• by Karlene Lukovitz  @KLmarketdaily, April 9, 2009

It's not every day that an industry association does a decidedly edgy campaign (at least outside of the media world). But tough times call for direct messages.

That's the reasoning behind a new $170,000 integrated media campaign from the Colorado Restaurant Association (CRA) urging the state's citizens to "Fork the Recession" and feed the economic recovery by dining out.

The campaign, supported by donations from local media, will span regional TV, radio, print and Web advertising and run through May. It was unveiled at an event with Gov. Bill Ritter and Denver mayor John Hickenlooper on hand.

The attention-getting tagline is a lead-in to convey that patronizing restaurants feeds the local economy in significant ways that people might not normally consider, says CRA President and CEO Pete Meersman. The state's restaurant industry employs about 234,000 people and contributes $570 million annually in state and local taxes that support critical government services, he points out. Furthermore, farmers and other businesses are reliant on restaurants, and restaurants are local businesses that are major contributors to community projects and charities.

"We came up with this as a way to tell people to turn off the national news and get out and visit a restaurant," says Meersman. "We want people to realize that every dollar spent on dining out turns into $1.30 in spending in other businesses. And conversely, that not eating out means less money for the services they rely on, and might mean that a local restaurant can't afford to buy uniforms for the youth baseball team or sponsor a charity."

Not surprisingly, restaurants offering special promotions and incentives to tie in with the campaign's timing are expected to benefit most.

Colorado's restaurant business is actually quite healthy in relative terms, because both its disposable income and its population are expected to grow by 1.4% this year. According to National Restaurant Association projections, these factors will produce a 3.4% increase in sales for the state (to $8.4 billion), placing it among the top three states in restaurant growth in 2009, reports Meersman.

"But being better off than a lot of other states doesn't make things good," he adds.