Travel Oregon honored with Mercury award for Best Broadcast Advertising in the country

Salem, OR, 2016-Sep-06 — /Travel PR News/ — Winners of the National Council of State Tourism Directors (NCSTD) 2016 Mercury awards were announced this week during U.S. Travel Association’s annual Educational Seminar for Tourism Organizations (ESTO) conference held this year in Boca Raton, Fla. The NCSTD honored Travel Oregon with a highly coveted Mercury award for Best Broadcast Advertising in the country.

The 7 Wonders of Oregon campaign was honored as the Best Broadcast Advertising campaign. The campaign, launched in 2014, was built on the concept that whoever named the 7 Wonders of the World must never have set foot in Oregon, because not a single one of them is located here. So Travel Oregon threw down a challenge: We see your Wonders, world. And we raise you 7 of our own: the Oregon Coast, Mt. Hood, the Columbia River Gorge, Crater Lake, the Painted Hills, the Wallowas and Smith Rock.

Mercury awards recognize excellence and creative accomplishment at the state level in tourism marketing and promotion, and for inspiring the continued development of exciting destination marketing and promotion programs.

“Earning this Mercury award is a testament to the exceptional creativity and collaboration of Travel Oregon’s staff and our partners,” said Todd Davidson, CEO of Travel Oregon. “We know from our results that the 7 Wonders of Oregon campaign resonated with visitors and Oregonians alike. Being recognized by our tourism industry peers throughout the country is the icing on the cake for a campaign that raised awareness of Oregon as a premier travel destination and resulted in enhanced economic impact throughout the state. Thanks in part to the 7 Wonders campaign, 2015 saw record numbers in the travel and tourism industry with $10.8 billion generated for Oregon’s economy and more than 105,000 Oregonians directly employed in the industry.”

Travel Oregon’s 7 Wonders campaign, anchored by the compelling and stunning imagery in the television spots, contributed to more than 13 percent growth in statewide lodging revenue in 2015 over 2014, according to STR, Inc., and led to enhanced economic impact in communities and regions throughout the state.

Travel Oregon has been honored with 20 Mercury Awards since 1997. This year, the awards were judged by a panel of industry leaders from companies including National Geographic, Fathom, Ogilvy Public Relations, McGarryBowen, Facebook and Google.

For the 7 Wonders campaign, Travel Oregon worked with Wieden+Kennedy, along with a team of agencies to bring this campaign to life, including LANE, MEDIAmerica, Sparkloft and Substance.

The U.S. Travel Association is the national, non-profit organization representing all components of the travel industry that generates $2.1 trillion in economic output and supports 15 million jobs. U.S. Travel’s mission is to increase travel to and within the United States. Visit www.ustravel.org

The Oregon Tourism Commission, dba Travel Oregon, works to enhance visitors’ experience by providing information, resources and trip planning tools that inspire travel and consistently convey the exceptional quality of Oregon. The commission aims to improve Oregonians’ quality of life by strengthening economic impacts of the state’s $10.8 billion tourism industry that employs more than 105,000 Oregonians. www.TravelOregon.com

If you have additional questions or comments about Travel Oregon Wins National Tourism Industry Award, please contact the appropriate member of the Travel Oregon staff listed below.

Linea Gagliano
Director, Global Communications
Linea@TravelOregon.com
971-717-6184

SOURCE: Oregon Tourism Commission