New ad campaign showcases ‘unreal’ adventures in Arizona
Jul 22, 2017, 10:21 AM
(AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)
PHOENIX — A new ad campaign showcases Arizona has more to offer than just the Grand Canyon.
The “[un]real Arizona” campaign by the Arizona Office of Tourism illustrates how the experiences visitors expect to have in the state can be grander and more surprising than they ever imagined.
“It’s really a campaign that talks about not only the imagery, the scenery and the beauty that we have in Arizona, but that unexpected nature of what we have to do in adventure,” said Debbie Johnson, director of the Arizona Office of Tourism.
She said one of the goals of the campaign is to show visitors the many adventures they can take in Arizona that they never thought about. That includes skiing.
“People think about Arizona and they certainly don’t think about skiing, and they don’t think about water,” she said, adding that visitors might not be aware of all the hiking opportunities available in the state.
The campaign launched this week at the Governor’s Conference on Tourism. It is the first brand refresh in four years. Among the destinations featured in the ad campaign are the Grand Canyon, Lake Powell, Lake Havasu, Monument Valley Snowbowl and Antelope Canyon.
Last year, 43 million people visited Arizona and contributed $21.2 billion in direct spending to the state’s economy, according to the Arizona Office of Tourism. Johnson said she expects those numbers to increase with this new ad campaign. She said the ads will run in four target cities.
“We targeted Chicago, Seattle and San Francisco with our advertising this past year and increased market share by more than 20 percent in every one of those cities,” Johnson said. “This year we’re adding Minneapolis to the mix, and we’re confident we’ll see positive results there as well.”