Panhandle tourism campaign to blanket Florida

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To help Florida’s Panhandle communities continue to recover from the impact of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, the Florida League of Cities unveiled the “Fall in Love With Northwest Florida” campaign, encouraging Floridians to plan mini-vacations to the beaches of the Florida Panhandle. It’s pretty much a spot buy bonanza. Florida League of Cities spokesperson Janelle Pepe tells RBR-TVBR the effort will run on a 24 hour ROS.  Distribution will consist of approximately 5,277 runs in the nine cable areas of dominant influence in Florida over a period from December 20, 2010 through June 20, 2011. In addition, “Most of the spots we are receiving are for free. They’re [Florida Cable Telecommunications Association] giving us four spots for every one that we’ve purchased,” she tells us.


The 30-second and 60-second spots feature picturesque views of sandy white dunes, family-friendly spots, sprawling piers, shopping venues and bustling seafood restaurants.

Mayors of cities located in Northwest Florida participated in the campaign to reinvigorate the economy and tourism in the area. Mayor Gale Oberst of Panama City Beach, Mayor Mike Anderson of Ft. Walton Beach and Mayor Sam Seevers of Destin appear in the commercial to reassure potential visitors that the beaches are beautiful and rid of any symptoms from this past summer’s oil spill disaster.

“Northwest Florida is open for business,” said Anderson. “We invite visitors from across the state of Florida and from all over the nation to come and enjoy our pristine beaches.”

In the aftermath of the BP Deepwater Horizon spill, Northwest Florida’s tourism revenue fell. In fact, in July alone, at the height of its tourism season, there was a 21% decrease in the bed tax from July of last year.

The Florida League of Cities worked in collaboration with the Florida Cable Telecommunications Association to broadcast the commercials across the state of Florida, from the Panhandle to the Keys.

See the spots here