Midwest Sends Invitations

Minnesota, Michigan Revamp Pitches to Travelers CHICAGO--Two Midwestern states are freshening their tourism campaigns and rethinking their budgets to boost their share of this year's vacation dollars. The Minnesota Department of Tourism in mid-March will break a new campaign that includes the state's first TV work in five years. The campaign was created by Carmichael Lynch in Minneapolis. Playing off a new themeline, "Take home a story," the spots feature folksy tales of Minnesota vacations. Voiceover narratives are paired with cartoonlike pen and ink illustrations of the trips. The campaign keeps the state's longtime tagline, "Explore Minnesota." The spots intentionally play off native son Garrison Keillor's low-key storytelling style and the movie Fargo, which lampooned Minnesotans' mannerisms, the agency said. The seven new TV spots will air primarily in Minnesota. Consumer print and radio campaigns will also break in March. The new campaign comes on the heels of a recent announcement by Minnesota Gov. Arne Carlson that he will ask state lawmakers to boost the Minnesota Office of Tourism's annual marketing budget 50 percent to $3 million. In a statement, Carlson said the increase would allow Minnesota to "better compete with our neighboring states and attract more out-of-state and international visitors to Minnesota." The state's tourism ad budget has remained at $2 million since 1985. Michigan, which has traditionally targeted out-of-state vacationers in Chicago, Cleveland and Minneapolis, will expand the scope of its media buy even more broadly this year. Travel Michigan, the state's travel bureau, spent $7.2 million in 1997. The state has augmented that budget by $2.3 million for 1998. The campaign will be expanded to Ontario, Canada, in the spring, and Cincinnati, Indianapolis and Milwaukee in the fall, said Marcie Brogan, president of Brogan & Partners, Detroit, which built the campaign around the slogan, "Great Lakes. Great times." While the former long-running campaign, "Say yes to Michigan," focused more on activities and the Motown music history, the current effort, which broke last May, plays up the state's waterways and activities surrounding them, Brogan said. Concentrating on a smaller number of cities also paid off, she said. "In the past, we felt we were trying to accomplish too much with limited funds, so we decided to focus on our best- producing and highest-potential markets," Brogan said. The effort in Ontario, to be launched next month, will focus on water activities as well as golf, which is a $1 billion industry in Michigan, said Travel Michigan representative Cynthia Snyder. "Arizona has the Grand Canyon, and we have the Great Lakes," Snyder said. "It's what we are, it's obviously our strong point. A lot of people come here for that reason alone." The campaign will include TV spots, print ads and direct mail, Snyder said. Inquiries last year from potential tourists in targeted cities rose substantially. Inquiries in May through December 1997 vs. the same period in 1996 were up 17 percent in Detroit, nearly 89 percent in Chicago, 69 percent in Cleveland and nearly 79 percent in Minneapolis, Snyder said. Inquiries are an important measurement because a percentage of the inquires results in actual travelers who spend money and contribute to the state's economic development, Brogan said.

Brand Marketing

Midwest Sends Invitations

Aaron Baar

About

Subscriptions

Events

Publications

WORK SMARTER - LEARN, GROW AND BE INSPIRED.

Subscribe today!

Aaron Baar