Nebraska Tourism Commissions Advertising Campaign

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Table of Contents

Introduction
Customer Need
Changes to the Marketing Mix
Marketing Strategy
Projected Change in Consumer Behavior
Conclusion
References

Introduction

Consumer behaviors and beliefs are expected to change fast, which means that in order for organizations to keep up with them, there must be more profound leverage of consumer insights. The ad campaign of the Nebraska Tourism Commission is a response to the existing tourist trends that favor California, Florida, Nevada, and Texas, which are highly popular for the abundance of entertainment. Nebraska Tourism Commission understands that what the state lacks in entertainment, it can provide in new experiences that are far from the trend. Therefore, the main emphasis of the advertising campaign is to call for a change in consumer behavior, stating well-known but unexciting facts about Nebraska to capture the attention of the audience. What is interesting is that there is no direct call for customers to change their behavior. Instead, the Nebraska Tourism Commission uses humor and irony just for the sake of putting the state in the minds of potential tourists who may consider visiting Nebraska just for fun.

Therefore, despite the innovative approach to advertising, the Nebraska Tourism Commission does not have any significant effect on consumer behavior, which could be a problem for the marketing strategy. While the advertisements are funny and witty, thus capturing attention, they represent a niche strategy that does not appeal to all consumer groups, especially those who value entertainment and visiting new and exciting sites across the country. Specifically, the type of humor used in the ads can be considered offensive by some people in the audience, which is another marketing strategy challenge to be addressed.

Customer Need

A customer need is defined as a need that motivates customers to purchase a product or a service. Such a need can be both known and unknown, ultimately, with the decision being made based on the available factors that align with customers needs. Examples of common types of customer needs include price, convenience, experience, reliability, transparency, and many more. Since the Nebraska Tourism Commission advertises neither a service nor a specific product, the lines of customer needs are blurred. When it comes to travel and tourism, customer needs tend to include options, information, experience, and price. Therefore, in an advertisement that promotes a visit to a less-traveled US state, it is necessary to meet the above-mentioned categories of customer needs.

In the Nebraska Tourism Commission ad, which contains quite ironic and humorous calls to potential visitors of the state, the customer need is not resolved, which is quite a challenge. On the one hand, embracing the negative attributes of Nebraska is a unique approach to marketing, mainly because its citizens agree that the state is relatively unimpressive and there is nothing to do there. Blind truthfulness is rarely a marketing tool used to meet customer demands, which is why the strategy chosen for the ad is concerning. On the other hand, the way of message delivery is quite unique and striking, which enables the audience to pay more attention and read the message much more closely. Thus, despite being bold, the Nebraska advertisement lacks attention to meeting customer needs in its message and format, especially price, experience, options, and information.

Changes to the Marketing Mix

A marketing mix entails the combination of several focus areas as components of a comprehensive marketing plan. The 4Ps of the marketing mix include the product, price, placement, and promotion. This means that a compelling advertisement campaign entails the coverage of all four areas as opposed to fixating on one message. Changes to products do not apply to the tourism advertisement because such changes usually imply updates in design, releases of a newer version, or software updates. A change to price may be needed, mainly because the advertisement does not reflect the range of prices that tourists tend to pay when visiting Nebraska. Because the lower prices on travel in Nebraska are lower compared to other states, the ad can reflect that. For example, in California, the average cost of travel for a couple is around $2,800 for one week, while in Nebraska, a couple of travelers is likely to pay approximately $1,600 (ChampionTraveler, no date). Therefore, by communicating the low prices of travel to Nebraska, it will become easier to meet customer needs.

Changes to place are unnecessary because the advertisement is not tied to a specific distribution channel. The ad can potentially be disseminated across different channels, predominantly online. A change to promotion, thus, is necessary to cater to the changing expectations and considerations of the target population. Therefore, the Nebraska Tourism Commission advertisement should cater to a broader audience using diverse distribution channels. The dependence of the large customer audiences on the Internet means that advertisers can diversify the types and formats of messaging. Notably, Internet promotions are a great way to save money for marketers at the same time with capturing an increased interest in the business being advertised.

Marketing Strategy

Strategy changes are necessary for helping consumers find it easier to solve their needs through a particular product or service. The message conveys the fact that the service that is being advertised is a better offering and a higher value compared to what competitors offer. Therefore, consumer expectations must be met at the same time with product marketing. The change in the Nebraska Tourism Commission entails pushing the affordability of traveling to Nebraska compared to other tourist-friendly states as well as diversifying the methods of promotion, with the emphasis placed on online marketing. The humor and irony that is embedded in the initial advertisement can be preserved; however, it is necessary to cater to those customers who may find the phrasing offensive or unclear. This can be achieved with the message of showing how inexpensive travel in Nebraska is. Statements such as There is really nothing to do in Nebraska. But its so cheap! are likely to be met with a smile by the recipients of the message. This way, the advertisement uses humor by saying that Nebraska is an unimpressive state for travel, but the advantage in the form of a low price could be a significant factor to consider traveling there.

Therefore, the change in strategy for the target market has the potential of positively altering the audiences product view. The previous approach, although brilliant in terms of its humor, fails to appeal to some groups of consumers. By adding the price component to the advertisement, it becomes clearer why humor about Nebraska being a lackluster state to travel is used. Despite the stereotypes, the positive message of affordability could be a tipping point for travelers to consider Nebraska as their future place of visit. Besides, it is notable that such messaging aligns with transparency, one of the core needs of customers.

Projected Change in Consumer Behavior

The projected change in consumer behavior is expected to be positive as a result of the slight strategic change. The advertisement has not changed its core message based on honesty, transparency, and self-deprecating humor about Nebraska stereotypes. However, adding the value component in the form of the affordable price is necessary for softening the message and catering the advertisement to the broader audience of potential tourists. Because of this, it is expected to witness a shift in consumer behavior among the groups of customers who may have viewed the initial advertisement as harsh or uninviting. Besides, for those audiences who have perceived the message correctly and valued its humor, the transparency about the price affordability of traveling to Nebraska could serve as a tipping point for increasing purchasing behavior. Those who are open to considering novel ideas and exploring new areas in terms of tourism are highly likely to respond positively to the advertisement.

Conclusion

To conclude, the innovative ideas that the Nebraska Tourism Commission turned into action represent a unique approach to advertising that captures the attention of audiences and invokes a response, either positive or negative. However, the idea was good, and it requires only slight updating to change customer behavior and meet customer needs. An essential part of changing the strategy entails the emphasis on the Internet as the leading platform for disseminating information to capture a wider audience. However, adding the price affordability of traveling to Nebraska is something that can relieve the tension that can be caused by the absence of understanding of the humor, which was the main tool of information delivery.

References

ChampionTraveler. (no date). Cost of a trip to Nebraska & the cheapest time to visit Nebraska. Web.

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