High hopes greet new Utah brand

Hoisted 23 stories to the top floor of downtown Salt Lake's Wells Fargo Center, about 500 high rollers on Wednesday were uplifted by Utah's new tourism brand, "Life Elevated."

Wednesday's party before high noon was billed as a celebration because the "Utah: Life Elevated" brand was let out of the proverbial travel bag a few weeks ago. Those gathered to get the lowdown on brand strategy nonetheless were treated to a high-octane mix of print ads, videos, a musical score by Kurt Bestor and tourism officials exchanging verbal high-fives about the brand and its potential to lure out-of-staters to Utah.

The brand is "not just about the logo or the tag line," said Kim McClelland, chairman of the Utah Board of Tourism Development.

"These things are part of a brand, but a brand is so much more. It's really about a look and feel. It involves sights and sounds. It's more about trying to communicate an experience to people than it is about trying to sell them something. People don't want to be sold stuff anymore. They have enough stuff."

Utah Office of Tourism officials and Salt Lake advertising agency W Communications worked 7 1/2 months on the brand, slogan, logo and other elements. A "branding tour" and meetings with focus groups both inside and outside Utah led to a brand and strategy designed to give Utah a high profile with potential visitors.

Examples of print ads show people having a high time camping near Monument Valley, skiing in Little Cottonwood Canyon, snowboarding in Big Cottonwood Canyon and listening to a symphony at Deer Valley Resort, among others. The new ads soon will appear in National Geographic, National Geo Traveler, The New York Times travel section, Delta Sky magazine and United Hemispheres.

The campaign is thanks to an all-time high in tourism promotion funding. While only $400,000 has been invested to develop the brand — which replaces "Utah! Where Ideas Connect" — the overall marketing budget this fiscal year is $10 million, which includes $2 million for the cooperative marketing program with partners throughout the state and $750,000 for the Utah Sports Commission. And $11 million is in place for tourism promotion for the next fiscal year, beginning July 1.

In addition to print ads, the "Life Elevated" campaign will feature television, online and other media promotion. Wednesday's party featured lots of shirts, caps, stickers, pens, notepads and other paraphernalia with the new logos and tag line.