Selling Michigan

'Pure Michigan' campaign aims to buoy tourism

June 9, 2006
Section: Business
Page: 01C

By Sarah Ryley
The Detroit News

A long strip of sandy shoreline soaks up an orange sunset, a wave smashes against a jagged rock and a stone skips across a placid lake. These idyllic opening scenes in a $2.8 million "Pure Michigan" advertising campaign are intended to entice out-of-state travelers to the Great Lakes State.

"Water: we take our showers with it, we make our coffee with it, but we rarely tap into its true potential and let it be itself, flowing freely into clean lakes, clear streams and along more freshwater coastline than any other state in the country," says the familiar voice of Michigan actor Tim Allen as the narrator in the 30-second commercial.

"The Potential of Water," the first of three commercials developed by McCann Erickson Inc. North America in Birmingham, is airing in three new markets, Milwaukee, Cincinnati and southern Ontario. A second ad that includes Detroit and metropolitan attractions will begin airing in the same cities on Monday.

"The campaign is really meant to compel an emotional response," said George Zimmermann, vice president of Travel Michigan, the state's travel and tourism agency. "We want people to see the commercials and think, 'What an outstanding, magical place.'"

Tourism officials hope the new advertising campaign will bolster Michigan's $17.5-billion-a-year tourism industry by attracting more visitors from prospering states. Out-of-state visitors also spend twice as much as in-state travelers but make up only half the state's estimated 55 million tourists. Michigan's tourism industry has suffered recently because of the state's lackluster economy. Michigan, for instance, had the lowest hotel occupancy rate - 53 percent - in the country in 2005, according to Smith Travel Research, which tracks hotel performance.

"The Michigan tourism industry has lived on the in-state market for quite some time," Zimmermann said. "When the auto industry was booming, the Michigan tourism industry could live. But with the changes in the economy, that's just not possible. It's going to take bringing in more out-of-state visitors."

Taking in the sites

The "Pure Michigan" campaign debuted last week at the Detroit Regional Chamber's Mackinac Policy Conference. The first ad, "The Power of Water," began airing in May but will be remade to include more recognizable Michigan scenes.

The second commercial, "A Simple Sunrise," features the sun rising above Michigan landmarks, including the Detroit skyline and a locomotive at Greenfield Village in Dearborn and shining through the windows of the Detroit Institute of Arts.

"Trailheads," the final commercial, will "take a walk through the state, whether it be hiking in a forest or on a sand dune or, quite frankly, in the DIA," said Charlie Metzger, McCann's executive vice president and director of client and business services.

Although the scenes for "The Power of Water" and "Trailheads" are not finalized, "our goal is to cover as much ground (in Michigan) as possible in all three," Metzger said. All three commercials will be modified for radio and print.

Milwaukee, Cincinnati and Southern Ontario were chosen because "they had the best potential," said Zimmermann. "Research showed some travel (to Michigan) from those markets already without any advertising efforts."

Travel Michigan chose McCann because of the emotional response the agency's crisp images generated among focus groups, Zimmermann said. Funding for the effort came from the state's 21st Century Jobs Fund; Travel Michigan received $15 million to be used over the next two years.

Nearby states are targets

The state's previous $5.7 million tourism advertising budget had been awarded to Brogan & Partners. Their efforts were geared at enticing in-state residents to spend money in Michigan and to lure travelers from Chicago, Cleveland and Indianapolis. Come fall, McCann will handle those markets as well, Zimmermann said.

With the former campaign, Travel Michigan promoted southeast Michigan in Cleveland, and Michigan's west coast in Chicago and Indianapolis. Market research showed Cleveland travelers tended to be "couples without children who come for the sporting events, night life, casinos and cultural attractions," said Zimmermann.

About half the Chicago travelers were families seeking small-town amenities, beach towns, bed and breakfast inns, wineries and art galleries, he said. Similar attractions are featured in ads appearing in Indianapolis.

Zimmermann deemed that campaign successful, noting the $3.4 million spent in advertising promotions last year generated $165 million in tourism dollars and added $11 million to the state coffers. The statistics are based on research that surveyed travelers in out-of-state markets who saw the ads and then visited Michigan. The same method of market research will be used to determine the effectiveness of the "Pure Michigan" campaign, he said.

Are the lakes enough?

While viewers at the Detroit Regional Chamber's conference were enthusiastic about the first commercial, there was some concern the ad was too generic.

"Obviously, Michigan is not the only Great Lakes state," said Rajeev Batra, a professor of advertising at the University of Michigan's School of Business, adding that a marketing plan relying heavily on glossy images of water might not be specific enough to draw visitors to Michigan, since other states and Ontario also border the Great Lakes"I'm not sure that is going to be a significant enough draw," Batra said. "Also, (the ads) don't depict family fun by the water, but merely the water by itself, placid and quiet."

Metzger said the final version of "The Power of "Water" ad will feature more people.

Still, Batra said the pilot ad was "distinctive and stands out." He said it was a clever move by the agency to use the voice of Allen, a well-known Michigan actor who starred in the popular TV sitcom "Home Improvement," set in Royal Oak.

Metzger said the themes in each commercial are used as "metaphors for some of the things that are important in life." After seeing the ads, viewers in the out-of-state markets will want to "get away from the sameness that (they) have in life by exploring the unique attractions that Michigan has to offer," he said.