State Tourism Agency Plans Summer Campaign In Midwestern Cities
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) - Tourism is big business in Minnesota. The industry brought in more than $13 billion in 2013, including tourists from within the state.
Explore Minnesota has started new projection-style advertising on empty walls in the Twin Cities. But their big focus right now is to pull in people from other states and the other side of the world.
"The most important part we're showcasing that Minnesota isn't just cold weather," Alyssa Ebel with Explore Minnesota said. "Right now we're in market in Denver, Chicago, Milwaukee, Madison, Omaha, Kansas City."
If you've been to Chicago lately, Ebel said, "we have the mural that features real life user-generated Instagram photos in the popular Wrigleyville neighborhood."
The group is targeting cities in our region and beyond this summer. They're already airing commercials and have murals in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Denver.
And the tactics seem to be catching some eyes. Just ask a Colorado native we talked with, 20-something advertising professional Matt Sewick.
"I definitely have seen the commercials and the billboards downtown," Sewick said. "I've always wanted to visit. Seeing the new campaign just kind of confirmed that, showing the active lifestyle and the craft brew."
That's why Explore Minnesota is spending $600,000 on this Denver summer campaign.
"We have a lot in common when it comes to our travelers," Ebel said. "We all value outdoor adventure and cultural scenes."
Some of the out-of-town marketing strategy comes from the airport. They look at where direct flights are coming from and how cheaply you can book them.
Tickets to Denver are often under $200, and with MSP's direct flights to Paris and Germany, recruitment is going international.
Ebel says international travelers are key.
"They have a significant amount of more vacation days, they value new travel experiences and they have a little bit of money to spend," she said.
Ebel said the hope is that soon the boundary waters could boast boats full of Chicagoans, and the brew pubs find themselves packed with Coloradans.
It's an out-of-state approach that may be working.
Sewick said he would love to come visit and he's even practiced his "you betcha."
The agency is also flying four Instagram users from Europe and the United States to come give Minnesota a try for ten days.
Take a look at the Minnesota travel planning resource ExploreMinnesota.com.
And here's a link to the user-generated traveler posts using #OnlyinMN posts.
