Utah rolling out slew of tourism ads

People across the nation will get another taste of Utah tourism advertising during the next few weeks.

The Utah Office of Tourism's $3.2 million campaign for the spring and summer kicks off with cable TV ads starting next week. The campaign also features ads on local TV stations in three markets, in travel magazines and on the Internet.

The campaign is expected to reach 210 million viewers and readers, according to Blitz, the media buyer for Struck, the Salt Lake-based agency that created the ads for the tourism office.

"Tourism is an important element of the governor's economic plan," said Jason Perry, executive director of the Governor's Office of Economic Development. "The Tourism Marketing Performance Fund, approved by lawmakers to promote the state, has allowed us to open up new markets for visitors to Utah."

The TV spot, which the tourism office has used before, shows outdoor gear, including kayaks, rackets, backpacks, even an inflatable raft, moving along a Utah airport baggage carousel within earshot of a biker, horse rider, rappeller and other outdoor enthusiasts.

The TV ad will air for six weeks on nine cable channels: MSNBC, Travel Channel, Bravo, Discovery Channel, HGTV, A&E, History Channel, FSN and National Geographic Channel. It also will run on local stations in Denver, Phoenix and Los Angeles through August, with Phoenix being an addition this year.

Print ads will appear from April through August in five magazines: Sunset, Conde Nast Traveler, Outside, National Geographic Traveler and Backpacker.

Internet ads will be on several Web sites on the Burst and Outside Hub Networks and on AmericanParkNetwork.com, Yellowstonepark

.com, YouTube.com, Gorp.com and BackPacker.com.

In January, researchers told the Utah Board of Tourism Development that a nearly $4 million ad campaign last spring led to an $851 million economic impact because of higher numbers of spring and summer visitors. The $2.4 million 2006 spring/summer ad campaign yielded a $167.7 million impact.

The Park City Chamber & Visitors Bureau, meanwhile, has launched a TV and Web campaign in San Diego to advertise Utah's snow and its spring ski package deals being offered at 25 participating lodging properties. The agency's $150,000 campaign began Feb. 25 on KNSD, an NBC affiliate.

The campaign also includes online advertising on the TV station's Web site and pages on the agency's Web site, www.parkcityinfo.com.

---

E-mail: bwallace@desnews.com