I don’t mean to nickel and dime every expenditure that every state agency makes. But, honestly, is this really worth the money? (Click for larger image.)
A full-color, full-page ad in the current issue of the New Yorker costs about $100,000. This ad cost a little over $20,000, and ran in the New Yorker’s Northeast Regional edition (thanks to MOTT Director Betsy Wall for correcting my numbers). That’s maybe a year’s salary for a couple of laid-off DMH case managers, or a whole bunch of other possible uses. I know, I know, it’s not that simple — you can’t just shuffle money around from agency to agency. Still, in these times, it bothers me. I find it hard to believe that the return on an ad like this is really worth it in terms of tourist dollars generated. How many people were thinking of traveling to Maine or Montreal, and then saw this ad and said, “Hey, you know what? Those annoying binoculars that don’t work unless you insert a quarter are really great. Let’s go to Massachusetts instead.”
You are correct.
This is another example of corporate welfare, this time for rich hoteliers, Tom Kershaws and others in the tourism industry .
The funny thing is the state promotions are a drop in the bucket compared to what the industry spends to promote itself.
In a time of economic hardship, people who might have gone to a distant place may consider a shorter trip closer to home. This ad is aimed at an upscale demographic market that could generate substantial revenues for Mass. businesses that would then – ta da! – pay taxes that could help to sustain DMH workers. At the moment, the NY-metro-area is relatively low-hanging fruit for Mass. vacation venues.
<
p>I’m usually the first to cry, “Unfair!,” when I note that the Berkshires have been left out, but I suspect that was deliberate strategy in this case. Our natural tourism market is already New York-metro-area. We’re a day-trip for them. This is an attempt to get that market to come further east and enrich the state as a whole.
<
p>Proximity works both ways – I took a day trip to Johnson Hall in NY last year. I was interested in it as a residence of Massachusetts-born naval hero Silas Talbot but found that the well-informed guide had never heard of him. The history of William Johnson was interesting in its own right, however, and the house was fascinating. I bought postcards and superb blueberries and honey from a farm stand along the way. Don’t know if I did much for the NY economy.
I wonder whether the tourism bureau uses a “Massachusetts is Red” ad in Texas or Oklahoma publications?
is that the ad is not only expensive, but ineffective. What about this ad would cause you to think that perhaps MA is a better destination than somewhere else?
I realize we’re not the only state bordering the Atlantic, but the ad seems to emphasize the clean, “blue” qualities of our water resources.
<
p>In reality, Atlantic City has the best (cleanest) municipal water supply in the country, and we would certainly have some direct competition with NJ for the NY ocean-going tourists.
<
p>When I was in college in Philadelphia, I remember a radio station conducting a tongue-in-cheek competition for the best tourism slogan for New Jersey. Making fun of a common slang phrase at the time, I remember one entry was, “New Jersey: Fer shore, fer shore.”
<
p>But I think you’ve come up with a splendid question. Maybe you should offer a BMG prize for the best netroots tourism slogan for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. We could do a statewide category and regional slogans. It appears that the current ad campaign may take us through the rainbow, telling us all the colorful things to be found in Mass. Maybe we could improve the current ad campaign by offering some colorful suggestions. “Massachusetts is green: It’s the pension plan and consulting contracts . . .”
people who read the New Yorker actually LIVE in Massachusetts? For starters, I see about 20 New Yorker readers a day get on at the Harvard T stop…
I don’t have a problem with the commonwealth running ads promoting MA as a vacation destination, especially with travel season coming up. I can’t say if the New Yorker is the ideal outlet for the ad, or even if it is the only one speaking out to outsiders, but it’s a worthwhile effort. What I do find peculiar is the running of the ad on Boston television directed at viewers that are overwhelmingly MA residents. Have a staycation with us? They remind me a bit of the ads run by local tv stations exhorting viewers to watch their news programs. The peculiar part of it is that the ads are run during their own tv news. Hey, I’m watching it, direct the ads where those who aren’t watching are.
Let’s invite New York residents to Massachusetts so they can experience an Easter weekend type fiasco on the Mass Pike. This will surely keep them from coming back again.
<
p>Massachusetts needs to get it’s act together. Funds should be pulled from the tourism budget and be used to maintain and upgrade roads and rail service. I know that they say funds can’t be shifted, which is asinine. Just cut the tourism budget, put the funds back into general revenue, and increase the transportation budget. It’s only difficult to do if they want it to be difficult; apparently they want it to be difficult.
<
p>It is already so crowded at the Cape in the summer that sometimes Massachusetts residents are shut out. Last year I scanned the parking lot at Coast Guard beach to see where the visitors were from. Approximately one out of five license plates were from New York. More than from Connecticut(there were few CT plates). Parking lots already fill up and the traffic on the Cape is obnoxious. It’s great to welcome out-of-state residents to MA, but maybe we should work on making it a welcoming experience before we do so.
I’m thinking about braving the MA highway system next week and taking the youngsters to Castle Island. The reviews I’ve read rave about it, and maps.google and Youtube show
it to be a neat experience. The planes landing at Logan must be thrilling to see, expecially if you don’t see it everyday, and the “sugarbowl” looks like a fun way to get some exercise. Is it crowded this time of year?
<
p>Has anyone been? Any opinion of the place to share?
Is exit 25 on the Pike a suicide mission? It looks like
it’s in a tunnel?
Come with an empty stomach, and head over to Sullies (Sullivans) for burgers, dogs, fries, and loads of ice cream. It’s also a great place to fly a kite.
<
p>It’s really great on July 4th if you’re there early enough for the cannon volleys.
That was my idea well luckily my girlfriend doesn’t read this webpage
if you do it too.
<
p>
<
p>See, I’m learning from my LGBTA brethren (and sistren?)!
My memories are wonderful of Castle Island. When I went with my own family it made my memories and experiences even richer. Me thinks it’s time to go again.
Enjoy.
<
p>”Pray to God and row to shore”
Russian proverb
It does look like great fun, now my dilemma is should we drive or take commuter rail from Natick. I’m trying to see how close the T comes to Castle Island. It looks like the silver line comes quite close, but the line seems to zig zag and break off into two lines, are there several trains? That is the difficulty of a totally clueless “T” user trying to use the system, and even more difficult when you have children in tow. So all of you sophisticated “T” users out there, Help! I would love to take the whole trip (at least from Natick) by commuter rail and “T”! Any tips?
You won’t hear me make that suggestion often.
<
p>It’s hard to get from North/South station to Castle Island. You can take the Red Line to Broadway or Andrew, but it’s still a long haul. The Silver Line isn’t much more helpful. You’re carpooling, so in terms of fossil fuel it’s not as substantial a differential, and in terms of cost it will likely be cheaper to drive. Plus, you may want to bring gear — lawn chairs, coolers, beach stuff, gloves and a ball, etc.
<
p>Parking can be a challenge… there’s lots of spots, but lots of people drive.
I was just perusing the T map, it does seem to be a maze, and using the tools section gave me two totally diffent routes each time I used it. So drive it is, I hope the parking lot isn’t full when we get there. It’s suppose to be in the 70’s next weekend, Hurray!
Nah, premature advisory…maybe someday we’ll get there.
<
p>Just mind the wind…I would add a frisbee to the above suggestions for playthings.
They have beautiful wind farms on the Altamont Pass in California, I used to live in Tracy so when traveling to San Francisco you had to drive through the pass and literally through the wind farms. They are quite beautiful.
It wouldn’t bother me a bit to see a few windfarms out in the ocean, they are a symbol of respect for our earth.
I would have to say that I agree with a previous commenter about the New Yorker being the wrong publication to print an ad. If Mass Tourism was really smart they’d be going after people like my parents. They are working class and couldn’t afford grand vacations growing up, rather sort the tourism section of the Albany Times Union (totally old school) for deals and what not.
<
p>Mass Tourism should be eyeing the folks who have tight budgets, but still enough in this economy to be able to afford a vacation close to home in effort to economize. The New Yorker readers could afford to vacay anyway (over generalized, I know) and Mass isn’t lost on them – they already know what we’re about and what they can find here.
<
p>The message of the ad should’ve been geared towards telling people about the great time Mass can give them and how they can find a deal here. I remember childhood vacations where my mom would call a 1-800 advertised for a state tourism board because they said in the ad that they had deals pre-arranged. We once even came to Mass on one of those deals. We didn’t spend thousands but enough in sales/hotel taxes to augment Quincy’s treasury a little bit more.
<
p>We did have a great time and fast forward ten years and my parents being a touch more prosperous, and now, year after year, head to Gloucester and stay in B+Bs and spend a little more. My father developed a taste fresh caught lobster and comes here for it. The New Yorker readers can get fresh-caught lobster in any five star restaurant serving it to them at mega-bucks a plate – no trip to Mass required. Its the “relationship” that Mass Tourism can foster with a tourists that sustain a tourist economy – even make it thrive.
lives in Manhattan. Plenty of folks in Westchester, Dutchess, Putnam, etc — plus Connecticut and more.
<
p>My hunch (and hope) is that the decision to advertise with the New Yorker was based on far more data than we have instinct, impression, and bias. I’d hope that the NYer knows their demographics, in terms of location, age, income, etc. I’d hope that the MA tourism folks chose the NYer because it met the right demographics.
surely nothing that’s happened in state government recently has given us any cause for concern about its ability to act in the most efficient and cost-effective manner possible! đŸ˜‰
Lawyer, opera singer and media buyer…
see Betsy Wall’s comments below.
While I don’t know about the efficacy of the New Yorker, the department had a study done years ago (Mary Jane McKenna was director at the time) and the info that came back said that New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania had a lot of Massachusetts vacationers that came back each year. MOTT (Mass Office of Travel and Tourism)started a plan that spent a bulk of their money in that area. The reason being was 1, get people to spend even more time in Massachusetts, (instead of a day trip, find things to do for a week) 2, we already had buzz in these areas to supplement our advertising,(those travelers tell other travelers) and 3, the demographics indicated that more people would exhibit the same travel patterns with a push or education that we were a great place to travel.
<
p>In Pennsylvania, MOTT worked out a deal to place brochures in a stand in a chain of book stores that were big in Pennsylvania. I forget the name, but it was a cheap way to spread the word.
and we all treasured the “NY summer people” who came up every year for the wonderful clean air and local cultural treasures. As a young girl in the 50s I remember ironing sheets and silk underwear for a $1,00 an hour (!!) My little sister got scolded for selling home grown “to mah toes” for double the standard price and giving bad directions to tourists who didn’t suspect that the corner of Pleasant and Trouble st (how quaint) landed them in a ditch with a great view of the Valley.
<
p>And many of the cultural treasures including summer camps in Pioneer Vally and the Berkshires still advertise in the New Yorker.
The way the readers of these two blogs are commenting on the Mass Tourism campaign speaks VOLUMES about each of the blogs and their posters.
<
p>The liberals at BMG are debating whether it’s a good use of tax payer $ in a time of fiscal problems. The conservatives at RMG are debating whether there are political overtones to the ad, and touting the “liberalism of Massachusetts”.
<
p>This pretty much sums up the focus of the two blogs and their posters:
<
p>BMG – Lefty Policy Wonks
RMG – Conservative Conspiracy Wingnuts
Sign of the times.
<
p>Hard to talk when you’re teabagging — and think, apparently.
A lesson in the dangers of deep linking for the good folk of RMG.
The actual cost of the New Yorker ad was $20, 591. The ad appeared only in the NE regional edition (from Washington, DC to Boston). The dollar amount you mentioned would be the cost of a national ad placed in all editions.
We pay close attention to where our vistors originate, so we can advertise accordingly. The New York area generates more ‘getaways’ to Massachusetts than any other audience segment and thus they are a primary target audience. The New Yorker’s readership demographic matches this specific audience segment, making it an ideal vehicle for Massachusetts tourism ads.
The ad you cited is part of our brand campaign. It’s specifically designed to complement our TV ads, showing Massachusetts to be an innovative, fun, lively destination. The return on investment for our brand advertising has been consistently very high. We closely track consumer research, tax revenues and other data with the help of established travel data services. That matters because, as you correctly point out, there are urgent demands on state funds, especially now.
Tourism is the Commonwealth’s third largest employer. These investments matter because they support jobs.
Betsy Wall
Executive Director
Massachusetts Office of Travel + Tourism
and for correcting my numbers! đŸ™‚