OHIO With 'So Much To Discover' slogan, officials kick off tourism campaign

The state's new visitors guide promotes lesser-known attractions.
COLUMBUS (AP) -- Sure, Ohio has roller coasters, brilliant fall color and historical outdoor dramas. But how many potential travelers know about the stuffed albino animals?
Lima entrepreneur James Grosjean -- a taxidermist, undertaker and shoemaker -- assembled the collection of nearly 50 species more than a century ago. Now at the Allen County Museum, it's one of the "unusual" offerings in the state's new visitors guide, which encourages travelers to tarry on the road to more familiar sights.
"We have a lot of other things here that are well worth the trip to see," such as Grosjean's narrated, musical, mechanical Noah's Ark, museum director Pat Smith said. She said she appreciated the state's help.
Travel officials statewide welcomed the state's rollout Thursday of a $1.8 million campaign that reinterprets the 3-year-old "So Much To Discover" slogan to emphasize experiences and emotions over destinations.
On the Internet, too
Besides new television and print ads and Ohio celebrities in radio spots, Ohio for the first time is advertising on Internet sites such as mapquest.com and travelocity.com, said Claudia Vecchio, travel and tourism director.
The state effort adds power to private and regional promotions, said Julie Calvert, vice president of the Greater Cincinnati Convention and Visitors Bureau.
"We're looking at it as a comprehensive overhaul to what the state's done before," she said. "This one has a lot more energy, a lot more relevance."
Ohio is the eighth most visited state but doesn't make the top 10 for traveler spending, according to the Travel Industry Association of America.
The state had more than 158 million visits last year, with travelers spending $28 billion, said Bruce Johnson, director of the Department of Development. The visit numbers, which include repeat trips by the same person, increased by 3 million from 2001 and brought the state back to levels before the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks that caused tourism to drop nationwide.
Television ads are on a split screen, with the top showing scenes such as the Dayton Air Show and city skylines while the bottom portrays orange-shaded montages such as children waving sparklers and a couple enjoying a glass of Ohio wine.
A little help from natives
Radio spots include Ohio-raised celebrities, who also will provide recorded greetings on the state's tourism hot line, (800) BUCKEYE.
Singer Nick Lachey fondly remembers eating Skyline chili and going to Cincinnati Reds games. Television star Patricia Heaton is nostalgic about Cleveland sports and fall colors in Amish country. Ohio State football coach Jim Tressel recalls visiting historical sites with his mother, who quizzed the family on state history at the dinner table.
Columbus-based Fahlgren Inc. created the ads and runs public relations for the campaign. The print and broadcast ads cost $282,000 to produce. Distribution costs $1.5 million, including air time in Ohio and five states, magazine ad space, Internet promotion and printed bags to hold home-delivered newspapers.
Hotel stays and visitor center traffic are up in Columbus since the city followed a similar advertising strategy a year ago, said Kari Kauffman, tourism director at Experience Columbus.
"We're thrilled the state's doing the same thing," she said. "It'll be beneficial for the entire industry, regardless of whether you see specific images from your city or your attraction."
Packing more into a trip
Travelers today don't just want one destination for a trip, and marketing must reflect that, said Patty Hubbard, a vice president with the Travel Industry Association.
When a family plans to go to Cedar Point amusement park, she said, "they want to see what Sandusky's like, they want a hotel that might not be a standardized hotel, they want to eat in restaurants that are unique to that area."
Regional tourism groups already have jumped on the concept. The Ohio Wine Producers Association promotes "wine trails" that include scenic drives, bed and breakfasts, restaurants and museums with stops at wineries statewide.
"That's a terrific strategy," said Dennis Roche, president of the Convention & amp; Visitors Bureau of Greater Cleveland. "We have a very long list of venues and attractions you can blend together in lots of varieties."
Before, the Hocking Hills Tourism Association could afford to advertise only in Ohio, but now it can "piggyback" the state's campaign by advertising in magazines in Pennsylvania and Michigan, executive director Randie Adam said.
"We're noticing a real spike in visitors from those areas," she said.