Earlier I was flipping through one of my favorite magazines, National Geographic Traveler. Near the back of every issue is a special section for advertising destinations or guided trips. The ads are formatted so they all look similar. Each advertiser gets a photo and a limited number of words. The four pages of ads included mostly exotic, far off places and experiences like India, The Galapagos Islands, view the Northern Lights in Alaska, Machu Picchu. Most were international destinations. Some were domestic, like Alaska, Hawaii or big National Parks like Zion in Utah. Then I spotted one for the Outer Banks, North Carolina.
Perhaps because I live in neighboring Virginia and know a lot of people who make annual beach trips to the Outer Banks, it doesn't seem exotic to me. As a tourism marketer, though, I love this move. I'm certain that it's not cheap to advertise in that space. It's a bold move to place the Outer Banks among all of those awesome destinations. I like to say, “Go big or go home.”
Great job, Outer Banks.
