Ohio Tourism Month

Ohio Tourism Month: Provides an opportunity to promote Ohio tourism opportunities to Ohioans, and for local communities to share with their elected officials what the tourism industry means to their respective economies. The month is held in conjunction with the U.S. Travel Association's "National Tourism Week" (May 9 - 17, 2009), which promotes travel and tourism within the United States and raises awareness of the industry as a significant economic engine.

Goal: Raise Ohioans’ awareness of the world-class travel experiences available within their home state by creating an in-state buzz; make Ohioans travel ambassadors for tourism in Ohio.

Once again this year, Governor Ted Strickland and Lt. Governor Lee Fisher proclaimed May “Ohio Tourism Month” in recognition of tourism’s contribution to Ohio’s quality of life and to our economy.

Ohio Tourism Month Details

AOL Travel

As part of National Tourism Week, the Division worked with AOL Travel to highlight several free potential destinations in Ohio for their Explore America! section, sponsored by the U.S. Travel Association. Following this year’s theme of traveling on a budget, AOL Travel selected the National Museum of the United States Air Force as a great free destination for consumers to visit. Check it out on page 16 by clicking here.

Barnes & Noble Bookstores Promotion  

All 20 Barnes & Noble bookstores participated in Ohio Tourism Month. CVBs reached out to the bookstore(s) in their respective area and offered assistance in creating experiential, tourism-related events. Attractions contacted their local CVBs to let them know they were willing to contribute to Barnes & Noble events by providing speakers, costumed characters, etc.

In-Store Book Displays: Each store developed in-store displays of Ohio-specific travel/guide books, photography books, etc. in promotion of Ohio Tourism Month.

Ohio Tourism Month Signage: The Ohio Tourism Division created in-store signage for each store that was placed in the front window, within book displays and on café tables. Below are samples of the signage that was found at local Barnes & Noble Bookstores:

Cafe Card
Table Sign
Banner

In-Store Events: Each bookstore developed their own unique calendar of events to celebrate Ohio Tourism Month. In addition to author signings and events, each store was provided with a list of area Ohio Tourism CVB partners to contact to set up experiential, travel-related events. Tourism partners had the opportunity to provide their free tourism information through their area store. This was determined on a case-by-case basis between the local tourism entity and the bookstore manager.

Ohio Magazine Partnership
Ohio Magazine May Issue: The Division teamed up with Great Lakes Publishing to produce a 10-page feature section in the May issue of Ohio Magazine including advertising placement on the back cover. Additionally, 11,000 copies of the Ohio Travel Planner were polybagged with May's edition of Ohio Magazine.

Ohio Magazine Online Promotion: The Division had a banner ad on the Ohio Magazine Web site and some brief copy in the Ohio Magazine electronic newsletter to promote Ohio Tourism Month.

Advertising
The Division launched its $2.3 million May/June mainline advertising campaign, continuing the theme of, “Ohio is too much fun for just one day,” and added in value messaging. The creative is a new evolution of the 2008 campaign, which had a 12:1 ROI.

The media buy represented a retail strategy, in continuation of a successful strategy last year, with a much larger emphasis on co-ops.

Television/Radio: Ohio Tourism ads were seen on TV and heard on the radio in-state and in Pittsburgh, Huntington, Charleston, Louisville, Indianapolis and Detroit. The Division also partnered with the Reds and the Indians for advertising during game radio broadcasts.

Print: Our regional print strategy included a focus on lifestyle magazines like O-The Oprah Magazine, Gourmet, Midwest Living and Family Fun, and was supplemented by a 12-page co-op newspaper insert that hit our target markets plus Chicago.

Online: We also launched a more robust online advertising campaign, including the markets above and adding in southern Ontario. Major new online co-op ads appeared regionally on high profile sites including Trip Advisor, CNN and USA Today. Another solo online campaign focused on local and special interest sites.

Misc: The campaign also included cinema advertising, gas pump advertising (both display and video) and hotel TV ads.

Check out samples of the Division's Advertising below:

Culinary
The "Mancation"
The Girlfriend Getaway
Family Fun
Empty Nesters

Media Outreach
Let your local media know what the Travel and Tourism Industry means to your economy via a press release, or invite them to tourism celebrations in your community.

Legislative Outreach
Legislative offices are often looking for information to feature in bylined columns for newsletters and newspapers. Provide them with a column of exciting travel opportunities in their district for Ohio Tourism Month. Don't know who your state representative or senator is? No problem! Click here to be directed to the 128th Ohio General Assembly's Web site where you can find out who is representing you in state government. Then, contact your state representative or senator and tell him or her about all your area has to offer during Ohio Tourism Month and beyond!