AThe tourism industry across the country and around the world is hoping to leave last year’s pandemic-induced downturn behind, with New York State hoping to use the new “Roam the Empire” campaign to keep traveling residents in the state.

The initiative is an attempt to give residents and businesses the benefit of keeping tourism dollars in the state economy. The end of 2020 marked a huge loss to the industry in the form of 330,000 jobs lost and an estimated 56% loss in travel spending in New York state corporations.

That drop in spending was also reflected in a corresponding decrease in state and local tax revenue of 45%, according to the New York State Tourism Industry Association.

Under the leadership of the association, the pro bono campaign was developed by Mower, a marketing, advertising and PR firm founded over 50 years ago in Syracuse with offices in Rochester, Buffalo, Albany and New York City as well as across the country . One of the agency’s specialties is travel and tourism; it represents the Westchester County Office of Tourism and Film.

Mary Gendron, Senior Vice President and Managing Director at Mower, was a key figure in developing the campaign.

In February 2020, Natasha Caputo, director of the Westchester County Office of Tourism & Film and part of the campaign committee, reached out to Gendron to ask if Mower was interested in working with the state association on a marketing project. Mower was then able to compete with another agency to launch the campaign.

“We developed Roam the Empire among other things, like Roam the Empire State, and the committee loved it,” said Gendron. “We ended up developing a business-to-business campaign because our original goal was to provide tourism organizations and attractions with tools that they can use in conjunction with anything else they do about their own marketing efforts could. “

Gendron stated that the campaign was for two reasons.

“(The goal was) to launch a campaign that would encourage residents of New York state to vacation within the state in 2020 for two reasons,” she said. “One can only highlight all the wonderful things to see and do in the state. There are so many things to do and things you may but don’t have to travel outside of the state for. The other would be to really help the tourism industry recover from having been hit so hard by the pandemic.

Many companies and industry organizations have thrown their support behind the campaign and in turn benefited from it.

“What intrigued me was the idea that all of these destinations and tourist attractions within the state – which usually have their own strategy, marketing budget and are competitive with each other – decided that the number would be strong, and it would” in be better this year when everyone comes together and contributes to a common cause, ”said Gendron.

“Marketing efforts are generating a reputation for the idea of ​​encouraging residents to vacation within the state. So that was really the spirit behind it. “

On the day it was launched, 50 different institutions and members of the National Tourism Association registered to take part. That number has grown to over 80, and Gendron was optimistic that it would continue to grow.

The program includes free toolkits and marketing assets for participants in digital and print marketing, as well as logos, digital apps, and Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram pages promoting government attractions.

Regional destinations are also encouraged to do as much outreach as possible to promote the campaign.

Some media organizations across the state are also running free promotions for the campaign. The New York State Press Service ran a pro bono ad in nearly 300 newspapers. Advanced Media, Gendron said, is providing a $ 15,000 advertising grant over the summer that is expected to generate over 2 million digital impressions. Hearst Newspapers also gave the state association a $ 10,000 grant to run an ad on its network.

It may be difficult to say exactly how many dollars will flow into the industry that will be a direct result of the Roam the Empire campaign. Aside from the commitment of all participating institutions – the full list of which is available on the state tourism association’s website – Gendron said they will be able to measure engagement and campaign success across digital, media and social media analytics.