The Offer: The Arizona Office of Tourism’s “In One Word — Arizona” campaign directs potential tourists to its website, Arizonaguide.com, to explore vacation options, travel deals or request a visitor guide and monthly updates about travel in the state. The tourism group mails or e-mails the guide to recipients.
The Data: Visitors who sign up for the guide must fill out an online form with basic demographic information and answer questions about travel plans and behavior, including activities during past and future trips to Arizona. Those that sign up join the Arizona Office of Tourism’s 50,000-member database.
The Channel: The campaign ran print, TV and online ads. Budget restrictions forced the marketer to select only two markets for the print and TV campaign. It picked Chicago and Los Angeles based on research that showed these markets as possessing a high propensity for travel to Arizona. The office’s agency of record, local marketing and advertising firm Moses Anshell, developed the campaign, while digital agency Mighty Interactive developed banner ads and other online aspects of the campaign.
The Creative: The advertising shows scenic landscape images from the state. Each piece of creative directs viewers to Arizonaguide.com. Ads also appeared as “wallscapes” in Chicago and Los Angeles and on airline boarding passes.
The Verdict
Ken Fitzgerald is executive creative
director at independent integrated
agency Catalyst. He has worked in
both traditional and digital marketing,
rising to SVP and executive
creative director at Digitas. Learn more about him in a Q&A
I love Arizona, and this concept has the potential to become iconic for the state. “In One Word — Arizona” is compelling, and yet, the campaign sent me to a generic Arizona website. I expected a more engaging experience and there was no continuity across channels. Beautiful photography is the standard price of admission in tourism marketing. In a word; disappointing.
