NYC debuts $30M, 1-year ad campaign

New York City last week began a one-year, $30 million advertising campaign to attract tourists from around the world with the slogan, “This is New York City.”
The city’s first global marketing drive will use colorful images of family-focused activities to help boost visits 14 percent to 50 million by 2015, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said. He spoke at the Nasdaq MarketSite building in Times Square, where the video played on outdoor screens for the first time.
Television ads feature colorful graphics integrated with video images of city attractions and a new version of Ella Fitzgerald’s rendition of “Take the A Train.”
“It’s a lot more upbeat than just ‘I Love New York,”’ Bloomberg said, referring to the state’s 30-year-old campaign. “This is targeted to the excitement of New York City, the diversity of New York City, the compression of things together, the pace.”
Ads also will appear in newspapers and magazines and on bus shelters and online banners. A new Web site will generate personalized lists of recommended hotels, restaurants and activities based on a survey of interests and travel budgets.
The campaign will help attract visitors from other countries, who account for half of the city’s tourism sales, Bloomberg said. A record 43.8 million people visited the city in 2006, creating and supporting more than 368,000 jobs and providing $1.94 billion in tax revenue.
The advertisements will appear in six languages in countries including the U.K., Ireland, Italy, Spain, Portugal and Brazil. They also will be shown in Boston, Philadelphia, Miami and San Antonio. The Web site, nycvisit.com, will be available in nine languages.The mayor is founder and majority owner of Bloomberg News parent Bloomberg LP. •