State tourism campaign targets Bay Area airports

New Mexico True advertising started appearing on digital display screens at all three San Francisco Bay Area airports on Nov. 6. Passengers at San Francisco International Airport, Oakland International Airport and San Jose Mineta International Airport are seeing a loop of images and brief videos from the New Mexico Tourism Department that seek to plant a seed for a visit to New Mexico. The Bay Area campaign also involves video promotions on streaming and digital channels that appear before a show starts. The Bay Area campaign follows a similar one started in 2021 in Los Angeles, where Strategic Marketing and Research Insights determined the advertising generated an additional 80,000 leisure trips from L.A. in 2021 with $105 million in visitor spending. This winter campaign focuses on three stories from the New Mexico True Living Legends campaign. James Beard Award-winning Chef Fernando Olea of Sazón in Santa Fe is one of the subjects, as are Zuni Pueblo and Los Alamos resident Whitney Spivey, a two-time U.S. National Snowshoe Racing team member. The $4.5 million winter campaign also includes Los Angeles; Austin, Texas; Houston; Dallas; Denver; Phoenix; and San Diego. The Bay Area is budgeted for $1.2 million, Tourism Department spokesman Cody Johnson said.