Ad partnership benefits Springfield area attractions

More than 6 million visitors descend on Springfield each year, many as a result of some very appealing television advertisements.

Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World and Fantastic Caverns partner with the Springfield Convention & Visitors Bureau and the Missouri Division of Tourism to introduce Springfield and its attractions.

They do this through warm and friendly images which serve as an invitation for viewers to come experience Springfield for themselves.

Through this cooperative national ad campaign, 30-second ads will run on the nationwide cable channel The Nashville Network, which has hundreds of thousands of viewers from all corners of the nation and around the world.

"The TV mix that we're able to utilize works well for us for our spring and fall events, as well as creates the top-of-the-mind awareness that brings visitors to our area," said Rich Conover, corporate retail advertising manager for Bass Pro Shops.

The ads are run on TNN since its viewers meet the demographic profile of our region's typical visitor.

Each attraction contributes funds to the project, with the Missouri Division of Tourism matching this combined total up to a specified amount.

The Missouri Division of Tourism funds can only be received by a destination marketing organization, such as the Springfield CVB, which coordinates the partners and production of the spot.

Pooling advertising dollars is beneficial to each partner.

"This allows all the participants to stretch their ad dollars and make them more effective," said Tracy Kimberlin, executive director of the Springfield CVB.

The budget for the '97/'98 television cooperative advertising ads was set at $200,000.

The budget doubled in size for the '98/'99 campaign, reaching $400,000. A record-breaking 21,373 inquiries were received by the CVB in April alone.

The CVB monitors the effectiveness of the ads by the number of callers responding to the TV spots requesting free Springfield vacation planning kits.

"The fulfillment that the CVB does works well for all of Springfield," Conover said.

These packets are full of valuable information and coupons for area attractions, restaurants, accommodations and events in the Official Springfield Area Visitors Guide, the annual Hotel/Motel Coupon Book, the P.E.R.K.S. coupon book and brochures for area business.

Area businesses pay a nominal fee to have their fliers included in these mailings to which many get an overwhelming response.

Kirk Hansen, public relations director for Fantastic Caverns, emphasizes the benefit to the region as a whole.

"This program increases visitation, selling more motel rooms, more food, more gas. ... It's an economic benefit to the entire community and the state," Hansen said.

"It's great to see the immediate response to the television ads," said Becky Hamm, communications director for the CVB. "You know the ads are running because all the phone lines will light up with callers asking for Springfield information."

There are two flights of commercials, a spring and a late summer flight, which air from early February to mid August, in order to reach visitors during peak travel decision times.

This year's commercials are 30-second spots featuring Bass Pro Shops, with a tag for Springfield and Fantastic Caverns.

A second spot is reversed, featuring Fantastic Caverns with a tag for Springfield and Bass Pro Shops.

The CVB's toll-free number is on screen throughout each of the spots.

To learn more about this or other CVB programs, or to be included in the CVB's visitor information packets, please call 881-5300.

(Kristin Kubitschek is communications coordinator for the Springfield Convention & Visitors Bureau.)

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