TMCnet News
Utah tourism: Taking it to the streets(Salt Lake Tribune, The (KRT) Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) Jun. 3--State tourism officials are getting close to rolling out the new "Utah -- Life Elevated" advertising campaign. That is, rolling it out, literally. The Utah Board of Tourism Development is considering separate proposals to wrap state advertisements on semitrailers, airport shuttle vehicles and a large moving van -- in addition to using more traditional media such as television and radio spots, brochures and Internet sites. Initial views Friday of what a 53-foot-long trailer would look like, adorned with summer or winter images of Utah, generated an enthusiastic response from board members. "With our iconic images, it's built for us," said Colin Fryer, a board member representing southeastern Utah, after viewing a computer illustration of a semitrailer bedecked with a redrock desert scene. Added board chairman Kim McClelland from Deer Valley Lodging: "I can't imagine how [that trailer] could pass by you and not make an impression." The first image probably will appear on an A1 Pioneer Moving and Storage trailer. Doug Bagley, owner of the Salt Lake City company, saw similar advertisements on trailers hauling furniture between the United States and Canada and thought, "Utah's so darn pretty. Why don't we have Utah all down the side of a trailer?" So he called the state Office of Tourism and offered to pay the cost of producing the wrap and putting it on the trailer. In return, he asked that the scene include the words "A moving experience as beautiful as . . . " whatever state scene was depicted, whether it be Bryce Canyon or Alf's High Rustler at Alta. "I love Utah," Bagley explained. "I can paint trailers white, or the color of a moving van. But with this, I can really do something to make me stand out and help the state to promote tourism." He is waiting for tourism officials to settle on specific plans for print and broadcast images. Those decisions will come soon. Tuesday is the deadline for print material. Broadcast and Internet ad designs are due June 19. With board approval at its June 28 meeting, tourism officials hope to have the first new "Life Elevated" ads on television by July 15. By then, Dave Robbins from CR England Trucking in West Valley City and Garrett Lyman of Chrome Media in Highland hope to know whether tourism officials will take them up on an offer to display Utah ads -- a summer scene on one side, a winter shot on the other -- on some of England's fleet of trucks, which carry freight through many states and into many markets. Some, such as Los Angeles, are targeted in tourism promotions. "We've been toying with this for a long time and see it as an untapped medium," said Robbins, vice president of England North America, noting that large wraps are possible now because they are lighter and more durable. England recently wrapped about 20 trucks in advertisements for Wild Oats Natural Marketplace and would welcome working with the state. "Being a Utah-based carrier, it's gratifying for us," Robbins said. "It's an attractive fit to be associated with the state." Lyman estimated it costs about $6,000 to wrap a 53-foot-long trailer. As print and broadcast materials come in, state tourism officials will decide how much money is available to allocate to various mediums. A relatively small cost will be incurred decorating two dozen shuttle buses that service parking lots around Salt Lake City International Airport. The Airport Authority has offered to let tourism officials put their images on shuttles for the cost of production and installation. "We have some older buses in the fleet that need to be repainted anyway, and we want to capitalize on the new [tourism] message and spread the word," said airport spokeswoman Barbara Gann, mindful that the three proposals would give the state exposure at the airport, locally and in distant locales. "The more layers of a message you can apply, the more effective is the message," she added. "The airport is a vested partner in tourism development. It's business to us. We would like people who travel here for business to start thinking of this as a leisure destination, as well." |