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Another $30 Million Spent In Making Michigan Look Pure

August 12, 2009 at 9:19 AM | by Omri | 2 Comments

If you enjoy the Pure Michigan ads that the state's tourism agencies have been plastering everywhere, then we have good news for you! The Great Lakes State has just decided to dump an additional $30 million into the campaign, locking in another year of radio, print, and TV spots across the Midwest.

This costly campaign was first launched in 2006, but didn't garner national attention until Michigan governor Jennifer Granholm threw $45 million at it in 2008. Along the way it managed to earn accolades from organizations as diverse as Forbes.com and the Travel Industry Association of America. Pure Michigan's organizers have even managed to produce figures showing that every dollar they spend brings back more almost $3 in tax revenue.

The Pure Michigan campaign is designed for the long, long term, the hope being to create a Rust Belt equivalent of "I Heart New York." That effort was launched back when NYC was at a low point and the popular images of Manhattan involved crime, dirt, and even more crime. Today Michigan is in a similar spot: when people think of the state they imagine abandoned factories, cheap aluminum siding, and rusted old cars.

But that analogy might actually point to a problem for the Michigan agencies. New York rebranded itself not just because it launched an ad blitz. Manhattan also actually cleaned up it's act. Crime and pollution really did decrease. Michigan is trying to pull a similar rebranding trick while its traditional economy is still derelict and its steel towns are still impoverished. Now we'll see if almost $100 million in travel advertising can successfully put the tourism cart before the revitalized horse.

[Photo: Doug Coldwell / Wiki Commons]

Related Stories:
· Say yes to Michigan tourism's advertising blitz [Freep.com]
· Michigan Coverage [Jaunted]
· Travel Ads Coverage [Jaunted]

2 Comments

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Return to » Another $30 Million Spent In Making Michigan Look Pure

  1. kjb

    Jaunted Contributing Editor

    Tool Time?

    Tim Allen is the man.
    August 12, 2009 at 9:34 AM
    #Permalink

  1. tver29

    Jaunted Member

    Your info is wrong

    The $30 million dollars was for the campaign that just wrapped up - and was the result of a tobacco litigation windfall. The campaign for 09-10 is in the legislature right now, and will most likely be drastically reduced. This wasn't $$ that was stolen from some other budget - just money used to promote the state's 3rd largest industry. And MI does have a lot of great things to offer traveler, despite the current economic downturn. We've got gorgeous beaches, great golf, and awesome wineries, and a ton of great places to see. Not to mention the miles of coastline - more than any other state. There is much more to MI than Detroit and Flint - and even those locations are working hard to improve even more. Maybe a visit would help clear up your misconceptions?
    August 12, 2009 at 3:17 PM
    #Permalink

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