VSPC Unveils "Welcome Back to Now" Recovery Campaign
June 12, 2020
On Thursday, Visit St. Pete/Clearwater shared custom St. Pete/Clearwater consumer research and its plans for a recovery marketing campaign dubbed “Welcome Back to Now,” including media plan and creative concepts.
The research yielded relatively positive opinions regarding St. Pete/Clearwater’s response to COVID-19 and signaled that almost half of in-state and out-of-state travelers plan to visit the destination with the majority of those visiting in 2020. View the research deck here.
The “Welcome Back to Now” campaign is an evolution of “Brighter Days Ahead” and speaks to being stuck between the past and future the past few months without the ability to experience the now. The campaign will pull on the thread of hope again reminding people that living in the present is possible again and that St. Pete/Clearwater is the perfect place to reignite their senses and experience the now.
The campaign includes more than 265 million impressions across broadcast TV, radio, direct mail, out-of-home, connected TV, publisher partnerships, a Travelzoo promotion, paid social and paid search. Paid social and paid search is live with additional digital efforts launching next week and the phased plan rolling out through the second week of July.
VSPC RESTARTING VISITOR INTERCEPT SURVEYS
After stopping visitor intercept surveys back in March, Visit St. Pete/Clearwater is restarting the in-person surveys with extra health precautions. The more than 400 monthly surveys conducted at various locations throughout Pinellas County help understand visitor demographics and economic impact. As we get the results, we’ll share via Partners.VisitStPeteClearwater.com and through email.
MUSEUMS STARTING TO RE-OPEN
The James Museum is reopening to the public on Saturday and the Dali Museum has announced plans to reopen on July 1. Museums that have already reopened include: The Chihuly Collection, Imagine Museum and Dunedin Fine Art Center. Museum of Fine Arts, Florida Holocaust Museum, Dr. Carter G. Woodson African American Museum, St. Petersburg Museum of History and Leepa-Rattner Museum of Art have yet to announce reopen plans and timing.
HELP NEEDED FOR THIRD WAVE OF FLORIDA TOURISM STUDY
Downs & St. German is continuing to conduct surveys to measure economic impact of COVID-19 on tourism throughout the state. To capture the effects properly, we need your help. This third wave of the survey will take just 5 minutes. Individual survey answers are confidential.
PAYCHECK PROTECTION PROGRAM FLEXIBILITY ACT SIGNED
Last Friday, President Trump signed into law the Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act of 2020 (H.R. 7010), legislation that makes key changes to the PPP---including modifying the portion of funds that can be used for non-payroll expenses and extending the time period during which funds must be spent in order to qualify for loan forgiveness from eight weeks to 24 weeks. The National Restaurant Association has provided an analysis for how the bill would change
PPP. FEDERAL RESERVE MAKES CHANGES TO MAIN STREET LENDING PROGRAM
On Monday, the Federal Reserve made changes to its Main Street Lending Program to allow more small- and medium-sized businesses to be able to receive support---including lowering the minimum loan amount, raising the maximum loan limit, adjusting the principal repayment schedule to begin after two years and extending the term to five years, which provides borrowers with greater flexibility to repay the loans. More information on U.S. Travel’s fact sheet.
IMEX AMERICA CANCELED
The Worldwide Exhibition for Incentive Travel, Meetings and Events (IMEX) group announced Wednesday the cancellation of this year’s IMEX America event, which was scheduled to take place Sept. 15-17, 2020, in Las Vegas.
CONNECT 2020 MOVED FROM NEW ORLEANS, SPLIT INTO TWO EVENTS
Connect announced this week it will be hosting two events this year, not its one larger event that was originally scheduled for New Orleans in August. Connect Sports, Florida, Tour and RTO South will take place Sept. 8-10 at Rosen Shingle Creek in Orlando. Connect Corporate, Association, Specialty, Luxury, Travel, BizBash, eTourism Summit, Connect Thrive Summit and Business Travel will take place Oct. 19-21 at the Wynn Las Vegas.
U.S. TRAVEL HOLDS CANDID CONVERSATION ABOUT RACE
On Thursday, U.S. Travel’s National Chair Elliott L. Ferguson II, President & CEO, Destination D.C., had a candid conversation about race and diversity within the travel industry and how we can work toward a more inclusive environment. The discussion provided personal experiences working in the travel and tourism industry, looking specifically at how we can make meaningful changes in the workplace to promote racial equality at all levels and set an example for future leaders. Watch the recording here.
ROAD TRAVEL AT HIGHEST LEVELS SINCE MARCH 7
According to Arrivalist’s Daily Travel Index, consumer road trips of 50 miles or more across the U.S. was at its highest level since the week ending March 7. Road travel was only 15.8% lower than it was right before the crisis in February. In comparison, just two months ago in April, road travel was 73% lower than February.
REPORT: U.S.-CANADA BORDER CLOSURE TO BE EXTENDED INTO JULY
According to Reuters on Friday, Canada and the United States are set to extend a ban on non-essential travel to late July as both countries seek to control the spread of COVID-19. The current ban expires June 21.
