Hartford Business Journal

6 Hartford Business Journal • April 1, 2019 • www.HartfordBusiness.com By Joe Cooper jcooper@hartfordbusiness.com H ow often should organi- zations rebrand? At least once a decade if you're the state of Con- necticut. After pumping $27 million over two years in 2012 and 2013, in part, to develop and support its "Still Revolutionary" brand, Gov. Ned Lamont and others say it may be time for the state to adopt a new identity. If Connecticut does set out to coin a new slogan it would be the fifth one since the 1980s. (For those keeping score, New York has maintained its famous "I Love NY" tagline since 1977.) It's tough to quantify what kind of payback "Still Revolutionary" has pro- vided Connecticut, but tourism boost- ers say creating a new slogan is just one of many ways to jumpstart the $14.7 billion industry that fuels eco- nomic development and job creation. While tourism advocates agree Con- necticut needs to spend more money to support the industry, pundits vary on which marketing or branding levers should be pulled and how much money is needed to elevate the sector that supports about 83,000 direct jobs. Most advocates, including a policy group commissioned by Lamont, want to reopen the state's six highway welcome centers, create a multiyear tourism plan and divert additional state revenue from the nation's highest 15 percent lodging tax to the tourism and arts fund. Meantime, the Blue Ribbon Panel on Tourism, launched by House Speaker Joe Aresimowicz (D-Berlin), recently recom- mended a robust state-appointed council and commissioner to oversee tourism, in addition to the current heads of the state Depart- ment of Economic and Community Development and Connecticut Office of Tourism. Two House bills have emerged from the report, which would task the state to fund a study on tourism promotion and to begin implementing its recommendations in 2020. The topic has gained attention in recent years as estimates show Con- necticut has lost out on hundreds of millions of tourism dollars after it cut industry funding by 73 percent since 2012. The current-year state budget allocates $4.1 million for tourism, while Lamont's two-year proposed budget allocates $4.4 million annually. The tourism budget had just $1 in 2011. "If we are struggling with the bud- get you would think the state wouldn't cut something that is actually earning money," said John Bourget, president of Avon market research firm Witan Intelligence, which has done econom- ic-impact analysis of the state's tour- ism industry. "Funding tourism is an investment, not an expense." Bourget touts the state's return on investment (ROI) of $3 to $1 for tourism and $7 to $1 for arts and cul- ture as a reason why lawmakers need to increase investments in the industry. Regardless of how much money the state's next biennium budget allocates for tourism, Aresimowicz says the state desperately needs a unified voice to earn more out-of-state and in-state leisure dollars. "If we are going to make a differ- ence, there has to be a comprehensive plan that all stakeholders and lawmak- ers have bought into," said Aresimo- wicz, who launched his blue-ribbon panel in October. "I know 'Still Revolu- tionary' still works for reaching out on economic development, but as far as tourism, I don't know that it works." Randy Fiveash, director of state tour- ism, says his office welcomes suggestions on how to continue evolving its multi- tiered marketing playbook, but would still need to see significant data that shows the "Still Revolutionary" slogan and other current practices could be improved. "We wouldn't jump off the edge to do something new, or change something, until we were good stewards" and thor- oughly vetted proposals, he said. Above all, Fiveash said he hopes his department reclaims funding it's lost over the years. In 2012, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy in- creased tourism funding to $15 million, which was the largest annual allotment in state history. A similar investment would help the state reboot welcome centers and TV advertisements and re- establish state marketing in New York City, Boston, Rhode Island, New Jersey and Philadelphia, he said. A higher, more predictable stream of tourism funding would also help state organizations such as the Connecticut Convention & Sports Bureau, which has lost half its annual state funding since 2012, map out multiyear market- ing and sales initiatives, officials say. Still, despite diminished funding, the Office of Tourism says it's achieved major digital marketing growth via its website, social media channels and mailing lists. They are now looking to build on that success. "If you don't have a consistent funding stream to be able to market, then you're not going to be able to put Destination CT As tourism industry pushes for more funding, some advocates say it's time to rebrand state, again CT Office of Tourism funding 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 $0 $3,000,000 $6,000,000 $9,000,000 $12,000,000 $15,000,000 State funding $1 $15M $9.6M $12M $9.5M $6.5M $6.4M $4.1M Source: Connecticut Office of Tourism House Speaker Joe Aresimowicz, (D-Berlin) Patrons enjoy dessert outside Mystic Drawbridge Ice Cream. The seaside village is one of the state's largest tourism draws. Baggage claim areas at Bradley International Airport welcome travelers with signage donning Connecticut's "Still Revolutionary" slogan. HBJ PHOTO | JOE COOPER PHOTO | CONTRIBUTED

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