HVCB LAUNCHES MONTH-LONG SEATTLE CAMPAIGN TO BOOST WINTER/SPRING TRAVEL
10/02/2009
— October Campaign Includes Portland and Vancouver —
HONOLULU — On October 1, the Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau (HVCB), with the support, guidance and funding of the Hawaii Tourism Authority (HTA), launched an intensive month-long integrated marketing campaign in Seattle, with offshoots in Portland and Vancouver, to boost winter and spring travel to Hawaii from the Pacific Northwest.
Under the theme Hawaii: A Thousand Reasons to Smile, the marketing offensive is the third in a series of hard-hitting blitzes this year to stimulate short and long-term bookings from major West Coast markets.
“These blitzes are an adjunct to our year-round marketing presence in these key source cities,” said John Monahan, HVCB’s president and CEO. “As we did in San Francisco, and more recently in Los Angeles, we are turning up the volume for a month of intensive activity to dominate travel messaging at a time when people are thinking about winter vacation plans.”
HVCB centered the campaign in Seattle because it provides the third largest source of visitors to Hawaii and remains comparatively strong in terms of employment and its economy. “Our campaign will give people that extra nudge to book a Hawaii trip,” said Monahan. “Hawaii has made itself very affordable, there’s ample airline lift from the area, and people who have been holding off travel are starting to take vacations again.”
“We have asked HVCB, along with our other marketing partners, to be more effective and efficient and to look for innovative opportunities to market Hawai’i in this changing world,” said Mike McCartney, president and CEO of HTA. “The HVCB major market intensifications are an example of this innovation. We saw immediate results following the San Francisco and Los Angeles blitzes with an increase in arrivals from U.S. West and we are optimistic that this trend will continue with our team blitzing the Pacific Northwest, a high-potential market for Hawaii.”
Joined by HVCB’s Island Chapters, members of Hawaii’s travel industry, and Island Mayors Bernard Carvalho, Mufi Hannemann and Charmaine Tavares, the campaign is designed to elevate Hawaii’s position as America’s favorite tropical destination for romance, outdoor recreation, relaxation, and family fun — while showing how affordable it is to visit the Islands right now.
Seattle area residents will learn about Hawaii’s multitude of charms via integrated media and consumer events, online marketing, advertising and public relations initiatives coordinated by HVCB, its Island Chapters, and various travel partners.
To help keep the promotion fresh throughout the month, each week will focus on an island and accompanying theme that reflects its destination appeal, as follows:
October 4-10 Hawaii’s Big Island — Unlimited Adventure
October 11-17 Maui — Everything Under the Sun
October 18-24 Kauai — 50 Years of Movies
October 25-31 Oahu — Town & Country
SEATTLE INITIATIVES
The multifaceted month-long campaign will present Hawaii’s unique attributes that make it one of the world’s most exotic destinations — for cuisine, music, culture, and its people — through print, broadcast, and online advertising, social networking, music concerts at The Triple Door’s popular Musicquarium Lounge featuring Hawaii’s top entertainers, and educational lectures at R.E.I’s flagship store featuring outdoor enthusiasts from across the state sharing insights on the soft adventure pursuits that await travelers to the Hawaiian Islands.
HVCB will launch its presence in this vital market with a media event on October 1 gathering more than 20 online and traditional media to share destination messaging and further bolster travel to Hawaii. HVCB and its Island Chapters, along with Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann, will host the engaging hands-on culinary event and reception at Blue Ribbon Cooking featuring Ed Kenney, chef/owner of Town and Downtown restaurants on Oahu and Gary Maunakea-Forth, managing director of Mao Organic Farms. The purpose of the event is to inform the Seattle-based media of HVCB’s October initiatives, while highlighting Hawaii’s growing farm-to-table movement featuring local products and produce. The events will also feature local beverages from Kona Brewing Company, Ocean Vodka, and Hawaiian Springs.
Throughout October, Seattle-based travel bloggers will also be visiting Hawaii to experience the islands first-hand. Stories of their travels here will be shared with readers on their blogs, as well as HVCB’s new SoMuchMoreHawaii.com blog site, which will be the campaign’s primary landing page where travelers can find rich destination content from a local or mainland blogger’s point of view, information about Hawaii events in the Seattle area, and current travel deals from various wholesalers. The blog also features Hawaii’s new Internet radio channel on Pandora where listeners can enjoy an exclusive selection of Hawaiian music on their computers or mobile devices. Additionally, HVCB will utilize its social networking presence on Facebook(Facebook.com/Hawaii) and Twitter (Twitter.com/SharingAloha) to stay connected with consumers throughout the month.
To help convert business to Hawaii, HVCB’s Travel Trade team is leading the industry effort to keep the islands top-of-mind among Seattle’s travel agent and wholesaler communities. This includes sales calls, agent training seminars with key suppliers, e-marketing initiatives, and webinars. The travel trade program continues with a “Lei Day” event at Colman Dock on October 2 from 4:30-7:30 p.m. with the first 2,000 commuters receiving a fresh flower lei. Live Hawaiian entertainment will be provided by former Miss Aloha Hula Malia Peterson and Kawailanamalie Productions.
Additionally, HVCB, its Island Chapters, and travel wholesaler partners will provide “Hawaii Concierge” services to passengers aboard the Wenatchee Ferry every Friday throughout the month (Oct. 2, 9, 16, 23, and 30) from 4:30-7:30 p.m. to provide destination information and answer any questions about Hawaii for the thousands of passengers that commute on the ferry each day.
Free Hawaii Concerts at The Triple Door — Saturdays, October 3, 10, 17, and 24
Hawaii’s most popular entertainers will take the stage at The Triple Door’s Musicquarium Lounge (216 Union Street/Phone: 206-838-4333) from 5-7 p.m. the first four Saturdays of October to share the unique sounds of the islands with Seattle’s music lovers. These free events are open to the public (21 years and older) and feature:
October 3 — Brother Noland — A contemporary Hawaiian music pioneer who plays Jawaiian, traditional Hawaiian music, slack key, and Hawaiian swing. Also well-known for his hit song “Coconut Girl.”
October 10 — Willie K — An award-winning and engaging, GRAMMY nominee whose music is inspired from Hawaiian, Jazz and early R&B.
October 17 — Maunalua — A formidable force in the Hawaiian music scene, the award-winning group recently performed at the inaugural White House Luau for Hawaii local and U.S. President Barack Obama.
October 24 — Makana — Internationally rising star, he is Hawaii’s youngest slack-key guitar player and was recently voted as one of the top three guitarists in America.
Free Hawaii Outdoor Adventure Series at R.E.I. — Wednesdays, October 7, 14, 21, 28
The Islands of Hawaii and Outside Magazine present a weekly speaker series focused on Hawaii’s diverse outdoor adventures at R.E.I.‘s flagship Seattle store (222 Yale Ave. N / Phone: 206-223-1944) from 6-9 p.m. every Wednesdays in October. Hawaii’s most interesting and knowledgeable outdoor enthusiasts will share their unique and inspiring stories that bring the Hawaiian Islands to life in ways only they can describe them.
Guests will enjoy complimentary Hawaii-inspired appetizers and refreshments as they discover more about the off-the-beaten-track side of Hawaii from:
October 7 — Warren Costa, Native Guide Hawaii, will talk about Hawaii’s volcanoes and hiking on Hawaii’s Big Island.
October 14 — Blake Moore, Pacific Whale Foundation, shares colorful stories about whale watching on Maui.
October 21 — Joshua Comstock, Na Pali Kayak, talks about the endless amount of outdoor recreation on Kauai.
October 28 — Todd Bradley, C4 Waterman, and Archie Kalepa, extreme waterman, focus on the popularity and exhilaration of standup paddling and surfing on Oahu.
So Much More Hawaii Fun Around Seattle
The Hawaii fun continues with HVCB’s Island Chapters coordinating more than a dozen free events taking place at Bainbridge Terminal, Bellevue Square, Colman Dock, Hawaii General Store, Westlake Center, and aboard the Wenatchee Ferry. Seattleites will be treated to music and hula, freshly brewed coffee from the Hawaiian Islands, and a taste of local Hawaii products as they enjoy and participate in the various events throughout the month. For the most complete and updated calendar of events, visit GoHawaii.com/Fun.
PR Initiatives Continue to Portland and Vancouver
HVCB’s public relations team, with the support of Maui County Mayor Charmaine Tavares, the Island Chapters, other industry partners, will continue its efforts into the Pacific Northwest with culinary media events in Portland (Oct. 5) and Vancouver (Oct. 7). Similar to the event in Seattle, a select group of media in each city will participate in hands-on cooking demonstrations and receptions to learn “what’s new” in the Hawaiian Islands.
In Portland, Olelo paa Faith Ogawa, chef/owner of Glow Hawaii, will be the featured chef at In Good Taste — Lake Oswego, while Neil Murphy, corporate chef of Merriman’s Restaurant, will take the lead in Vancouver at the Pacific Institute of Culinary Arts. These events will also highlight local products and produce and feature local beverages from Kona Brewing Company, Ocean Vodka, and Hawaiian Springs.
“HVCB, its Island Chapters, HTA, and the Hawaii travel industry have teamed up once again to put together a very solid campaign that’s targeted and will resonate with the Seattle traveler,” Monahan said. “Seattleites have a strong affinity for our islands, especially during their cold winter months, so we’re confident our efforts will convince them to return soon or visit for the first time.”
For the Seattle Calendar of Events, please click mailcenter.newmediagateway.com/hawaii/dsc/collateral/HVCB_PNW_COE.pdf.
For more information about Hawaii, the Islands of Aloha, visit www.somuchmorehawaii.com/?cid=ext_pr&utm_source=redirect&utm_medium=pr&utm_campaign=fall
