The Chamber unveiled the new campaign, which will feature color ads in six regional magazines, for Chamber members this week. Each year, the campaign is funded by $100,000 from the city’s 2% hotel-motel tax.
Jim Clarke, the head of the Chamber’s Marketing and Promotions Team told Chamber members on Thursday that around 1,000 local jobs depend on tourism and that tourism in Anacortes generates $11.5 million in wages.
Clarke said the Chamber aims to motivate more Puget Sound people to make the trek to Anacortes, then convince them to stay, not just drive through.
The campaign’s so-called brand personality is “Anacortes has a delightfully calming spirit---casual, friendly and comfortable. A working coastal town where nature and people conspire to create a relaxed atmosphere and inspiring lifestyle.”
Ads like this one are projected to be seen as many as 10 million times in the six magazines that will carry the ads. The magazines include Sunset, Seattle magazine, Seattle Metropolitan and the Seattle Times’ Sunday magazine, Pacific Northwest. The ads will be 1/3 to 1/2 page in size.
The Chamber’s Web site, anacortes.org, is under re-development, too, as part of the new tourism campaign.