D.C.’s tourism marketing group is channeling the power associated with the nation’s capital in its latest and largest advertising campaign for the city.
Destination DC is calling tourists to “create your own power trip” in a campaign that highlights more of the city’s urban core than its marble monuments.
The $2 million campaign invites tourists to seek their own source of “power” in a trip to the District that features images such as Mayor Adrian M. Fenty’s run though Rock Creek Park (a “power play”), a night at Bohemian Caverns (“soul power”) and a trip to the Lincoln Memorial (the “seat of power”).
The campaign “takes one word that everybody would agree is synonymous with the District of Columbia … and applies it to other parts of D.C. that people don’t know about or forgot about,” Mr. Fenty said yesterday as the group introduced the campaign.
Previous advertising campaigns from Destination DC — the group formerly known as the Washington, DC Convention & Tourism Corp. — centered on the Mall, White House and memorials.
Its 9-year-old slogan and brand for the city, “Washington DC: The American Experience,” invoked stately images out of American history textbooks instead of trips to the lively U Street corridor, Nationals Park or a Penn Quarter restaurant.
The new “power play” campaign is designed to be a foundation for years of future advertising, Destination DC said yesterday. Future uses could include “flower power” during cherry blossom season and “star power” for the area’s theaters and sports arenas.
“The new brand transforms the power of the city and puts it squarely in the arms of the consumer,” said William A. Hanbury, president and chief executive officer of Destination DC.
Last year, when announcing the city would develop a new campaign, Destination DC said it was shooting for something as successful as Las Vegas’ popular “What happens here, stays here” line.
Mr. Hanbury said Destination DC’s new campaign meets those standards.
“For the resources we have, we will be as successful as the Las Vegas campaign in our own marketplace,” he said yesterday.
Destination DC spent $1 million and more than a year developing the campaign, which dwarfs any of its previous efforts. The organization plans to spend another $2 million to place the ads on television and in print publications in the District, New York, Pittsburgh and Raleigh, N.C. The campaign also includes a newly designed Web site, www.washington.org.
The group, funded by the city’s hotel tax and membership dues, seeks for another $10 million from the city and its hospitality industry.
Mr. Hanbury said the group has lobbied Mr. Fenty and the D.C. Council for $5 million. Mr. Fenty said yesterday that the city is committed to helping the campaign, but he declined to give a f igure.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.