McLaughlin Pushing Connecticut

The Connecticut Office of Tourism changed agencies last year but its first work from McLaughlin, Delvecchio & Casey continues to promise that the state is “Full of surprises.”

Print ads by McLaughlin, the New Haven, Conn., shop that won the $6 million account following a review, recently broke.

McLaughlin reassessed the office’s use of the “Connecticut: We’re full of surprises” theme. The agency, along with marketing consultant Bill O’Neal, conducted surveys of visitors at attractions around the state and concluded past ads weren’t getting the appropriate message across to tourists.

“We found out that a lot of people didn’t understand what that meant in a tangible way—they didn’t understand what to do when they came here,” said McLaughlin spokeswoman Nicky McHugh.

The “surprises” positioning in recent campaigns had been crafted by long-time Connecticut tourism agency O’Neal & Prelle.