Sunshine Matters

Each year, VISIT FLORIDA conducts a survey to determine the return on investment from our annual advertising campaign.  I am pleased to share that VISIT FLORIDA’s spring advertising efforts generated $258 in traveler spending and $15 in new sales tax revenue for every $1 of advertising spend.  These figures are up from $177 and $11, respectively, in 2010.

Strategic Marketing and Research, Inc.’s study showed that the campaign creative utilized an increased budget very efficiently.  Beyond the strategic media buy, the creative continued to receive excellent ratings from consumers, with 53 percent of those surveyed recalling the ad.  The ratings of this campaign place it among the top 10 percent of destination campaigns that the research firm has measured.

The advertising was focused in seven spot markets: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, New York, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C. and, new this year, Detroit.  VISIT FLORIDA’s strategic selection of these seven key markets resulted in an increase in travel from all the spot markets.

The campaign used multiple media channels to reach a wider audience and create synergy through exposure with a mix of television, radio, online, print and outdoor (transit) advertising.  The study revealed that awareness of just a single medium pushes the rate of travel to Florida higher, but when exposed to three or more, the target markets are considerably more likely to visit.  VISIT FLORIDA’s strategy of using multiple media proved to be a key to the success of the campaign.

Overall, the campaign generated nearly 455,700 trips that are directly attributable to the advertising, a 70% increase from last year.  More incremental trips, coupled with an increase in visitor spending, resulted in a significant increase in spending and taxes generated as a direct result of the advertising.  This campaign generated more than $60 million in taxes with an expenditure of less than $4 million.  As a result, the ROI and Tax ROI for the campaign also improved significantly.