By Katy Eckmann
ATLANTA–The Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau’s board of directors unanimously voted to retain incumbent Turkel Schwartz & Partners of Miami for the next three years. The decision came after a mandatory review for the $2.8 million advertising business.
Turkel Schwartz, which has handled the ad account since 1993, competed against Sanchez & Levitan, a Hispanic specialty agency in Miami, during the final round.
Horace Hord, director of marketing for American Airlines’ Atlantic/Caribbean region and a member of the visitors bureau’s review committee, was impressed by Turkel Schwartz’s presentation.
‘They have taken a very unique creative approach by developing potential merchandising possibilities for the community,’ Hord said, adding that the agency’s professionalism helped sway his decision.
‘Even as the incumbent, (Turkel Schwartz made) sure the presentation was very tight,’ said Hord.
As part of its pitch, Turkel Schwartz proposed a new one-word theme, ‘Tropicool,’ to promote the city. The shop incorporated the slogan into ads for bus backs in the Northeast that read, ‘If heat rises, why is it so *@!!!% cold up here?’ A clear, plastic poster that looks as though it is hand-written on rain-streaked glass is intended to tempt consumers walking past travel agents’ windows with the query, ‘Don’t you wish you were in Miami now?’
‘What we recognize as unique about Greater Miami and the beaches as a destination is that we are both tropical and cosmopolitan,’ said agency president Philip Schwartz, explaining the genesis of Tropicool.
Miami has enjoyed record growth in tourism during the past two years. In 1996, the city attracted some 9.5 million visitors, which had a $10.8 billion economic impact on the city, according to a bureau official.
Other clients on Turkel Schwartz’s roster include Black & Decker, Discovery Channel Latin America, LanChile Airlines and Peabody Hotel Group.
Copyright ASM Communications, Inc. (1997) ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
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Turkel 'Tropicools' It In Defense of Miami
