Purpose:
Research was conducted for the Louisiana Office of Tourism to explore potential visitors’ perceptions, emotions, and feelings of the area. In order to create the most effective marketing materials, reactions to logo formats and images were also analyzed. This information will allow Louisiana to accurately target consumers with aspects of the area that people care about and enjoy.
Methods:
This study contained eight branded focus groups from four major markets. Each group was diverse having people from different ethnicities, ages, incomes, and genders. To ensure participants were
knowledgeable about travel, avid vacationers were chosen for the study. During the focus groups, information was gathered to identify trends in how people saw Louisiana and what efforts would make them more motivated to visit.
Results:
The results of this study were presented to Billy Nungesser, Lieutenant Governor, and to the Louisiana Association of CVBs. All branding recommendations were accepted by Lt. Governor Nungesser,
including a new logo and a new tagline, Feed Your Soul. With study results, the Louisiana Office of Tourism, working with Miles Partnership, utilized emotions and feelings emanating
from research and incorporated them into the State of Louisiana’s marketing strategy. Through Downs & St. Germain Research’s branding research, Louisiana was able to truly capture the essence of the area through the eyes of potential visitors.
