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ACRA hoping visitors warm up to summer ad campaign

Naomi HavlenAspen Times Staff Writer

A summer advertising campaign for Aspen will hit newsstands in Dallas and Los Angeles in May, featuring the slogan, “The Aspen Summer: It warms those parts of you that are otherwise hard to reach.”The campaign, funded by Aspen’s half-penny lodging tax, was commissioned by the Aspen Chamber Resort Association to draw first-time visitors to town.Other slogans initially considered for the summer campaign include, “When the summer sun hits Aspen, things positively blossom (be one of them).”Summertime ads will run in the Dallas and Los Angeles editions of Food & Wine, InStyle, Travel & Leisure and Vanity Fair. The ad will also run in Beverly Hills editions of Newsweek, Sports Illustrated, Time and U.S. News & World Report. The campaign costs $170,892.The full-page print ad features the shadowy image of a woman with outstretched arms while inset images reflect the myriad activities available during a local summer vacation, including recreation and cultural events. A removable Post-It note is attached on the ad prompting readers to visit Aspeneffect.com or call an 800 number to learn about vacation packages.Although the Post-Its were used on the winter ads as well, they only featured the Web site address. The ACRA marketing committee decided to add the 800 number to the Post-Its to draw more consumers to call Stay Aspen/Snowmass directly, rather than surf the Web and make reservations at a separate location.The “Aspen Effect” concept, developed by Colorado Springs-based PRACO, aims to show that an Aspen vacation transforms a visitor into a more adventurous and relaxed person. The target audience includes people 25 to 44 years of age in the Dallas and Los Angeles areas, with a household income of $125,000 or higher.According to PRACO representative Christy Nielson, that target audience will also receive an oversized postcard, sent to 135,000 people. Last winter’s campaign featured two direct-mail postcards, but the numbers have been cut to conserve resources.The roughly $400,000 campaign is designed to easily track the number of reservations made with the special 800 number and the Web site. But a recent update of this winter’s campaign proved the campaign’s traceability needs some fine tuning.Stay Aspen-Snowmass estimated about $100,000 in reservations relating to the campaign has come in so far, which could translate to $200,000 to $300,000 worth of additional business in the community.PRACO’S Will Seccombe said the first 120 days of the campaign generated more than 4,500 visits to the Aspeneffect.com Web site and about 720 visitors to the Stay Aspen-Snowmass Web site.Stay Aspen-Snowmass received 380 calls from the campaign and 22 e-mail requests for more information. Seccombe said the number of calls is not as many as anticipated, which is why this summer’s advertising will emphasize the 800 number.