State launches customizable ‘IN Indiana’ tourism campaign
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — State leaders on Wednesday said they want everyone from big cities to small businesses to use variations of Indiana’s new tourism campaign.
Gov. Eric Holcomb and Elaine Bedel, chief executive officer of the Indiana Destination Development Corp., unveiled the new “IN Indiana” ad campaign during an event at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Bedel said all tourism ads will follow the same basic theme, but different destinations can tailor the ads to their specific needs. She said this year’s Indianapolis 500 theme, “Back Home Again,” is an example of something that could be worked into “IN Indiana” ads.
“This is not a tagline. This is a very different kind of promotional campaign that we need everyone to be part of, and we think this is the type of promotional campaign that will do that,” she said.
Chris Gahl, executive vice president of communications for Visit Indy, told News 8 that state tourism officials started working on the campaign with regional counterparts such as his organization several months ago. He said Visit Indy already has “IN Indiana” ads ready to go and plans to roll them out over the next few weeks.
“We know that the majority of visitors to our city gravitate to the capital city, and we want them to not only explore the capital city but the entire state, and tack on extra days to go see Columbus, to take in the dunes, to go up to New Harmony, to take in culture outside of the capital city.”
Annual studies commissioned by the Indiana Destination Development Corp. show tourism spending in Indiana rose every year in the nine years leading up to the COVID-19 pandemic, peaking at $13.7 billion in 2019. That generated $2.7 billion in tax revenue and supported 208,000 full-time and part-time jobs. Visitor spending dropped to $10.2 billion during 2020 and the Indiana Destination Development Corp. does not yet have final numbers for 2021.
Holcomb said “IN Indiana” differs from previous campaigns because it encourages participation by small towns and businesses as well as large entities. He said the Indiana Destination Development Corp. will work with anyone who wants to use “IN Indiana” materials to ensure any marketing matches with the state’s overall goals.