COURT HOUSE – The Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International (HSMAI) will recognize the Cape May County Department of Tourism with a Gold Adrian Award for public relations excellence for its winning entry in the 54th annual Adrian Awards Competition, the largest and most prestigious travel marketing competition globally.
This year’s contest attracted nearly 1,100 entries from around the world, with entries judged by top executives from all sectors of the industry.
HSMAI’s Gold Award honors the Cape May County Department of Tourism, under the direction of Diane Wieland, director of tourism, for a marketing campaign celebrating more than 40 years of patronage by the French Canadians to Cape May County.
“The multi-layered campaign targeting the loyal French Canadian traveling public was implemented largely through a public relations strategy saving thousands of dollars in the department’s budget and resulting in significant proceeds at the cash registers as reported by businesses throughout the county,” Wieland said.
The winning marketing campaign featured the “Passport to Savings” coupon booklet designed to entice French Canadian travelers to vacation in Cape May County by offering hundreds of dollars in savings. The coupon booklet was distributed in several ways including the Canadian Automobile Association (CAA) offices located throughout the Province of Quebec. Agents in all the CAA offices across the French Canadian province offered the coupon booklet to customers with every TripTik prepared for travelers vacationing in Cape May County. Thousands of attendees at the Montreal Sportsman show also received the coupon booklet at the Cape May County booth in February 2010.
Print advertisements embossed with the “Passport to Savings” logo ran in French news publications such as “CAA Touring Magazine,” “La Presse,” “Le Soleil” and the “Westmont Examiner” newspaper group as well as on radio stations located in Montreal.
Locally, a campaign featured a French-language commercial on WCZT 98.7FM and FUN 106.7FM and signage on tram cars in the Wildwoods thanking the French Canadian visitors for 40 years of loyalty to Cape May County.
Nicolle Dufour, public relations consultant for the department of tourism in Canada, worked with more than 100 media outlets to generate interest among Canadian journalists. During the 2010 summer season, six French Canadian journalists trekked to Cape May County to cover the story firsthand resulting in thousands of dollars in publicity for the resort. Also, stories about the “Passport to Savings” program were published in many regional and International news outlets via the Associated Press and the Canadian Newswire.
“We are so excited that Cape May County will be honored among this country’s top-billing metropolitan marketing, PR and advertising agencies for an idea developed in a governmental setting,” said Len Desiderio, freeholder liaison to Cape May County Department of Tourism.
HSMAI will pay tribute to the Cape May County Department of Tourism during its annual awards gala, a black-tie affair attended by more than 1,000 hospitality, travel and tourism marketing executives, on Jan. 31, 2011 at the New York Marriott Marquis. All winning entries will be accessible in the Adrian Awards winners gallery online following the gala at www.adrianawards.com.
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