April / May 2006 “SayWA” ??? ARE THEY NUTS? Talk about a squirrel looking for nuts, what on earth are the WA (that’s Washington State for all my overseas readers) tourist people thinking of? Here we are in one of the most beautiful and diversified regions in the world and what slogan do we use to attract visitors from abroad and here within the United States ... you know .. words that will peek their interest, appeal to their sense of adventure, create visions of grandeur in their minds and make them yearn to visit Washington State? “SayWA” !!! I say Bah Humbug! How will my cousins in England (and they speak the language) know what the hell they are talking about ... and even if they did, why would that make them travel to Washington because of it? Am I qualified to comment? I think so. I’ve been involved with the travel industry for 36 years, much of it in writing and marketing. I was President of the Seattle Advertising Club, I was on Governor Dixie Lee Ray’s ‘Advisory Committee’ after Mt St Helens blew her top, I worked for Metromedia, we owned an advertising agency that specialized in the ‘Travel Biz’ .. AND .. this is the dumbest campaign to come down the pike. Come on, Washington State doesn’t spend enough money promoting itself as it is - don’t waste what little you have! Slogans our ad agency created? ‘Washington's Fishing Village’ for Westport. ‘Welcome To Our World’ for Doug Fox Travel. .. ‘Do It With Us’ for Us Inc .. an Adventure Travel Co. ‘One Step Beyond’- Fiji .’Ships, Sunsets & Solitude’ - The Islander Lopez ‘Washington’s Playground’ - for The San Juan Islands (they still owe me money!) ‘Spokane’s New INN Place’ - Ridpath Hotel & ‘EVERY ONE (Who’s Anyone) DINES AT PIER 70’. Anyway, that’s a few, one of my favorites was the one below that I created for Puget Sound Express ( they still owe me money as well!). I tell you what, as a number of clients didn’t pay me after the work was done .. I would be willing to assist anyone who needs travel related Ad campaigns (or Newsletter help ) for a fee of just $100 ... but I’d like to be paid up front! Yes, WAWA .. that includes you. Finally there was an amusing letter to the Seattle PI from a reader in Sydney, Australia on the ‘SayWA’. He said he thinks he prefers the ‘SayWA’ slogan to the new Australian promo which shows images of Australia with the punch line on all of them being .. ‘So where the bloody hell are you?’ Personally I prefer the ‘Diggers’ approach! Yes ... I know that graphics accompany ‘Heads’ .. but what graphic cries out .. ‘SayWA”? LET’S GET YOU INVOLVED! Add word(s) to the ‘Washington is a state of mind ...” theme for your town. Example: Mt. Rainier it’s crown! Seattle it’s .................................. Yakima it’s ................................. Bellingham it’s ........................... Bellevue it’s ............................... Spokane it’s ............................... The San Juans it’s ..................... The Olympics it’s........................ The Cascades it’s ...................... Tacoma it’s ................................ Wenatchee it’s ........................... Ellensburg it’s ............................ Friday Harbor it’s ........................ Redmond it’s .............................. Skagit Valley it’s ......................... Everett it’s .................................. Edmonds it’s .............................. Olympia it’s ................................ Kent it’s ...................................... Snohomish it’s ............................ Kirkland it’s ................................. Your town & your it’s! Send in your entry - We will publish it! David ( 007 ) Bond“ I Aim to Please “ Return to Editorial Archives (360) 387-0480 / (800) 353-8485 E-mail: info@thetravelindustrynews.com | FAX (360) 387-7321 2442 NW Market Street, #53, Seattle, Washington, USA 98107 Calendar | Bulletin Board | Career Ops | Subscribe | Email List | Links | Home