“There’s Nothing Here”: marketing brilliance comes alive in Montana

There perhaps has has not been a marketing scheme this creatively brilliant and visually stunning since The Dark Knight’s “I Believe in Harvey Dent” faux-campaign went viral back in 2008.

Winning a Silver “Effie” at the 3rd Annual North America Effie Awards in New York City, the “Montana: There’s Nothing Here” campaign was second to the tongue-in-cheek “The Man Your Man Could Smell Like” campaign by Old Spice.

Montana is the first destination to be awarded a Silver or Gold Effie in the Travel, Tourism and Destination category since Jamaica won Silver in 2000. Although this year’s three Effie recipients in the category weren’t competing against one another, MercuryCSC’s campaign for Montana received higher merits than Travelocity and its Roaming Gnome campaign.

Flipping pre-conceived ideas

According to some hefty consumer research, many would-be travelers seemed to be under the impression that the natural-beauty-bountiful state of Montana simply had little to nothing to offer as a travel destination. MercuryCSC turned that perception into an emotionally powerful reason to visit and capitalized on Montana’s mystique, big skies and wide-open spaces. A

lthough initially considered risky, the approach worked. In 2010, Montana had the highest and second highest U.S. hotel occupancy rates in July and August and grew tourism by $424 million over the previous year.

In addition to the Silver Effie, the ”There’s Nothing Here” campaign has been recognized by the travel industry’s top national and international awards programs, including the National Council of State Tourism Directors (NCSTD) Awards and the Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International (HSMAI) Awards.

Fighting commercialism with marketing

Marketing firm MercuryCSC created the thought-provoking campain on behalf of the Montana Office of Tourism to increase visitation to the state, teaming up with Spark Communications and Spot Inquiry.

”The whole reason people visit Montana is to get away from an over-commercialized world. So how do you create advertising—something inherently commercial—for an inherently non-commercial product? That’s the challenge we face for a lot of our clients and this award validates our approach,” said Jeff Welch, chief executive officer of MercuryCSC.

Only one Travel, Tourism and Destination campaign in all of North America was rated more effective: HomeAway.com and its campaign featuring Chevy Chase reprising his role as Clark Griswold.

”This is a significant milestone for us and Montana. It all began with a rebranding process that involved people from across the state,”  said Welch. “The result was a poignant and relevant creative strategy that stayed true to what this state is and what it is not.”

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