Since the initiation of the famous I ? NY advertising campaign in 1977, the world has changed, including the explosion of the Internet and the dawn of $4 gasoline. Now, I ? NY is changing, too, and the Internet and $4 gas are the impetus.
To keep pace with the times, the iconic ad campaign is getting a $17 million makeover, focusing on creating a better Web presence to attract visitors to the state as a whole and using higher gas prices to refocus attention on the state”™s attractions beyond Manhattan.
“We want people to see that there’s more to New York than just the fabulous city of New York, that there’s a whole lot more to explore,” said Thomas Ranese, chief marketing officer for the state Empire State Development Corp.
To bring visitors to less famous, less crowded and more scenic places beyond the five boroughs, the new advertising campaign is explicitly tying into the famous energy of the city that never sleeps. A new phrase, “The state with the heart of the city,” will complement the famous I ? NY slogan, adding a punch line that hopes to reflect the tourism appeal of the whole state.
Particularly useful for the mid-Hudson Valley, for example, where there are numerous wine trails leading visitors to scenic wineries and vineyards, is an ad for New York vintners that declares the wine “has to be just as good as what the city offers.”
The newly revamped ad campaign was unveiled May 13 by Gov. David Paterson and other officials of the state Office of Economic Development an attempt to stimulate the tourism industry, which state officials say now accounts for more than 740,000 jobs, along with $47 billion a year in direct spending in hotels and restaurants and indirect spending among tourism-support businesses like hunting and camping stores.
“Tourism is a big business in New York, and frankly, because of current economic conditions, it”™s something that can drive short-term revenue,” said Ranese.
The campaign explicitly seeks to market shorter trips, day trips and weekend getaways, using a new 40 page booklet. “People drive less, but they don”™t stop driving,” said Ranese, estimating more than 80 million people live within a three- to five-hour drive of New York State. And an additional 10 million people live in New York City and on Long Island and the campaign hopes to induce some of them to visit their home state in places they may never have thought to visit: the Montauk resident reclining in the Catskills and vice versa.
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And the Internet can potentially revamp the perception of New York state into a mecca for visitors. The Web”™s power as an information source for travel is highlighted by the fact that of the $17 million in new spending, more than half will be spent on a new on-line version of the I ? NY campaign. There will be images from throughout the state, maps, attractions divided into segments ranging from the Hudson Valley to the Catskills, the Adirondacks, the Finger Lakes and elsewhere. The Web site ”“ www.iloveny.com ”“ will allow visitors to customize their travel brochures for places in New York. Though the ad campaign did use an online presence last year for the first time, the amount of spending was tiny, said Ranese.
The campaign is seeking to trade on New York”™s strengths. For example, the Web site has a funny short film showing King Kong touring a few other places in New York, and adding a squirrel and butterfly to the famous I ? NY logo.
“The campaign I love New York was ahead of its time for tourism marketing,” said Ranese. “And we”™re trying to come back to that leadership position.”
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