Maine refocuses image to stress action, not scenery

AUGUSTA, Maine -- Maine is spicing up its tourism advertising to emphasize action and people rather than still-life images of rocks and lighthouses.Why the change? A study showed that the current ads portray the state as dull.
"Just pretty scenery isn't enough" to draw visitors to Maine, where tourism is the second-largest industry, David Swardlick, president of the agency that prepared Maine's ads, said Thursday.
Tourism accounts for 101,000 jobs in Maine and $2.2 billion in payroll.
Gov. Angus King, standing in front of large color scenes of the state at a Tourism Day news conference in the State House, said the $1 million in spending for advertising alone generated more than $18 million in taxes during the year ending last fall.
The governor called the results "startling" and "one of our best investments for taxpayers." The only thing left to market is Maine's mud season, he joked.
But tourism officials have been taking serious steps to make the state as attractive as possible to outsiders, especially those who have never visited.
With hopes of sharpening the focus of the Swardlick Marketing Group's ads, the state hired Longwoods International of Toronto.
"The advertising agency was flying blind," said state Tourism Director Dann Lewis.
Longwoods told the state that its current ads, showing "brand images" and such Maine "icons" as lighthouses and the rocky coast, were not enough to attract first-time visitors, said Swardlick. "They needed more stimulation."
Summer-theme ads that will start appearing in New York and other selected areas during the next few weeks will show more action, such as whitewater rafting, hiking and snowmobiling.
"Part of the idea of what we're trying to get across is that Maine is a place to come and do things," said the governor. But the scenic imagery won't disappear completely.
The "dull" reaction from ads that ran primarily in the New England and Middle Atlantic states was attributed only to those who had never been to the state.
"Those who have come here told researchers they loved the place and it's exciting, a must-see destination," said Swardlick.
Some legislators are so convinced advertising works that they want the state to spend more on tourism.
Rep. Scott Cowger, an innkeeper from Hallowell, has bipartisan support for a bill that would increase by $5 million state spending for tourism promotion over the next two-year budget cycle. The administration's current proposal calls for $9 million for tourism over the two years.
Cowger said Maine's share of the regional tourism market declined from 3.8 percent in 1996 to 3.5 percent in 1997. While national and regional traffic volumes grew by 11 percent in 1997, overnight travel in Maine grew by only 5 percent. And he said the state slipped from being the 37th most popular travel destination nationally in 1994 to 39th in 1997.
"These are not trends that befit 'Vacationland' nor a state whose motto is to 'lead,' " said Cowger, a Democrat. "It is imperative that we increase our funding levels in order to maintain a competitive position in the Northeast as well as nationally."
Cosponsors include Senate President Mark Lawrence, D-Kittery; House Speaker Steven Rowe, D-Portland, as well as most of the other House and Senate leaders from both parties.