USA Tourism: The Sleeping Giant Awakes

LOS ANGELES – Yesterday in Los Angeles something rather extraordinary happened.

At the International Pow Wow tourism convention Brand USA, the newly created public and private marketing entity for tourism promotion, debuted the first ever U.S. government sponsored ad campaign promoting visitation to the United States.

The television commercial and campaign elements are themed around country music artist Roseanne Cash performing an original song entitled "Land of Dreams", under the Brooklyn Bridge with an eclectic group of backing musicians. The song, commissioned by Brand USA and written by Ms. Cash specifically for the campaign, encourages visiting a country where living dreams and aspirations are possible.

"Our goal is nothing short of rekindling the world’s love affair with the USA – the place, the spirit and the dream," said Brand USA CEO Jim Evans. "We want to spread America’s message of welcome around the world and asked ourselves, ‘How can we best speak to multiple countries, across countless languages and cultures?’ The answer lay in the only truly universal language—music."

Interspersed between verses and chorus is a tapestry of American images; an outdoor luncheon in Central California, Latin men playing dominoes in Miami, multiple images of New Orleans, a bayou walk, motorcycling amid redwood forests, even waterskiing between Alaskan icebergs. 

The extraordinary part of this commercial is what’s missing.  None of the typical USA tourism icons are present — no Manhattan skyline, no Golden Gate Bridge, no Hollywood Sign, no Orlando theme parks, no Diamond Head or Waikiki Beach.  No rippling Old Glory, no patriotic anthems, no sporting or military images.   Just a simple message of "come here and you are welcome". 

This understated commercial, a soft sell showcase of America’s rich landscape and diverse people, still pushes all the right emotional buttons.  It’s fresh, it’s new and it worked magically.  This audience of well-traveled, sophisticated international buyers, veteran travel sellers and this reporter were hugely impressed.  Brand USA has hit a home run in its first at bat.  This is the right message for marketing America abroad at the right time.  Chris Perkins and his marketing team at Brand USA are to be commended.  This is really good stuff!

The campaign will roll out in the United Kingdom, Canada and Japan.  A second phase will then air in Australia, Brazil, Korea and China.  Evans added "We’re going to take back market share", referring to the drop in U.S. visitation in the years since 9/11, commonly referred to in the tourism industry as "The Lost Decade".

Brand USA was created in March 2010 as a result of the U.S. Travel Promotion Act, federal legislation which established a public-private partnership between the travel industry and the U.S. government dedicated to increasing international visitation to the U.S. through marketing and promotional efforts to drive job creation and spur economic growth. According to the U.S. Travel Association, the average overseas visitor to the United States spends $4,000 per trip, with every 35 incremental overseas visitors supporting one new U.S. job.

by Kieron Keady