Jenny Weiss
Jweiss6@uwyo.edu
Tourism season is around the corner as Wyoming Office of Tourism releases a new advertising campaign, “That’s WY,” today to drive visitors and revenue to the state.
Wyoming Office of Tourism Executive Director Diane Shober said the target audience of “That’s WY” includes anyone who enjoys adventure on a variety of levels including those who enjoy the outdoors, traveling to the West and national parks.
The campaign takes a different approach than older campaigns have, Shober said.
“The personal story telling has been elevated,” Shober said.
“That’s WY” has two facets of advertising. Shober said the national paid media campaign will focus on popular destinations in Wyoming; digital channels such as the Office’s website and social media networks will put lesser-known Wyoming destinations in the spotlight.
The focus on popular destinations is critical for the tourism industry in Wyoming.
“First time visitors as a rule, come to Wyoming for our national parks and well-known destinations,” Shober said.
The paid campaign will run through a wide variety of outlets.
“As in previous years, the campaign is integrated across multiple platforms – print, television, brochures, billboards with extended creative features, new transit vehicle wraps and, of course, online and in social media,” according to a Wyoming Business Report press release.
The digital channels reflect the effectiveness of the campaigns. The Office of Tourism website receives millions of unique visits between the desktop and mobile platforms, Shober said.
Wyoming offers a variety of activities to appeal to different types of tourists. UW student Maria Debroy said Yellowstone, Devil’s Tower and Jackson Hole are places that she would visit in Wyoming. Debrov is the type of consumer the paid campaigns target.
UW student Logan Kraske said anything outdoors, like rock climbing, would get him to visit Wyoming. To Kraske, visiting Wyoming is about getting away from everything to where it is more natural.
In the wake of a state-wide fiscal crisis, tourism is still a reliable source of revenue for Wyoming. According to the press release, in 2015 10.5 million visitors came to Wyoming bringing in $175 million in state and local taxes.
Between Wyoming’s national parks and other popular destinations such as Jackson Hole, tourism thrives in Wyoming, as Shober said tourism is the second largest industry in Wyoming.
Despite the huge impact tourism has on Wyoming’s economy, the Office of Tourism was still affected by budget cuts. The campaign will only run from March 1 to June 1 said Shober.
