Still Pristine campaign continues to air; funding comes through

The "Still Pristine" campaign will continue its second week of 30-second television spots to address consumer misperceptions and reassure visitors that the Gulf oil spill is not affecting our area's coastline and islands. Each of the ads is scheduled to be filmed, edited and aired on the same day through July 1. The commercials are airing nationally on The Weather Channel, as well as in major in-state markets.

On Wednesday, June 30, 2010, we will have a special guest joining Dan on Fort Myers Beach - national weatherman Willard Scott, who is once again assisting the destination in letting people know the current conditions of area beaches. If you recall, he filmed a commercial for us, which was aired following Hurricane Andrew.

You can see the new commercials by visiting our consumer website at www.FortMyers-Sanibel.com, and we hope you'll check the site daily so that you can see each new spot on the day in which it is shot and aired. Please direct questions regarding the campaign to me. In the meantime, we hope you will share our enthusiasm and pride regarding this bold initiative and that you will alert us to its impact on your business by emailing LeeVCB@leegov.com.

Also, late last week, the VCB received notification from the Florida governor's office that it would receive $500,000 of the $25 million BP gave to the state for marketing efforts. The money must be used by Aug. 18 for media placement.

On June 24, local business leaders and elected officials met in Fort Myers with BP representative Ray Dempsey. He updated the group on the oil spill and cleanup efforts, as well as provided information about claims. He indicated that lost business and tourist tax revenue could be submitted as part of a claim. For individual businesses, here's the website for the claim information from Alex Sink, CFO State of Florida: http://www.myfloridacfo.com/PressOffice/Newsletter/SpecialBulletin/June_....

Thank you,

Tamara Pigott
Executive Director