LANSING ? Travel Michigan won the Mercury Award for its 2004 radio campaign that ran in Chicago, Indianapolis and Cleveland, which was credited with attracting nearly one million visitors to Michigan.
The Mercury Awards were created by the National Council of
State Tourism Directors to recognize its members for excellence and
creative accomplishment in state tourism marketing and promotion. The radio spots were created and produced by a team from Brogan Convergence Marketing and Radish Creative Group.
?Having Michigan?s 2004 radio campaign recognized as the best in the
country is quite gratifying and goes a long way in validating the hard work
that went into these promotions,? said George Zimmermann, Senior Vice
President of Travel Michigan. ?These award-winning radio spots contributed
to the dramatic increase in volume at the michigan.org web site in 2004, up
29% over 2003.?
According to a study completed earlier this year by Longwoods
International, nearly one million visitors, who would not have traveled to
Michigan otherwise, spent $163 million statewide as a direct result of the
2004 Travel Michigan advertising program. That new visitor spending
generated an additional $11.5 million in state taxes, for a return on
investment for the state of $3.27 for each advertising dollar spent. And
these additional visitors funded 3,607 tourism related Michigan jobs.
Overall the tourism industry contributes $16 billion to Michigan?s economy
annually, accounting for 182,000 jobs and generating $853 million in state
tax revenues, making tourism the second largest industry in the state.
Travel Michigan, a division of the Michigan Economic Development
Corporation, is the State of Michigan?s official agency for the promotion
of tourism.
