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Out-of-state campaign generates $45 million in new revenue

August 25, 2016 by PR@VisitTampaBay.com

Out-of-state campaign generates $45 million in new revenue

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Out of State Campaign 16

TAMPA (Aug. 24, 2016) – Visit Tampa Bay’s third out-of-state marketing campaign produced 107,000 new leisure room-nights in Tampa Bay this year, resulting in an extra $45.2 million in tourism-related revenue for Hillsborough County, according to an analysis of the campaign by Kansas City-based H2R Research.

The study focused on audiences in the four cities – Chicago, Detroit, Dallas and Boston – where Visit Tampa Bay operated its campaign from January to June this year. The “Florida’s Most” campaign mixed digital, billboards, cable TV ads, and street teams to promote Tampa Bay as the destination where visitors can find the most of whatever they were looking for. Taglines included:

  • “Peer pressure” (over a picture of Busch Gardens Tampa Bay’s Falcon’s Fury drop tower)
  • “Running starts” (children jumping into a pool)
  • “Urban highlights” (an image of downtown’s skyline and bridges alight at night)

According to H2R research, the campaign reached 3 million households – a third of them in Chicago alone. More than half the 1,200 travelers surveyed about the campaign found the “Florida’s Most” advertising appealing. Awareness of the advertising doubled from 2015 to 38 percent of those surveyed.

The ads also boosted travelers’ intention to visit Tampa Bay in the next 12 months, according to H2R. The campaign produced an addition 50,000 visits this year.

“We are very proud of our ‘Florida’s Most’ campaign,” said Santiago Corrada, president and CEO of Visit Tampa Bay. “It reminds potential visitors of the wealth of activities they can find all in one place – here in Tampa Bay. The success of our out-of-state campaign shows that message is getting across and our community is reaping the benefits.”

The $571,000 investment by Visit Tampa Bay resulted in a net per-household cost of 16 cents – less than half the industry average of 36 cents. The return on investment -- $93 per dollar spent – was better than the $87 industry average. The 2016 campaign exceeded the $76 average ROI for the last three years as well.

Visitors from Chicago showed the biggest increase in additional spending in Tampa Bay, up 47 percent over last year, according to H2R. Overall, spending was up 17 percent from 2015, but 36 percent from the Visit Tampa Bay’s inaugural out-of-state campaign in 2014.

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About Visit Tampa Bay

Visit Tampa Bay encourages adventurous travelers to unlock our destination’s trove of unique treasures. We are a not-for-profit corporation that works with more than 750 partners to tell the world the story of our home – the hip, urban heart of the Gulf Coast of Florida.