By James Lomuscio
The Mystic Aquarium is featured in one ad. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Contributed photo
One print ad shows a young girl cheek-to-cheek with a whale at the Mystic Aquarium. The caption “When was your last mystical experience?” It is followed by a slogan “Connecticut: still revolutionary” and an invitation to go to CTvisit.com.
Another print ad depicts a happy couple near the New London lighthouse. It states, “Let our history rekindle yours,” followed by the same “Connecticut: still revolutionary” slogan.
The catchphrase—the Nutmeg State’s answer to “I Love New York”—is the brainchild of Westporter Tony Kobylinski’s New York City ad firm Chowder, Inc. His firm won the the creative bid for Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s $22 million state marketing campaign to promote tourism and Connecticut as the place to do business. (See WestportNow Jan. 25, 2012)
Kobylinski, an art director, said the slogan was created by his company’s co-creative director, writer Jim Ritterhoff. Part of their challenge was to educate people who know little about Connecticut including, according to their focus groups, that it has a coastline.
In addition to creating print and television ads, as well as a variety of still ads in Grand Central Terminal and Penn Station, Kobylinski’s firm gathered information for the state Department of Economic and Consumer Development’s (DECD) website CTvisit.com. It has has been up since Memorial Day.
Stairs at Grand Central Terminal promote Connecticut. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Contributed photo
Not stopping there, the DECD announced Wednesday the formation of the Connecticut Convention and Sports Bureau (CTCSB). Its job will be to market the state as a place to hold meetings, conventions and sporting events. It is headed by Michael Van Parys of Norwalk.
“We’re thrilled with it, and we’re getting some real positive responses,” Kobylinski said of the ad campaign and ctvisit.com website. “People see the breadth of the state.”
“We can say that we’ve already driven a bit over 60,000 people to the (ctvisit.com) homepage,” he added. “Additionally, almost 12,000 visits each to the 52 Getaways and This Weekend pages.”
Kobylinski admits that while Fairfield County’s attractions, including the Westport Country Playhouse, are mentioned on the site, his firm focused primarily on the eastern seashore and time-honored state attractions.
A two-minute promotional video on YouTube – with 30-second versions for television —for example, features UConn student Dineille Glaze singing a song commissioned for the campaign, “Better With You,” accompanied by the Hartford Symphony Orchestra.
Travelers at Penn Station in Manhattan can’t miss the Connecticut promotion. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Contributed photo
The elaborately produced video opens with her singing with the orchestra followed by panoramic flashes that showcase the Essex steam locomotive, Gillette’s Castle, Goodspeed Opera House, Foxwoods, Mystic’s tall ships and Hammonasset Beach.
“Just as it has for centuries, Connecticut remains the home of original ideas and fresh thinking,” Kobylinski said.
“A magnet for dreamers and doers, the state blends the old and historic with the young and energetic to create an inspiring dynamic — one that motivates people to experience new things, defy convention and blaze their own trails.”
He said the challenge was to discover Connecticut’s DNA.
“We did extensive research across the state, quantitative and qualitative research,” he said.
“We spoke to over 1,500 residents in the state as well as outside the state in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts. One of our biggest challenges and also an opportunity was that people have no strong images or impressions about the state.
“Some of the things people were coming back with things like they knew there were a lot of stone walls, and a lot of people didn’t realize there was a coastline. So that was one of the things we really featured.”
The fall campaign underway highlights Litchfield County’s white Colonial church spires, Cornwall’s covered bridge, antique shops and apple picking, he said.
Another sign at Penn Station. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Contributed photo
But that does not mean that Fairfield County will be getting short shrift, he stressed.
“I heard that Westport’s getting a bunch of new restaurants, and I’ll definitely be looking to put it out there,” he said, adding that its arts history and the Westport Arts Center are also key state attractions.
He also said, upon learning that Sherwood Island State Park in Westport is Connecticut’s first state park, that it deserves to be highlighted.
Promoting Fairfield County is something that Floyd Lapp, president of the Stamford-based South Western Regional Planning Agency (SWRPA), would like to see, adding that he looks forward to meeting with the CTCSB.
“We look forward to the newly created Convention and Sports Bureau spawning many more tourism opportunities, specifically for the southwestern region and Fairfield County in general,” he said.
About the region not commanding center stage in the DECD’s initial campaign, he conceded, “they’re playing catch up.”
Kobylinski said that in the meantime Westport and area residents should view it as an opportunity to discover their state.
“We also want people in Fairfield County to go out and explore other parts of the state,” he said.
“The target is really to get people like myself to get out there, to get people out of their comfort zones, to get people out of Westport because we have everything here. It’s a comfort zone.”
