THE Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB) has completed arrangements for winter advertising, sales and promotional activities over the next six weeks.This follows its Solidarity and Blessings campaigns which aired in the United States market from September to December 2 last year, crafted to compensate for the fallout in the industry following September 11. The JTB's new advertising campaign, speaks to a time for New Beginnings to coincide with the start of the New Year, says Director of Tourism, Fay Pickersgill.
"This campaign seeks to build on the goodwill for and awareness of the destination achieved during advertising in the weeks following September 11 and, with other important elements of our winter programme, is aimed at accelerating the easing in decline of arrivals which we have seen between November and December 2001," says Mrs. Pickersgill.
Following the September 11 attacks in the U.S., Jamaica suffered a 20 per cent decline in arrivals in September and a 20.7 per cent decline in October.
Some improvement in the flow of visitors to the island was recorded with November recording a 14.9 per cent decline compared to the same period in 2000. Preliminary figures for December 2001 show a decline of 11.7 per cent compared to the previous year.
Television advertising will take place from January 7 to February 16 in Jamaica's key gateway markets, including: New York, Boston, Baltimore, Washington D.C., Philadelphia, Houston, Atlanta and Chicago. The national cable networks on which advertising will appear are: CNN, FOX news, BET, TNT, E! TBS, USA, VH-1, Food Network and Lifetime.
Advertising for the island will take place in such programmes as the Michael Jackson 30th Anniversary Encore, Who Wants to be a Millionaire, 20/20, David Letterman, Friends, the Stellar Gospel Awards, Saturday Night Live, the American Music Awards, Wheel of Fortune, Entertain-ment Tonight, Hollywood Squares, Oprah, Jeopardy, West Wing, X Files and the Wheel of Fortune. A significant amount of programming will also specifically target the African American audience, most with multiple frequency.
Popular morning shows, weather updates, world and local news are also slated for Jamaican advertising spots over the next few weeks. In addition, sports programmes such as the AFC Championships in Chicago, Ravens Football in Baltimore and Golf in Baltimore are included in this advertising campaign. The JTB will also be advertising in the United Kingdom with spots scheduled from January 12 to the end of February in London and the south of England. Advertising will resume from mid-March to mid-April in the Midlands and North of England which will work to support the introduction of Air Jamaica flights out of Manchester as well as flights to the island by Airtours.
Of particular interest this winter in the United Kingdom is a two-month poster promotion for the island currently taking place on some 300 platforms in the London underground.
Print advertising in the United Kingdom began with the start of the winter season on December 15 and will continue to the beginning of April while February and March will see substantial newspaper and magazine advertising for Jamaica in Italy and Germany.
Hard advertising for the destination this winter is being supported by sales, promotional and public relations activities in markets on both sides of the Atlantic.
The JTB's sales activities and use of familiarisation tours in targeting travel agents accord with a sales survey conducted by NBC on likely travel patterns in 2002. This cites even 'Web savvy' consumers as being more likely to refer to travel agents in making travel plans since September 11.
The programme for the winter also has substantial focus on press trips to the island for travel writers representing large circulation publications and television stations in key markets.
Promotional activities for the season include the highly successful television remote series in the U.S. which continued on January 2 with Dule Hill of West Wing fame endorsing Jamaica from the Round Hill hotel live on some 22 stations. Actress Jane Seymour will participate in a similar exercise from the Ritz Carlton on January 11.
Later in the month, the JTB undertakes a promotion with Henri Bendel, one of New York's most fashionable Fifth Avenue department stores. This storewide event will feature Jamaican designer clothing, entertainment, artisans and cuisine with selected Jamaican specialty items on sale.
The promotion takes place in conjunction with the New York magazine. This, says Mrs. Pickersgill, is a part of the JTB's plans for 'Restoration of the Winter Mystique' as it relates to vacations in Jamaica at this time of year.
Other major events in the coming weeks include the Jamaica Jazz and Blues Festival scheduled for February 7 to 10 in Montego Bay to be covered by a multistation radio remote with some 115 stations across the U.S. including two ABC radio network programmes.
A reggae festival at the Universal City Walk in Orlando will mark Bob Marley's birthday celebrations in February while other major events over the period include the first Gospel Spring Festival which has attracted strong interest from Gospel stations across the U.S.
The island can also look forward to the positive impact of celebrity visits from top UK model turned photographer Helena Christensen whose week-long tour of the island this month will provide photographs for her first exhibition as well as birthday celebrations by ABC-TV's Star Jones of The View which takes place in Jamaica over four days in March.
