Phoenix launches sunny tourism ads
–Arizona Resorts / Arizona Travel Deals / Arizona Golf
You know, when winter-storm warnings flash across the Weather Channel for most parts of the country and Arizonans start bragging about our balmy weather.
Greater Phoenix tourism officials are among those currently touting the states temperate climes, beckoning to chilled travelers around the country with splashy advertising spots featuring people eating outside, lounging by the pool or hiking.
This year’s campaign from the Greater Phoenix Convention and Visitors Bureau, debuting this month in Vanity Fair and the New Yorker, does something officials say its predecessors largely danced around: directly sells the area’s abundant sunshine.
The tagline, which will be used throughout the year, is “Shine On.”
Arizona’s good weather has always been implied, especially in photos, but it hasn’t been the main message until now.
“We want to really get the word out that we are about the sun, about the weather. This is not something we need as a Valley or as a destination to hide from,” said Kevin Kamenzind, senior vice president of sales and marketing for the bureau.
Economic boon
Tourism dollars are crucial to the state’s economy. In 2006, Arizona’s 34 million visitors spent $18.6 billion, up 6 percent from the previous year, according to the Arizona Office of Tourism. On average, tourists spent $50 million a day in Arizona, the bulk of it in Maricopa County.
Kamenzind said the convention bureau’s research found that people unfamiliar with the area first want to know what’s different.
In metro Phoenix’s case, it’s that you rarely have to worry about the weather, meaning that outdoor activities from hiking to dining abound.
“When you come to Phoenix, you virtually never have to do that,” Kamenzind said. “The sun’s going to shine when you come here to Phoenix, and when you come to Phoenix, just shine on.”
Summer heat
Might the campaign backfire in the searing summer months?
Julia Thorn, director of marketing communications for the Arizona Biltmore Resort & Spa, one of two resorts partnering in the current Shine On campaign, said the Phoenix resort saw a sizable increase in out-of-town guests this past summer. Business was up 30 percent in July alone, with Texas and California the big feeder markets. Many were attracted, as are locals, by the rock-bottom room rates.
“In the past, there’s always been that hesitation to really talk about the heat because of the heat in the summer,” she said, “but they’re (guests) not afraid of the heat here, and they’re really embracing that.”
“New Yorkers can just hop a plane and come here for the weekend and not really have to worry about the weather,” she said.
Seeking all travelers
He conceded that some in the industry were a little confused when the campaign was unveiled earlier this fall.
The weather part of Shine On was easy enough to grasp, the emotional sense less so.
“People were afraid of it at first, saying, ‘Really, what does that mean, Shine On?’ ” he said. “It’s a little bit vague. At the beginning of any campaign, it takes awhile for it to get momentum. What we’re hoping is this is something that will gain that momentum.”
Arizona Resorts / Arizona Travel Deals / Arizona Golf
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