visit florida tv commercial

The Official Corporate Blog for VISIT FLORIDA

Sunshine Matters

Visit florida’s new ad campaign celebrates the power of stories.

The first television commercial, which will air in Detroit during Sunday’s Grammy Awards show, lands the viewer in the afterglow of an epic Florida family vacation.  In the months ahead – via TV, cinema, radio and print, as well as jumbotrons, subway station takeovers, commuter train wraps and even an interactive online game – ‘Must Be the Sunshine’ will remind people why Florida vacations make great stories.

“Unlike other destinations, we don’t have to invent the narratives,” said Susannah Costello, VISIT FLORIDA Vice President of Brand.  “People are telling great Florida vacation stories all the time.  This campaign capitalizes on that insight.”

The message has inspired some major participants.  Several of Florida’s heavyweights – Disney, Universal, SeaWorld and Busch Gardens, along with the Viva Florida 500 initiative, Florida State Parks and many other key tourism businesses – are all partnering together for the first time in the same TV ad.  Besides Sunday in Detroit, the commercial will play in Atlanta, New York, Chicago, Boston, Washington, D.C., Philadelphia and Dallas on such programs as the Today Show , Good Morning America , American Idol and The Big Bang Theory .

The brand launch is the first major product of VISIT FLORIDA’s creative relationship with Miami’s SapientNitro.  Hired in December 2011 for its digital marketing prowess with such brands as Coca-Cola and Nike, Sapient traveled the state to report on visitors’ vacation inspirations and turned that research into advertising that is rich in color and personal experiences.

In the past 18 months, VISIT FLORIDA has hired two longtime editors from nationally recognized Florida newspapers to lead a content bureau.  Now, a statewide network of 70-plus veteran journalists is writing, filming and photographing stories of Florida – more than 500 to date in English and Spanish.  This content pipeline feeds VISITFLORIDA.com and is available for distribution.  Some of the national media republishing VISIT FLORIDA journalism are the Tampa Bay Times , the Philadelphia newspapers and the Huffington Post .

VISIT FLORIDA’s reimagined brand and the soon-to-come redesigned website are all part of a strategic vision that celebrates the experiences of Florida’s nearly 90 million annual visitors.

To see the television ad, as well as other elements of the ‘Must Be the Sunshine’ campaign , please check out our landing page.  And please click here to read a release the Governor’s Press Office sent to media earlier today at the conclusion of the Governor’s Luncheon kicking off the Florida State Fair, where he unveiled the campaign’s first TV spot to a very enthusiastic crowd.

Category: Uncategorized | Tags: Florida vacation experience , Must Be the Sunshine , Susannah Costello , VISIT FLORIDA , VISITFLORIDA.com , Viva Florida 500 | Comment »

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State launches tourism ad campaign to encourage florida visitors during winter.

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Florida is getting back to nature to lure you and the rest of the state to explore trails, and not just on land.

It's part of a new $5 million on-air and online ad campaign funded by the State Legislature to not only attract Floridians, but those across the nation between now and spring, to bike, hike or take to the water in Florida's great outdoors, on 15,000 miles of trails.

“It became very clear that people, Floridians and people outside the state don't understand the vast network of trails that we have,” said Visit Florida CEO Dana Young.

“It was a perfect opportunity for some funding to be set aside for Visit Florida to educate travelers about the vast opportunities that we have in nature, in Florida,” Young said.

Visit Florida's online "trails hub" also links you to videos featuring local trails like the one in DeBary, where the Coast to Coast Trail, the St. Johns River to Sea Loop, and the Heart of Florida Loop all meet.

The campaign recalls the popularity of outdoor destinations during the COVID-19 pandemic when hotels and attractions along International Drive were idle, and focusing on beaches and parks helped the industry rebound.

That's why Visit Florida is investing another $3 million in a winter ad campaign running nationally called "refresh families" aimed at driving families to Florida during the cold months and to plan summer vacations.

“We saw how bad it can be during the early stages of the pandemic when people were not traveling and so many people were not working. Now, we are dominating tourism in the U.S. and globally, and we are there to support the industry at Visit Florida,” Young added, saying the new campaign is vital to keeping the half million central Florida tourism workers on the job.

The winter ad campaign for Visit Florida runs through January.

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Florida Tourism Produces Original Amazon Prime Series as Marketing Goes Hollywood

Lebawit Lily Girma, Skift

May 17th, 2021 at 8:30 AM EDT

Florida's tourism marketers are going the extra mile to beat the competition this summer: co-producing and launching an original series set in St. Pete-Clearwater and launching on Amazon Prime Video. It's a whole new tourism marketing frontier. Action!

When travel and the world shut down in 2020, digital consumption accelerated at a global level — platforms such as Netflix and Disney+ experienced up to 12 percent in growth in 2020 , and internet usage spiked as much as 70 percent . It’s no surprise that the lines between work and home blurring even further drove viewership and subscriptions even higher.

Coupled with an anticipated boom in backyard summer travel around the corner,  two of Florida’s destination marketing organizations (DMOs) saw an opportunity in this streaming bonanza, taking an innovative tourism marketing approach to reach Americans just as they start booking post-vaccine trips.

Instead of streaming just ads, Visit Florida and Visit St. Pete-Clearwater  scripted and co-produced an original series launched this month and streaming on Amazon Prime Video, as well as on YouTube and GoUSA TV.

“ Life’s Rewards ” is a dramedy set entirely in St. Pete. Eight-episodes at 10-15 minutes each tell the story of Dan Kinney, a privileged Floridian corporate executive whose luck runs out when a major deal falls through while on a business trip to St. Pete.

Fired from his father’s company and his bank accounts frozen, Dan ends up using his millions of hotel points to hole up at the historic Don CeSar Hotel or the “Pink Palace” on St. Pete beach for an extended stay. As he runs out of cash, he builds new friendships with locals he might never have interacted with otherwise.

Visit Florida and St. Pete-Clearwater each funded $275,000 for this project, sourced from the marketing budget and bed taxes respectively. The series was filmed and co-produced by Sarasota-based Odyssey – the Studio at Miles Partnership .

“What makes this stand out, compared to how we as a DMO or a film commission would typically work with a production, is that the story line is on the destination itself,” said Steve Hayes, CEO of Visit St. Pete-Clearwater. “Therefore, when they are talking about going someplace, it’s an actual real place. When they’re talking about the Don CeSar, it is the Don, they didn’t make up another hotel name, or Tarpon Springs, it’s a real city and community.”

There’s no hint in the series that it doubles as a marketing campaign — a couple of episodes in, the quirky storyline develops and turns it into a binge-worthy watch that takes viewers across popular sights and local restaurants in the St. Pete-Clearwater area.

“Why it happened right now, and why we kind of pushed for it right now is the pandemic: people were spending a lot of time in front of their streaming devices,” said Staci Mellman, chief marketing officer at Visit Florida.

“We are solely focused on Florida’s recovery as a tourism destination, our economy is dependent on it, so we’re going to use every single tool in our toolbox.”

It’s a clever, direct blurring of lines between tourism marketing, film entertainment and streaming, showcasing the destination to consumers in their favorite devices at a time when travel is restarting in the U.S., all while creating a new role for DMOs.

Success Metrics for A DMO-Produced Series Is Virgin Territory

Unlike most states during the pandemic, Florida has been reaping the rewards of having beaches and coastlines as well as relaxed Covid restrictions which allowed for an earlier reopening last summer.

“In mid March of this year, our occupancy was equal to or greater than 2019, which was a banner year for us,” Visit St. Pete-Clearwater’s Hayes said. “In March, our tourist development tax revenues exceeded our totals for March 2019. I’m not even comparing 2020. In talking with restaurants to attractions to even lodging, most of them for March and April exceeded 2019 levels.”

Hayes is nevertheless staying cautiously optimistic, in spite of signs that Memorial Day this year will be more robust than 2019.

Rolling out an Amazon Prime series is only likely to boost that pent up demand — and the DMOs are figuring out how to measure that success.

“I think the big measure is going to be number of downloads and people watching, and the other element to it is, if there is enough of this… it ends on a cliffhanger and so does that lead itself to season two?”

Mellman said this was virgin territory and difficult to know what would be a reasonable success metric for this series project. “The Florida Keys did a survey after the first season of Bloodline came out and that had a big impact on them — the impact was about $65 million of incremental visits, and that again was on a streaming platform, that wasn’t in a post-Covid world.”

“I want the visibility, I want people to talk,” Hayes said. “This is our unique way to do that and hopefully that has us out on the cutting edge of a new way to tell our story.”

For now, Visit Florida and Visit St. Pete-Clearwater are celebrating an early win — the”Best Breakthrough Streaming Series” award at the 2021 Sunscreen Film Festival earlier this month.

a DIRECT Role for Tourism in Film Beyond Ancillary Benefits

Ancillary benefits from this project included at least 40 local talent hires, a significant number at time of tourism downturn, in addition to supporting a local production company and 250-275 room nights for the St. Pete-Clearwater area.

But Mellman said the project is just starting and a lot of additional benefits will follow, noting the reality of film induced tourism and people traveling after being inspired by locations on their screens, from Game of Thrones to Sex and the City.

“We as a destination shouldn’t necessarily just experience the accidental positive impact of this film induced tourism, we can actually take a stand and create it for ourselves,” Mellman said. “That is the hope of this project.”

So far, the Don CeSar has launched a “ Life’s Rewards package ” offering $250 recreation credit and a daily $150 food and beverage credit for a minimum two-night luxury stay “in a Dan-approved suite.

A New Horizon: Feature Film Production

As the series’ closing credits roll, Hayes and Mellman’s names appear under the producer list, without a direct mention of their roles at Visit St. Pete-Clearwater or Visit Florida.

Visit St. Pete-Clearwater plans to continue on this new, direct path where tourism marketing blends into film storytelling by co-producing a full feature $1 million “Hallmark” style film with a local production company.

“We’re working directly with the producer,” Hayes said. “It was something we already had in mind and actually we were already starting that process as we were finding out what Visit Florida was doing. We would work with the production company to shop it, and where it could be broadcast, whether it’s on Netflix, Amazon, or actually joined up on TV.” That project is likely to move forward in the Fall.

Mellman hopes Visit Florida has more brave partners like Visit St. Pete-Clearwater in the future who will invest after they see the success of “Life’s Rewards.”

“I can remember when I was over in Tampa and we had a 30-minute infomercial and we thought that was the greatest thing since sliced bread,” Hayes said. “So it’s finding new ways to get our story out to the consumer in a way that they want to see it versus traditional mechanisms.”

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Tags: destination marketing , dmos , florida

Photo credit: Life's Rewards is set at The Don CeSar hotel on St. Pete Beach, and is the first DMO-scripted and produced original series. Courtesy of Visit St. Pete-Clearwater / Visit St. Pete-Clearwater

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Southwest Florida, and the cities of Fort Myers and Naples, spreads a welcoming blanket of sugar-white beaches and tropical warmth for all visitors, a comfortable blend of the classic and cosmopolitan.

STRATEGIC ALLIANCE PARTNERS

Brand Promise

(Why we do what we do)

Brighten the Lives of All

Together, we brighten the lives of all. We ensure that people from every walk of life, from everywhere on Earth, experience moments that light up their day so they glow long after they head home. We are part of 1.5 million Floridians who work around the clock making memories possible for those off-the-clock. It’s our smiles & open arms, ideas & innovation, care & welcoming hospitality that transform people each time they visit. We inspire them to get away and get closer. Then invite them to return and do it all again soon. It’s not just a promise that we make to our visitors, but the purpose that drives us.

Positioning

(How we do it)

Vacation State

Florida isn’t just a state. It’s a state of mind. It’s where you go to be more relaxed, more carefree, more open to connections, and more ready for fun. But it’s also a mindset you carry with you every day afterward, reminding you that your vacation self is your best self.

Follow Your Sunshine

We know that different people take vacations for different reasons, seeking experiences that speak to their individual tastes. Follow Your Sunshine encourages travelers to embrace their own version of a Florida vacation, empowering people to let go of their worries, push away the day-to-day grind, and give in to their best instincts, celebrating the part of themselves that’s brightest, warmest, and most inspired.

A Logo That Emphasizes Our State,

(Without City Name)

The primary logo is to be used in most applications and acts as a call-to-action.

Its Many Amazing Destinations,

(With City Name)

The secondary logo includes the name of the location seen in the photography of an ad.

And Celebrates Our Partners.

The partner logo emphasizes that VISIT FLORIDA and our partners are equal in collaboration.

Colors Inspired By Florida’s Diverse Beauty

Florida has an array of colors from saturated sunsets and pastel homes in the Keys, to turquoise Central Florida springs, to the vibrant interiors of Flagler College in historic St. Augustine, and the rich street art of Wynwood and St. Petersburg. Our palette celebrates that range and uses our “mid” colors as pops within layout so that the imagery is the focus and travelers can connect and be inspired by it.

Welcoming Type That’s Familiar But Fresh

Our brand is modern and approachable and so is our typography. Henderson Sans is our primary font and represents the casual Florida vacation state of mind. We also have a stylized version with a unique shadow effect that makes the type pop off the page. Finally, we have a textured script font for our city lockups and other call-outs that emulates handwriting to add a personal touch.

Headlines / subheads

Henderson Sans

abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz

1234567890!@#$%^&*()-_=+:;”’<,>.?/\

City Names / Quotes

Authenia Textured

Capturing Real Emotion

Our photography needs to represent Florida’s diversity of locations and activities as well as the diversity of our visitors. Images must capture the rich emotion brought about by a Florida vacation while still capturing the beautiful surroundings.

Capturing real moments that show connection, surprise, freedom, joy, relaxation, and discovery

Showing the backdrop and textures of the vacation state

The bright colors of Florida and the ability to feel the literal sunshine

A destination for everyone from everywhere on earth

So much more than beaches and theme parks

A Voice That Goes Where the Sunshine Leads

For writing within the Follow Your Sunshine brand, our voice is driven by simple, reactive, emotional truths. While our tone is upbeat, playful and bright, our lines should not be overly clever, but rather find their humor, warmth and smile in relatable responses to situations. We’re always looking for ways to explore the emotional depth of a moment, and encouraging our audience to embrace their instincts on vacation. If while writing, you’re looking at an image and asking yourself, “what would the subject be feeling or thinking in this moment?” you’re on the right track.

Right here. Right now.

In layout, we bring all the elements together to create a light and spacious look that lets our photography shine. Our new system is flexible and allows layouts to tell short and long stories. A subtle design element like rounded corners harkens to family photo albums while still modern. And the layered photo style creates an emotional connection while providing locational context and telling more of the story.

A Unified Brand Passion and Vision for Florida

Together, we can ensure that Florida speaks with a consistent voice and that we share the Sunshine State’s story in just the right light. Just as this brand has been developed through collaboration, it can only succeed if we work together to maintain it.

Questions about the brand? Please contact the Creative Services team or your account lead.

Hurricane Helene prompts mass travel changes from airlines, cruises

Delta and more have sent passengers updates on flights impacted by the storm.

Hurricane Helene has prompted an array of weather alerts from airlines to cruises to ensure travelers can safely avoid areas where the Category 2 storm is expected to hit.

Airlines and cruises with routes in the region began taking preventative measures earlier this week and sent more updates about the potential impacts to itineraries on Thursday as the storm barrels towards Florida and the Southeast.

The National Hurricane Center said there is "significant additional strengthening expected before landfall" on Thursday morning, adding "there is danger of life-threatening storm surge along the entire west coast of the Florida Peninsula and Florida Big Bend."

See below for a full list of airports, cruise ship ports and other areas that have been impacted.

Air travel impacted ahead of Hurricane Helene: Airport closures, airline changes

Nearly 900 flights across the country have already been canceled due to Helene, according to Flight Aware , with the biggest impacts seen in Tampa, Fort Myers, and Atlanta as of time of publication.

While all airlines are required to offer a full refund to customers if a flight is canceled or significantly delayed due to reasons within the airline’s control, per the Department of Transportation, that rule does not encompass weather-related delays or cancellations.

Florida airport closures

As of time of publication, three major Florida airports have announced temporary closures due to the storm.

Tampa International Airport suspended all commercial and cargo operations at 2 a.m. Thursday and said it will remain closed to the public until it can assess any damage after the storm.

Tallahassee International Airport and St. Pete–Clearwater International Airport have also closed and officials at each said they will be closed to the public until damage assessments are completed after the hurricane.

Other regional airports including Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport near Panama City Beach, Orlando International Airport and Jacksonville International Airport are currently open but have advised all travelers to check with airlines directly for the latest flight status and information.

American Airlines

American issued a travel alert for the Gulf of Mexico that affects 23 airports, with 16 of those in Florida, including Tampa and Sarasota.

For passengers who bought tickets of any fare class before Sept. 23 for travel between Sept. 24-27, the change fee will be waived. Changes must be booked by Sept. 27, and travel must be for the same travel origin and destination.

Delta Air Lines

The Atlanta-based carrier shared a weather advisory for Hurricane Helene due to forecasted path, explaining that "travel may be impacted to/from/through" 26 destinations.

"Check flight status frequently for up-to-the-minute information about your flight plans, or get updates sent directly to your mobile device or by email with One-Time Notification," the airline stated.

As of time of publication, the advisory covers 12 airports in Florida, including Jacksonville, Sarasota and Tampa, as well as select airports in Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, Mexico and Cuba.

Travelers scheduled to fly through one of the listed airports through 27 can rebook tickets by Monday, Sept. 30.

JetBlue Airways

JetBlue announced in a travel alert that flights to multiple Florida destinations have been canceled on Thursday and Friday: Tallahassee and Tampa, as a result of the airport closures, as well as Fort Myers. The airline also canceled all Sarasota flights for Thursday.

All JetBlue flights to Orlando and Jacksonville are operating at this time, as well as Atlanta, Savannah and Charleston.

The airline said it will waive change, cancel fees, and fare differences for customers with travel on Sept. 26-27. Flights can be rebooked by Wednesday, Oct. 2.

Southwest Airlines

Southwest Airlines issued the travel advisory "based on the forecasted weather conditions" where the carrier's "scheduled service may be disrupted."

It lists 10 Florida airports where scheduled service may be disrupted through Friday, plus Atlanta, Charleston, Charlotte, Greenville/Spartanburg, Myrtle Beach, Nashville and Savannah.

United Airlines

The Chicago-based airline listed eight airports in Florida, plus one in Cuba and three more in Mexico, that would be impacted.

Passengers who purchased a plane ticket before Monday, Sept. 23, for travel on Tuesday through Friday, Sept. 24-27, to, from, or through any of the affected airports can rebook without a change fee for travel through Friday, Oct. 4.

Frontier Airlines

The budget carrier issued a travel alert for passengers traveling in or out of six Florida airports on both Thursday and Friday, Sept. 26-27.

Royal Caribbean, Carnival and MSC Cruises change course, update itineraries

The sunshine state and its ports are at the center of the cruise industry, accounting for nearly 60% of all U.S. embarkations, according to the Cruise Lines International Association , where multiple sailing itineraries have been impacted by Hurricane Helene.

One ship is currently stuck at sea, while two more are skipping planned stops and multiple ports, including Port Canaveral, have closed as a result of the inclement weather.

Royal Caribbean

Five ships routes have been impacted, according to a travel update from the cruise line’s parent company Royal Caribbean Group.

Serenade of the Seas, which disembarked from Tampa on Sunday, changed both its Tuesday and Wednesday stops in Cozumel and Costa Maya for Freeport and Nassau, Bahamas. The ship is now set to return to Tampa on Sunday, two days later than originally scheduled delaying the next scheduled voyage that was originally set to leave on Friday.

"Due to Hurricane Helene and the planned closure of Port Tampa, our previous sailing will be delayed in returning," the cruise line stated . "As a result, our sailing will now depart on Sunday, Sept. 29 at 4:00pm. We kindly ask that you arrive during the arrival window you originally selected for an on-time departure."

Independence of the Seas departed Miami on Saturday and changed Tuesday’s planned stop in Cozumel to Nassau, Bahamas.

Mariner of the Seas, which left Saturday from Galveston, Texas, also swapped out Cozumel on Tuesday for a day at sea.

Wonder of the Seas will scrap most of its planned stops, skipping Cozumel, Roatan in Honduras, and Costa Maya. The ship, which left from Florida’s Port Canaveral on Sunday, will add stops in St. Thomas and St. Maarten instead.

Grandeur of the Seas will visit Nassau and Freeport in place of planned Wednesday and Thursday stops in Costa Maya and Cozumel. The cruise departed from Tampa on Monday.

Carnival Cruise Line

Both Tampa and Jacksonville ports closed Wednesday evening ahead of Hurricane Helene's projected landfall.

"Our Fleet Operations Center in Miami continues to actively monitor Hurricane Helene, which is now entering the Gulf of Mexico," the company said on its website . "The safety of our guests and crew remains our priority and our ships are sailing a safe distance from the storm."

Given the forecasted track of Helene over the next few days, Carnival announced that eight ships' itineraries are currently under watch. Click here for full details and planned changes.

Disney Cruise Line

Disney Fantasy left from Port Canaveral on Saturday and canceled its Tuesday call at George Town to replace it with a sea day.

The Disney Wish is the only ship that's currently impacted by the storm, a representative for Disney Cruise Lines confirmed to ABC News.

The ship was originally scheduled to arrive on Friday morning at Port Canaveral, which is currently "closed and has ceased all Port operations," with its next departure that was slated for Friday afternoon.

Now, the Disney Wish will arrive later than originally scheduled, the DCL representative said.

Disney is the parent company of ABC News.

An earlier version of this story was originally published on September 27, 2024.

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Florida Amendment 3 pot campaign claims state ad is propaganda

• Romy Ellenbogen Times staff

TALLAHASSEE — The campaign behind Florida’s amendment to legalize recreational marijuana sent dozens of cease and desist letters to television stations across the state Tuesday, arguing that a Florida Department of Transportation public service announcement is “propaganda designed to influence the public’s vote.”

The public service announcement, funded by the state and pushed out on the department’s social media last week, warns viewers not to drive high. In the middle of the 30-second video, the narrator says, “DUI crashes increase in states with legalized marijuana, putting everyone at risk.”

Smart & Safe Florida, the campaign that put Amendment 3 on the November ballot, sent cease and desist letters to about 50 news stations across the state. The news was first reported by Politico on Tuesday.

If your THC level isn't zero, you're not okay to drive. #DriveHighGetaDUI . It can cause you legal troubles, raise your premiums, and could even end your life. #StayAlertStayAlive #DriveSober pic.twitter.com/UFeHp0Sm4w — FLORIDA DOT (@MyFDOT) September 20, 2024

In the letters, the campaign claims that the media agent working with the Vote No on 3 political committee helped procure the air time for the state-funded PSA.

The campaign’s letter said the state deploying the video is a “ruse to obtain the highly discounted rates” for airing PSAs, and demanded they be able to air advertisements at the same discounted price if the television stations don’t cease and desist.

The Florida Department of Transportation did not return a request for comment Tuesday about how much the video cost to produce and air.

“Florida law demands that campaigns be operated in the sunshine,” the Smart & Safe letter said. “Accepting taxpayer funds to broadcast State Propaganda under the guise of a public service announcement – and at an anticompetitive and severely discounted rate – should not be countenanced.”

The campaign’s letter also accused TV stations of choosing not to air a “politically neutral” version of the PSA that the state sent.

If passed, Amendment 3 would allow people 21 and older to use marijuana without any medical purpose. It needs 60% voter support.

Gov. Ron DeSantis opposes the citizen-led marijuana initiative. The political committee opposing Amendment 3 is staffed with DeSantis allies, including his chief of staff.

DeSantis also opposes the other citizen-led amendment on the ballot this November, which would protect abortion access and undo the state’s six-week abortion ban. A political committee affiliated with him is working to defeat both amendments.

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The Florida Agency for Health Care Administration earlier this month launched a PSA directing people to a state website that argues the abortion initiative, Amendment 4, “threatens women’s safety.” That website is the center of two lawsuits arguing that it improperly uses state resources to try and sway the election.

The state health agency has ignored repeated requests for comment about how much the website cost to produce and how much the advertisement cost to air. DeSantis has defended the agency’s abortion PSA, saying it was “100% accurate.”

Romy Ellenbogen is a Tallahassee correspondent, covering state government with a focus on criminal justice and health. Reach her at [email protected].

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