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RIP: Michigan ad campaign
Michigan’s ad campaign to attract visitors was so successful it was imitated by other areas. But no more, the state’s “harsh financial climate killed the ‘Pure Michigan’ campaign for the fall.”
Prospects are also bleak for its return, reported the Detroit News.
"The office behind the Pure Michigan commercials, including the popular summer ad featuring the voice of Michiganian actor Tim Allen, was cut to $17 million this year from $28 million in 2009, forcing it to freeze the fall promotion despite a robust summer tourism season,” said the newspaper.
"Canceling the fall campaign was not something we wanted to do, but there was no other choice," said George Zimmermann, vice president of Travel Michigan.
It could get worse.
"As proposals stand now, we likely won’t have the money to continue any advertising campaign," Zimmermann said.
The ad campaign began in 2006.
Its major focus was to attract more out-of-state visitors because state tourism officials realized they could no longer rely solely on Michiganians, who account for 70 percent of the state’s travel volume.
The state has lost almost 900,000 jobs since 2000, which has led to an exodus that has resulted in four consecutive years of population loss, said Dan McCole, an assistant professor of commercial recreation and tourism at Michigan State University in East Lansing.
"And yet the state’s tourism industry is expected to improve by 3 to 4 percent this year," said McCole.
"The Pure Michigan campaign is very effective and timely," he said.
"It has done wonders for us," said Michael Norton, spokesman for the Traverse City Visitors and Convention Bureau. He noted most tourism-related businesses reported 30 to 40 percent increases from last summer, which was marred by bad weather.
The Pure Michigan promotions have received many accolades. Forbes magazine ranked it sixth in its list of Top 10 best ever tourism campaigns. The US Travel Association honored it as the best state tourism ad campaign for four consecutive years.
The promotional blitz helped make Travel Michigan’s website the most visited state tourism web site for three consecutive years. In 2009, the site attracted 12.7 million unique hits.
By David Wilkening
David
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