucks. It disrupts the status quo without -- apart from search -- offering any reasonable platform for advertisers, or any promising model for profit. So now what? Till now, the networks have dodged the bullets that have shredded newspapers, magazines, book publishing, the recording industry and Hollywood. Will they finally be mowed down in the fusillade? The Chaos Scenario imagines the end of broadcast as we know it by the year 2020. I’d be curious to hear alternate scenarios, but at least on my calendar, we are halfway there.
So you built a Web site and it seems to do everything you need. Then someone points out that it looks pretty terrible on a phone, so you build a mobile Web site. Then you realize that it isn’t optimized for touchscreens and doesn’t work on an iPad, so you build an iPad version. Then you get a memo from the chairman asking why it doesn’t work right on his wife's new Kindle Fire, and then...well, you get the idea. How to create for the multi-device world The moral of the story is that the one thing you can count on in our technology-drenched world is change -- which is why you need a better way to approach creating things for digital channels. That better way is called responsive Web design. Responsive Web design Responsive Web design is where the layout and content of a Web site adapt to the user's environment, which includes screen size, platform, and even orientation. Basically, it means writing code to create a site that will work on the majority of devices,including those that have not been invented yet. To see more examples of sites using responsive design, go to http://mediaqueri.es/. Future-friendly design Mobile use is big and getting bigger. It is predicted to outpace desktop browsing by 2015. By then, there will be more devices than people. Maybe your current Web site works great on desktops, mobile phones, and tablets, but will it work on projectors, TVs, netbooks, eReaders, game systems, and all the devices that haven’t been thought of yet? It also cuts down on the production and maintenance costs, because you’re only programming and designing once -- not each time a new device explodes onto the scene. Enhancing search Search engine rankings are strongly influenced by the amount of traffic you generate, but search engines keep the search traffic from different versions of your site separate. All your traffic can now be combined into one big number. Is this right for your site? Nobody wants to change, especially if you already have a Web site that’s working well. But user experience problems will only multiply as devices proliferate. Consumer adoption of new devices has been so rapid that most existing brand sites are only now waking up to the demands of the multi-device marketplace. Designing responsive sites is more expensive, but it’s cheaper than making custom sites for each device. An easy first step would be to shift your site to a fluid layout instead of fixed layout. This is where the width of the site automatically adjusts. But even this has been slow to catch on. Understand your users' needs Understand that users looking at your site on a phone have different needs than users looking at your site on a desktop, so you need to create a separate mobile Web site. For example, someone looking at a restaurant’s Web site while walking down the street probably needs an address and a basic menu. They are not interested in large images of the food. Be wary of this argument. It's true that context (the user on the street versus sitting on their couch) should influence design, but knowing what device a person is using does not necessarily tell you their context.The good news is that responsive Web design allows you to turn on or off content on your site depending on the device or platform it will appear on. Sometimes a separate mobile site may be appropriate, such as with a conference site that requires specific capabilities. But this may mean that you really need a mobile app vs. a mobile Web site. Responsive design is not a magic bullet, but it goes a long way to solve the multi-device problem. It should be part of a bigger process of understanding your consumer’s needs, when and where they are likely to use digital channels, and what they are trying to accomplish in each context.