Phila. putting tourists in an 'XOXO' state of mind

Philadelphia has love to share - and it wants tourists to feel it.

The summer season will start with a new spirit here, with the City of Brotherly Love opening its new tourism campaign: "With Love, Philadelphia XOXO."

It's no coincidence that the advertising agency - Red Tettemer - that was hired by the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corp. to come up with this year's campaign theme was the same one that hit a grand slam after 9/11 when it came up with the previous catchy phrase: "Philly's More Fun When You Sleep Over."

After all, the tourism industry was facing yet another crisis, as Meryl Levitz, the tourism group's president and chief executive officer, put it today.

This time, instead of the threat of terrorism that crippled the travel and hospitality industries post Sept. 11, 2001, a lingering recession has cut into travelers' discretionary spending and leisure time, and put the entire tourism industry in a bind.

"It's extra critical at this point to do this," said Levitz, as she unveiled the $1.4 million "With Love, Philadelphia XOXO" campaign at the Crowne Plaza Hotel today. "We started thinking about this last summer. We felt a new message had to break through in order to deal with what we had coming.

"We didn't know what was coming," she said. "We had to come up with what would deliver a message to a public that wanted to travel, but were afraid they were not able to."

The campaign was unveiled today to hospitality leaders as well as reporters.

Levitz said the 18-month marketing campaign builds on previous campaigns using the "love" theme, including the 1997 campaign "Philadelphia. The Place That Loves You Back," and plays off Philly's City of Brotherly Love moniker.

It will begin in two weeks - just in time for the busy summer tourism season - with TV, radio and online ads, banners, bus signs and hotel post cards.

The ads include a 60-second radio spot by Mayor Nutter that has him exhorting about everything grand the city has, including a world-champion baseball team and arts institutions that are among the world's finest. His radio spot will start Monday; he'll also be shown in TV ads.

Levitz said the tourism group will spend a total of $2.5 million over the summer to get the message out, including the $1.4 million campaign cost.

The campaign cost is being financed by the 1.2 increase in the hotel tax on Philadelphia County hotel rooms that was approved and signed into law by Nutter last fall. The tax increase was to be shared among the tourism group, the Philadelphia Convention & Visitors Bureau, and the Pennsylvania Convention Center Authority.