Albuquerque Tourism And Airport Officials Tap Into Solar power To Attract Visitors

April 15, 2014
The Albuquerque International Sunport and Albuquerque Convention & Visitors Bureau are collaborating on a $1 million advertising campaign that touts the city's bright skies in four markets with nonstop flights into Albuquerque: Seattle, Portland, Ore., Kansas City and Chicago

April 15--Albuquerque tourism and airport officials are betting big on the power of the sun.

The Albuquerque International Sunport and Albuquerque Convention & Visitors Bureau are collaborating on a $1 million advertising campaign that touts the city's bright skies in four markets with nonstop flights into Albuquerque: Seattle, Portland, Ore., Kansas City and Chicago. The six-month effort, dubbed "Fly to Sunshine," runs through midsummer with ads predominantly running online and on billboards.

The campaign marks the first time the Sunport and ACVB have cooperated on an advertising campaign. They are splitting the costs evenly. A Sunport spokesman says the airport's $500,000 share makes this the largest campaign in the facility's history.

"Fly to Sunshine" comes after several years of declining passenger traffic at the airport, though spokesman Dan Jiron said those losses weren't the only impetus. He said the Sunport and ACVB for years had discussed a joint campaign to better leverage their advertising dollars in markets they both want to reach.

"Our goal is one and the same: To get people into Albuquerque and into New Mexico," he said. "A lot of those people are going to travel by air, so it really does make sense to collaborate on those things."

The Sunport hasn't traditionally advertised much, largely because of Federal Aviation Administration guidelines. Airports that receive any FAA funding can spend only on ads that somehow promote the facility but not the general destination, Jiron said. Since Albuquerque has just one airport, "we've never really had to" advertise the airport specifically, Jiron said. Most of the Sunport's marketing dollars instead go to promoting flights, like last year's new Jet Blue service between the Sunport and New York.

Jiron said Sunport attorneys examined the "Fly to Sunshine" campaign to ensure it doesn't run afoul of FAA guidelines since partnering with a destination marketing group like ACVB is still somewhat uncommon.

"I'd say we are a little bit on the cutting edge of doing this," he said. "There have been others (airports) that have done it, but I think doing it to this degree with the ACVB, I think we're one of the front-runners."

Both local and state tourism organizations long focused their advertising efforts more regionally, targeting the so-called "drive markets." But the ACVB has extended its reach in the last decade, said Tania Armenta, vice president of marketing, communications and tourism. The state has been looking a little farther too, launching a larger push into Chicago last year.

Armenta said research shows about 24 percent of Albuquerque's 6 million annual overnight visitors arrive by air.

"The fly market is critically important to build ... Albuquerque and New Mexico's tourism base," she said.

She said the ACVB and the Sunport concentrated "Fly to Sunshine" in areas they thought they could increase demand for existing flights to Albuquerque.

The "sunshine" creative focus -- developed in collaboration with the McKee Wallwork agency -- was picked because weather is often a key motivator for travel to Albuquerque, especially for people who live in comparatively gloomier or cooler cities.

"That's something you're seeking -- you're seeking sunshine and a different climate than what you're experiencing," she said.

There is also a side effort to include New York with a few email blasts, social media and public-relations activities.

The campaign, launched in late January, is already responsible for nearly 14 million impressions, Armenta said, and 37,000 website clicks.

Copyright 2014 - Albuquerque Journal, N.M.