NYC Launches Largest Tourism Push Ever as Restrictions Ease

NYC & Company, the destination marketing organization and convention and visitors bureau of the five boroughs of the city, today is launching a $30 million, global, multi-media marketing campaign—its largest ever—to bring tourists back. The ad push comes as many Covid-19 related restrictions are being lifted, increasing numbers of people are becoming fully vaccinated and worldwide travel is starting to resume. Created in-house, with assistance from local creative agencies Punch Projects, Future Current and Smartbomb Studio, as well as from Universal McCann, the campaign is being underwritten by funding from the American Rescue Plan Act, signed into law in March to stimulate economic recovery from the pandemic. Two-thirds of its budget will go toward media. With a tagline, “It’s Time for New York City,” the campaign is designed to remind visitors of New York’s “unrivaled energy, excitement, endless experiences and resiliency,” according to a campaign summary from NYC & Company. The goal is to create a sense of urgency as well as FOMO, the much-dreaded "fear of missing out." A 3-phase approach The campaign will be rolled out in three phases. The initial phase will involve a partnership with AAA Northeast to boost regional travel. Unique summer guides to each of the five boroughs will be available, as will personalized travel packages. Promotion in the Northeast will be done through digital and social media, as well as out-of-home advertising, including on LinkNYC screens and bus shelters. From early July through the fall, a new TV spot will air in key domestic markets, including Los Angeles, San Francisco, Phoenix, Dallas, Austin, Chicago, Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Atlanta and Nashville. The ad will ask travelers, “Where were you in the summer of '21?” reminding them, NYC & Company said, “that they do not want to miss being a part” of the city’s comeback. The third phase of the campaign—which will begin later this summer—will focus on international markets and feature digital and out-of-home advertising with NYC & Company’s global media partner, JCDecaux. Advertising will first launch internationally in Mexico, followed by Canada and Latin American countries; it will also run in Europe and the United Kingdom, as restrictions on inbound overseas travelers are loosened. The campaign is slated to run on TV, digital, social media, search and out of home, as well as with influencers at least through the first quarter of 2022, said Nancy Mammana, NYC & Company’s CMO. The star of the campaign’s creative is the city’s most powerful icon, the Statue of Liberty. Popular attractions--such as Broadway and the Guggenheim Museum in Manhattan, the Bronx Zoo and the Brooklyn Academy of Music—also will be featured within her silhouette. The TV and digital advertising will feature newly shot film of what Mammana described as “real-time moments of action all over the five boroughs,” including nightlife and dining at the 1Hotel Brooklyn Bridge and surfing in the Rockaways. Elan Cole, NYC & Company executive creative director, added: “We began by asking ‘what do we all need from New York City now?’ The answer: the variety, diversity, energy and connection that’s found every day across all of our boroughs, neighborhoods and streets. Humans need this kind of abundance, especially now after being starved of it for so long. Once we found our narrative, we hit our streets to shoot the film.” According to Mammana, NYC & Company did extensive research before developing the campaign’s creative, finding that although “people are starting to get ready to travel, New York City may be on their list but not necessarily on the top. They’re not sure everything is open; they must be made aware that the city is open and vibrant, that come fall there will be Broadway, and that summer is a special time, with outdoor dining and performances, the café culture. We want to make sure people are aware there are so many reasons to be here now.” An analyst's perspective Henry Harteveldt, travel industry analyst at Atmosphere Research Group, a San Francisco-based market research firm, suggested the campaign’s emphasis on FOMO could be more relevant in the fall—when, for example, Broadway reopens and museums are offering blockbuster exhibitions--than it will be this summer. He praised the campaign’s focus on all five of the city’s boroughs—not just Manhattan--which he predicted would be “very helpful to people who are curious about exploring” the city beyond Manhattan. He also predicted it could be challenging for NYC & Company to get its message out overseas because of the current lack of clarity about the ability of overseas visitors to travel to the United States. He said the return of overseas visitors to New York will be vital to the recovery of tourism there, since these visitors traditionally stay longer and spend more than domestic visitors. NYC & Company estimates it will welcome 36.1 million visitors in 2021, recapturing more than half of its record 66.6 million visitors seen in 2019.

Life After Lockdown

New York Launches $30 Million Global Tourism Campaign as Travel Restrictions Ease

It's the largest push ever by destination marketing organization NYC & Company

Jane L. Levere

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Jane L. Levere