The Oregon Tourism Commission, dba Travel Oregon, launched a new advertising campaign platform yesterday called ‘Travel Oregon with Travel Oregon’ that promotes the idea that the best way to experience Oregon is with an Oregonian — a guide, a podcast host with in-the-know recommendations or perhaps even a state park ranger with knowledge of Oregon’s dark skies. The campaign will allow Travel Oregon to drive more personal connections between visitors and the state’s people, cultures and must-see, but less-traveled, destinations while making Oregon feel welcoming to all.
“The Travel Oregon with Travel Oregon campaign celebrates the fact that Oregon is best experienced with a guide,” said Todd Davidson, CEO of Travel Oregon. “There’s so much to do and see here, so many incredible destinations and activities, that it can be hard to scratch the surface. Guides take visitors deeper, offering closer connections to welcoming, inclusive and immersive travel experiences.”
Developed by creative agency Wieden+Kennedy Portland, the campaign centers on Travel Oregon’s newest team members—guides who are definitely not inanimate objects, but real Oregonians. Each guide brings their own expertise and all are united by their eagerness to connect a diversity of travelers with Oregon’s wide variety of activities and local guides. The strategy behind the campaign was based on consumer research by Wieden+Kennedy that found that while there is an overall positive association with the state, there isn’t a deep knowledge of what there is to do in Oregon or how to do it. ‘Travel Oregon with Travel Oregon’ addresses the need to broaden the aperture of Oregon to make the state attractive and relevant to new audiences and subcultures who may not have felt confident that Oregon was accessible to them in the past.
The campaign ecosystem will allow the agency to shift between seasonal messages such as promoting responsible recreation or wildfire awareness in the summer and promoting niche tourism experiences in rural destinations during less-traveled seasons. This evolution in strategy marks a shift in how Travel Oregon markets the state to visitors, moving away from launching one-off campaigns and into an “always on” mode of marketing and communications that directly supports the agency’s Ten-Year Strategic Vision.
The initial launch of the campaign will focus on broad-reaching channels to build excitement and drive the notion that it’s always good to go with a guide. This includes placements of a :30 second campaign anthem in the World Cup and NFL games, stunning outdoor advertisements across top West Coast markets and engaging video and custom content across a variety of trusted channels and media partners such as Hulu, Peacock and YouTube as well as popular social platforms.
“I am incredibly proud of this team and excited to be part of this campaign,” said SustainaBill, Travel Oregon’s resident expert in sustainable travel. “It’s given me an opportunity to celebrate the things that are most important to me–the state of Oregon and sustainable practices. Creation of this campaign was incredibly straightforward and there wasn’t anything unexpected about it at all. We just traveled around the state and got to do what we do best: welcome people to Oregon.”
Meet Travel Oregon’s New Guides:
- SustainaBill, our resident expert in all things sustainable travel.
- Boots, whose knowledge of Oregon’s greenways and trails is second to none.
- Kayakyak, the perfect companion for whatever water recreation you want to get into.
- Dark Sky, who’ll point out all of Oregon’s stargazing and cosmic events.
- Telephone Paul, the guy to ask when it comes to live events, festivals or concerts.
- Rosa, who’s always in the know on the latest seasonal trends for wine, food, or music.
About Travel Oregon:
The Oregon Tourism Commission, dba Travel Oregon, is a semi-independent state agency whose mission is to inspire travel that uplifts Oregon communities. Collaborating with stakeholders to align as stewards of Oregon, we work to optimize economic opportunity, advance equity and respect the ecosystems, cultures and places that make Oregon… Oregon. Travel Oregon aims to improve Oregonians’ quality of life by strengthening the economic impacts of the state’s $13.9 billion tourism industry, which employs more than 100,000 Oregonians.
