Tourism ad campaign paid off big time, says gleeful governor

One of the state's most ambitious marketing campaigns produced "phenomenal" results, according to Gov. Angus King, luring an additional 320,000 tourists to Maine this summer and dumping nearly $7 million into the state treasury.
The $612,000 print advertising campaign, aimed at residents in the Northeast, was responsible for about 5 percent of tourists who stayed in Maine this summer, according to an analysis by Toronto-based Longwoods International.

The state estimated those tourists spent $7.8 million. That money helped generate 2,550 jobs and $53 million in payroll.

"This is an incredible success story," said King. "As a business man who found himself governor, I will take an 11-to-one return any day."

The full-color ads -- some with Post-it notes attached listing Maine contact numbers -- appeared in magazines such as Sports Illustrated, Outside and Getaways, and newspapers such as The Boston Globe and The New York Times. The ads were intended to interest families, empty-nesters and outdoors lovers with such taglines as: "You Don't Have to Go Far to Really Get Away."

The campaign, created by Swardlick Marketing Group of Portland, was part of a five-year plan to boost tourism in the state through increased promotion and better targetting of advertising. It also comes during an upbeat time in state tourism, spurred in part by a striving economy.

For example, so far this year state revenues from lodging taxes -- a good indicator of tourism activity -- are up nearly 8 percent.

The apparent success this summer lays the groundwork for a stepped-up campaign next year.

Thomas McBrierty, commissioner of the Department of Economic and Community Development, said he hopes to boost ad spending and expand its reach further south and west and possibly into such selected target cities as Chicago.

Discussions have begun with King and his Legislature, he said.

The tourism advertising budget was already boosted this year to $1.7 million, up from $1.1 million for the fiscal year which ended June 20.

The summer advertising campaign was followed by a $350,000 fall campaign to lure leaf-peepers away from Maine's New England neighbors. A $260,000 winter advertising campaign also is planned.

Thursday, King called the marketing campaign and the resulting follow-up analysis a "watershed" for state government.

King said government needs to ask two questions when spending taxpayer money: Does it work? and How do you know? In this case, both questions were answered, he said.

The follow-up analysis was conducted by Longwoods specifically to compare the campaign's results with the cost.

According to Bill Siegel, Longwoods' president, about 2,200 households were sent detailed surveys on the campaign in July. Of those 2,200 surveys, nearly 70 percnet were returned. The responses provided information on such things as how Maine is perceived as a vacation spot and whether people planned to visit the state.

Longwoods conducted a follow-up survey by telephone in October to find out how many responents actually visited the state. Longwoods did not count people who already planned to visit the state or those responding to other influences such as advertising by private companies, Siegel said.

Longwoods is also studying the survey results to help the state understand where visitors came from, what regions they visited and what they thought about their stay. That analysis should be released sometime in December.