Between the covers of a regional magazine, known for its beautiful photography and layout, I found examples of tourism marketing that ranged from exceptional to awful. Because the destinations all chose to invest in space in the same magazine, don’t they all benefit from brand exposure to the same readership?
The answer is unequivocally, NO.
“Nobody counts the number of ads you run; they only remember the impression you make,” said legendary advertising guru, William Bernbach.
There were approximately 30 ads throughout the magazine for cities, town or counties, not including ads for festivals or specific attractions, like museums or historic sites. The ads varied in size from a quarter-page to full-page, all of which cost many thousands of dollars.
Among the destinations ads:
- Ten started with either Visit [insert destination here] or simply their logo. Maybe there was body copy and a web address, but no hook. No concept. No compelling reason to visit, or even read the rest of the ad.
- Two ads for mountain destinations used similar headlines using the word “elevate.” They happened to be located on consecutive pages. Ouch. That’s a little embarrassing.
- One used a three-word headline that was not exactly the dreaded and overused “Eat, Stay, Play,” but it was pretty darn close.
- Almost all of the above mentioned ads — including the small ones — used multiple photos so tiny that it was barely possible to tell what they were. Yes, I even had my reading glasses on. These advertisers were most likely trying to mollify different constituencies in their community by trying to suggest that visitors will find arts, shopping, live music, outdoor recreation, coffee shops, and possibly even a dog park, sporting goods store and free parking. In the meantime, not a single one stood out or will be remembered by any magazine reader.
I regret to say this, but these destination marketing execs might as well have hiked to the highest point in their county and tossed hundred dollar bills into the breeze. At least then someone downwind might find the cash and put it to good use.
Tourism marketing is ultra competitive. Destinations need to provide consumers with a strong reason to consider visiting. That begins within understanding what your destination’s strengths are, having the resolve to consistently build your brand on those strengths, and then, most importantly, say it in a creative and powerful way.
