Tom Stieghorst
As Florida begins its reopening to tourism, what kind of marketing messages are being created to bring back visitors?
In the Florida Keys, tourism director Stacey Mitchell said the message that has been developed is to first say, "We know what you've been through."
"This has been a generational shock, a culture shock. We need to acknowledge that," said Mitchell, who is director of the Monroe County Tourism Development Council, which deploys bed tax money in the Keys for marketing and other purposes.
"[We need to] be mindful of the pain so many of us have been through, whether it be emotional pain; the death of a loved one, of a friend; separation from family members; or missing out on milestone events because we had to be separated," Mitchell said.
The ad titled "Personal Space" emphasizes the room for social distancing in the Florida Keys.
The council is using short TV spots to get its message out there. One of the 30-second television spots running in select markets starting in June is called "Gratitude," features images of a couple all alone in nature, or eating together at a restaurant, as a narrator intones, "We have so much to be grateful for." Another ad, called "Personal Space," is filled with imagery of the outdoors and the wide-open vistas that the Keys provide, an antidote to the crowded beaches and boardwalks that people have been seeing on the news lately.
"Most people are very hesitant," Mitchell said. "But they think 'Gosh we want to get away, we've got to get out of this house, we've got to do something to look forward to,' and so the advertising program is giving them permission.
She said the ads allow people to feel OK about traveling again, acknowledge the ordeal they've been through these past several months and promote the feeling of "gratitude" that helps them justify a special getaway, while showcasing the ease of social distancing in the Keys' wide-open spaces.
The campaign, developed by Tinsley Advertising of Miami, also includes digital postcards for suppliers such as hotels, with wording such as "Here's to Brighter Days Ahead." The campaign also includes eight backgrounds intended for use in Zoom teleconferences.
The Zoom backgrounds show iconic Keys scenes: a fireball sunset, turquoise waters surrounding a mangrove island, the Overseas Highway. "These are images that when people think of the Florida Keys they equate [them] with their visit here," Mitchell said.
"Free At Last" touts the reopening of the Florida Keys to tourists on June 1.
They Keys have been closed to nonresidents since March 22, a measure enforced at highway checkpoints north of Key Largo. The checkpoints come down June 1.
Markets targeted for Keys ads include Atlanta, Charlotte, Dallas and Nashville as well as those within Florida.
"I think drivers will be the catalyst to our economic recovery," Mitchell said. "What we're reading and hearing is that people are going to be willing to travel further in their car than they normally would, due to pent-up demand, and maybe the frequency of flights may not have come back online yet. Gas prices are really inexpensive right now, [so] they're really attractive to take those long car rides.
"The Florida marketing, including South Florida, will be part of that mix," she said.