$10 million emergency advertising produces big returns

The 1997 $10 million emergency advertising campaign conducted by the Hawai'i Visitors and Convention Bureau has generated 695,000 additional trips to Hawai'i and $78 million in tax revenue thus far, according to a study released by Longwoods International.
In 1997, the Hawai'i State Legislature approved a special $10 million appropriation to conduct an emergency advertising campaign aimed at rejuvenating arrivals from the U.S. mainland and Japan.

Preliminary results of the research show that the advertising had a substantial positive impact on travel to Hawai'i.

"For every dollar spent by the State of Hawai'i on this advertising campaign," said Bill Siegel, president of Longwoods International, "the State collected eight dollars in tax revenue."

Final results will be measured and reported at the end of 1999 and are expected to be substantially higher for the full two-year period following the 1997 campaign. For the first 14 months, impacts are estimated to be 695,000 additional trips, $1.1 billion in visitor spending, and $78 million in tax revenues.

The report noted that impact was higher in the U.S. than in Japan, despite lower spending ($4 million in the U.S. and $6 million in Japan).

"The HVCB did not have any ongoing consumer advertising in Japan prior to the launch of the 1997 campaign," Siegel added. "By comparison, HVCB's U.S. campaign built on top of other ongoing advertising and promotional efforts already at work in the market.

"The US emergency campaign helped build momentum in that market, capitalizing on the strong US economy and bringing more visitors to our shores," said Tony Vericella, HVCB president and chief executive officer. "The Japan portion of the campaign marked the first time in more than five years that Hawai'i had television advertising running in Japan. With those television ads, train station posters and print advertising, Hawai'i reasserted itself in this crucial market.