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ENLARGE
What comes to mind when you think about the state of Colorado?
Kathie Lee Gifford wearing chaps? No.
Rocky Mountain oysters? Maybe.
Sunshine, fresh air and open space; mountains and rivers; culture, sports, beer? Probably.
The fact that Colorado is nothing like New York City? Yes.
Most Coloradans would not picture the Big Apple when pondering the variety and beauty of their state. But when the Colorado Tourism Office got a few extra dollars to spend on promotion, New York City was its first stop.
As a part of its Let's Talk Colorado campaign—an effort to expose the media, potential tourists and families to Colorado as a travel destination—the CTO boxed up bits and pieces of the state and unloaded them in Madison Square Park for a one-day event in mid April.
“Get ready … Colorado is about to take over New York,” press materials read.
Calling the event Let's Talk the Four Seasons of Colorado, tourism officials along with corporate and community sponsors set up a giant exhibit dedicated to all that conjures up the Rocky Mountain high: whitewater kayak and skiing simulators, lasso lessons and cowboy sing-a-longs, a mountain bike stunt team, and a real live horse. They even served the best of Colorado’s beers to a discerning, cocktail-drinking group of New York editors and reporters.
“The philosophy was that most of the world's media has at least an office in New York City, so it was about taking the state to them,” said Cathy Jones, tourism marketing manager for the Fort Collins Convention and Visitors Bureau, who helped with the event.
The day signifies that Colorado tourism has hit the big time. After getting a huge increase in funding—from about $5 million annually to $20 million—Colorado's tourism industry placed itself in the major league of self promotion in an attempt to get the Big Apple, its residents, businesses and media talking about the state. According to MMG Worldwide, which oversees public relations, advertising and marketing for Colorado tourism, 7,000 people participated in the Colorado-inspired fun in Madison Square Park and about 20,000 were “exposed” to the state's features at the event.
“It was designed as an experience event to bring the best of the four seasons of Colorado to consumers and media,” said Caitlin Sullivan, senior account executive with MMG, which is based in Kansas City but has an office in Fort Collins. “New York City is basically the capitol of the world and this was an opportunity to get the Colorado message to them. ... Our goal was to make, in essence, a Colorado Disney World-like theme park. We didn't want it to be trade show, we wanted it to be an experience.”
The $200,000 experience even got a bit of media play: Kathie Lee Gifford on the Today show rocking a pair of chaps. Sullivan said several magazines are considering stories on the state and its amenities.
The point of the event was to let the rest of the world know that Colorado is more than cow patties and snow bunnies, Sullivan said. There is also cosmopolitan luxury, outdoor adventure and hard-rocking muscle.
“It’s more than the old West and more than skiing. Those are pretty important parts, but there are great summer activities too, great music and great culture,” she said.
Beyond increased advertising and the New York event, the new tourism money has also funded the Let's Talk Colorado Web site, which promotes trip giveaways, offers free Colorado T-shirts and teaches visitors how to talk like a real Coloradan: “Colorado's got a language all our own. So whether it's climbing a 14er, using your granny gears or eating a rattler cake, you'll find it here.” Terms include 14er, Rocky Mountain oysters, hardscrabble and brain bucket.
While even longtime residents might not know the definition of “bonk” or “chicken line,” tourism officials hope the rest of the world will enjoy learning and speaking Colorado’s “language.”
“We find that where ever we go across the country, people want to ‘talk Colorado,’” Sullivan said. “ … If we get them ‘talking Colorado’ they are likely to then come visit Colorado.”
Kathie Lee Gifford wearing chaps? No.
Rocky Mountain oysters? Maybe.
Sunshine, fresh air and open space; mountains and rivers; culture, sports, beer? Probably.
The fact that Colorado is nothing like New York City? Yes.
Most Coloradans would not picture the Big Apple when pondering the variety and beauty of their state. But when the Colorado Tourism Office got a few extra dollars to spend on promotion, New York City was its first stop.
As a part of its Let's Talk Colorado campaign—an effort to expose the media, potential tourists and families to Colorado as a travel destination—the CTO boxed up bits and pieces of the state and unloaded them in Madison Square Park for a one-day event in mid April.
“Get ready … Colorado is about to take over New York,” press materials read.
Calling the event Let's Talk the Four Seasons of Colorado, tourism officials along with corporate and community sponsors set up a giant exhibit dedicated to all that conjures up the Rocky Mountain high: whitewater kayak and skiing simulators, lasso lessons and cowboy sing-a-longs, a mountain bike stunt team, and a real live horse. They even served the best of Colorado’s beers to a discerning, cocktail-drinking group of New York editors and reporters.
“The philosophy was that most of the world's media has at least an office in New York City, so it was about taking the state to them,” said Cathy Jones, tourism marketing manager for the Fort Collins Convention and Visitors Bureau, who helped with the event.
The day signifies that Colorado tourism has hit the big time. After getting a huge increase in funding—from about $5 million annually to $20 million—Colorado's tourism industry placed itself in the major league of self promotion in an attempt to get the Big Apple, its residents, businesses and media talking about the state. According to MMG Worldwide, which oversees public relations, advertising and marketing for Colorado tourism, 7,000 people participated in the Colorado-inspired fun in Madison Square Park and about 20,000 were “exposed” to the state's features at the event.
“It was designed as an experience event to bring the best of the four seasons of Colorado to consumers and media,” said Caitlin Sullivan, senior account executive with MMG, which is based in Kansas City but has an office in Fort Collins. “New York City is basically the capitol of the world and this was an opportunity to get the Colorado message to them. ... Our goal was to make, in essence, a Colorado Disney World-like theme park. We didn't want it to be trade show, we wanted it to be an experience.”
The $200,000 experience even got a bit of media play: Kathie Lee Gifford on the Today show rocking a pair of chaps. Sullivan said several magazines are considering stories on the state and its amenities.
The point of the event was to let the rest of the world know that Colorado is more than cow patties and snow bunnies, Sullivan said. There is also cosmopolitan luxury, outdoor adventure and hard-rocking muscle.
“It’s more than the old West and more than skiing. Those are pretty important parts, but there are great summer activities too, great music and great culture,” she said.
Beyond increased advertising and the New York event, the new tourism money has also funded the Let's Talk Colorado Web site, which promotes trip giveaways, offers free Colorado T-shirts and teaches visitors how to talk like a real Coloradan: “Colorado's got a language all our own. So whether it's climbing a 14er, using your granny gears or eating a rattler cake, you'll find it here.” Terms include 14er, Rocky Mountain oysters, hardscrabble and brain bucket.
While even longtime residents might not know the definition of “bonk” or “chicken line,” tourism officials hope the rest of the world will enjoy learning and speaking Colorado’s “language.”
“We find that where ever we go across the country, people want to ‘talk Colorado,’” Sullivan said. “ … If we get them ‘talking Colorado’ they are likely to then come visit Colorado.”
For more ...
Learn to “talk Colorado” at www.letstalkcolorado.com.
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