http://cptv.vo.llnwd.net/o2/ypmwebcontent/Chion/hj%20120515%20tourism%20campaign.mp3
The state has launched its new marketing campaign with the slogan – “Connecticut, Still Revolutionary.” The campaign is the result of a four-month project conducted by an outside consultancy.
The state will spend $27 million over two years marketing itself as a tourism destination – a far cry from the recent past, when Connecticut’s marketing budget was reduced to just one dollar. At a press conference to launch the new campaign, the state’s tourism director Randy Fiveash says surveys elsewhere in the country show that budget cut hurt Connecticut.
“Because we had been noticeably quiet about our state, most participants did not know what to think about Connecticut or what it had to offer. In fact, we were a blank slate to many.”
That’s what the Still Revolutionary campaign aims to change with TV and radio spots, billboard advertising and a website. Over a soundtrack recorded by the Hartford Symphony orchestra, the video shows scenes from around the state – the Mystic Aquarium, Gillette Castle, the casinos and other attractions. Deputy commissioner of the department of economic and community development, Kip Bergstrom
“The brand is a story, in our case a story about a state. A story of where we’ve been, who we are, where we’re going.”
The revolutionary tag is explicitly traced back to Connecticut’s colonial past, but Governor Dannel Malloy says it can be used to describe many moments in the state’s history. He also stressed that he hopes the campaign will promote Connecticut’s potential and its overall economic development.
“You have to see this thing as not just about hospitality and not just about tourism – it’s about getting our step back in Connecticut.”
The campaign was conceived by Chowder Inc, a New York based marketing firm, and that competitive award to an out of state company has lead to criticism, but the administration stressed that some of the creative work has also been undertaken by two Connecticut based firms.
For WNPR, I'm Harriet Jones.
