People who saw the ads also compared them with those from other states advertising in the same markets. Utah fared well regarding beautiful scenery, dramatic landscapes and lots of national parks but fared poorly in some other aspects.

"From a creative standpoint, you've done a good job of showing the beauty of the state. We could perhaps look at some of those specific other messages to make sure that the message is meaningful enough and it's really motivating people to want to take that next step and learn more about what there is to do, and go to the Web site and visit the state," Miller said.

A challenge in Denver is to get people who believe Colorado already has the scenic beauty they crave to want to visit Utah, she said.

"There are lots of places that have beautiful scenery, so you have to show them some things that they're going to enjoy or what they can do, get them to put themselves in that scene and have a reason to say, 'I'm going to leave where I am and come to Utah.' So it's making that next step, I think, in the message," she said.

Miller's company will conduct more surveys in December to determine whether the advertising actually resulted in increases in travel to Utah from people in those markets.

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E-mail: bwallace@desnews.com