Tuesday, June 23, 2009

New Consumer Co-op Ad Opportunities

In case you haven't heard, the consumer co-op advertising program for fall and spring is now open. Full details about the placements and deadlines can be found here.

The Co-op advertising program aims to:

• Raise awareness of Oklahoma as a vacation/getaway destination.
• Provide industry partners an opportunity to utilize top media brands and benefit from OTRD negotiations.
• Establish a larger, more impactful presence than could be achieved by any one partner alone.
• Bring a deeper level of multi-media mix to all partners’ advertising plans.
• Proven to increase awareness and conversion.
• Generate leads and responses as the measurement of success.

Changes to Strategy from FY09:

• New for 2010 is more emphasis in the fall, with the traditional magazine co-op program and a fall newspaper insert.
• Also new is a Winter Texan strategy designed to keep them in Oklahoma longer as they pass through our state.
• Online advertising with consumer magazine brands (e.g., Southern Living and Midwest Living), will be made available to partners who request it, and will be negotiated as part of the overall online co-op program but it is not bundled in with a multi-platform program, it’s an à la carte approach for those who want a deeper mix.

Deadlines are quickly approaching, so please contact Barbara Johnston or Ashley Wilson at Ackerman McQueen with questions or to participate. (405)843-7777

Monday, June 15, 2009

Name Change for the Travel & Tourism Division

I am happy to announce we are changing from the Travel and Tourism Division to the Travel Promotion Division. Our new name will better communicate the mission and purpose of our division to promote Oklahoma's travel opportunities and better reflect national industry standards for state destination marketing organizations.

With this change, we have also revised some of the section names within our division. All of our staff and contact information remains the same so you can still reach us by the same phone and email addresses.

Travel and Tourism Administration will now be Travel Promotion Administration. This section is responsible for brand management, contract compliance, the administration of the Multicounty matching funds program, division purchasing/budgeting and the AOK merchandising program.

Our Public Relations section will now be Travel Communications and Publications and oversees the the functions of public relations, media relations, social media, industry communications, publications and a variety of special projects and assignments.

Under the Traveler Response Program (TRIP) we will have the following sub-sections:

Interactive Group – Covers all development and maintenance duties related to our Web site TravelOK.com as well as database development and support .

Customer Relations- Covers all duties related to the call center, warehouse and fulfillment program.

The Travel Development section will now be Consumer and Trade Marketing and continue to be responsible for group marketing, consumer travel shows and international marketing.

Destination Development's name will remain the same and will continue to be engaged in community and attraction outreach, heritage and cultural tourism and grant assistance. Destination Development is adding a “Sustainable Initiatives” program to create and implement steps to help our tourism industry become more environmentally friendly. (More about that later!)

Discover Oklahoma TV will also keep the same name and continue to produce our weekly travel program as well as adding some online elements.

Names have not changed for our Tourism Information Centers or the Multicounty Matching Funds Program.

To access a contact list for our Travel Promotion Division, please click here.

Monday, June 8, 2009

2009 RedBud Award Call for Entries

The call for entries is now open for the 2009 RedBud Awards, an honor given by the Oklahoma Travel Industry Association and the Oklahoma Tourism and Recreation Department. The RedBud Awards recognize Oklahoma’s tourism attractions, destination marketing organizations and travel writers for their outstanding efforts to serve and promote Oklahoma’s tourism industry.

“The RedBud Awards represent the highest honor given in recognition of tourism excellence in Oklahoma,” said Hardy Watkins, Executive Director of the Oklahoma Tourism and Recreation Department. “These awards showcase the best of our state and reward our industry partners for their outstanding efforts operating and promoting world-class attractions.”

Entries must have been produced, published, broadcast or held between June 1, 2008 and May 31, 2009. To be eligible for consideration, entries must arrive by mail or be hand-delivered to the Oklahoma Tourism and Recreation Department by 5 p.m. on July 31, 2009. Absolutely no extension will be made to this deadline due to judging schedules.

Winners will be announced during a special gala held on Oct. 19, 2009 during the Governor’s Conference on Tourism. Please contact OTIA at 405-942-1121 or register online at www.OTIA.info to make reservations for the awards banquet and conference. Winners and runners-up will be notified a minimum of two weeks prior to the awards presentation.

For full details on this award program or to download a RedBud Award entry form, visit the Tourism Industry section of TravelOK.com (http://www.travelok.com/industry/forms.asp) or contact Austin Tackett (Austin@TravelOK.com or 405-230-8413).

Friday, June 5, 2009

Just in case you missed it....







The Oklahoma Native America logo has received a facelift!

To keep our brand moving forward, the Oklahoma Native America logo was updated for the spring advertising campaign and beyond. The new look keeps the strong message of the Oklahoma Native America brand while adding this dynamic, iconic element to the words "Native America."
For Oklahoma tourism, the new icon has the potential of becoming our "Nike swoosh." You will be seeing it used online, on clothing and merchandise and in advertising elements.

When animated, the new logo and icon is especially impactful. Click here to see our 2009 spring television ads which close with the animated logo. (You'll find them listed under the Oklahoma Tourism TV Spots.)

If you need a style guide and disk of the new logos, please e-mail Chris Mack in our offices, Chris@TravelOK.com.