The new Nebraska Tourism Commission marketing campaign leans a lot on self-deprecating humor.
"Nebraska: Honestly, it's not for everyone," replaces "Nebraska Nice." In coming up with the slogan, the Commision admits Nebraska may not be on everyone’s bucket list of places to visit.
"But if you like experiences that are unpretentious and uncomplicated or if you enjoy escaping the big city life for moments of solitude in the open plains, creating your own fun or exploring the quirkiness the state has to offer, chances are, you will like it here."
Before creating the campaign, research found that consumers don’t view Nebraska as a leisure travel destination, and because they don’t view the state that way, most won’t put forth the effort to find or research things to do here.
Therefore, the goal of this new campaign is to change the perception there is nothing to do in Nebraska. “It was important to be true to who we are and honest about what we are not," says Deb Loseke, Nebraska Tourism Commission Chair. “So we discovered that we can't offer something to everyone - but to those that we can, this campaign speaks to their sense of adventure and discovering what we as Nebraskans are all about."
Respondents also recognized and understood the self-deprecating humor. “I think the brilliance of the campaign is it captures the essence of who we are in Nebraska, while also understanding the type of consumer who is attracted to who we are and speaks right to them,” said David Fudge, Nebraska Travel Association (NETA) president. “It also frees those of us on the front lines to be authentic with people who come in to our facilities.
The new campaign highlights that visitors can escape the noise of other cities and create their own fun. It will begin in spring of 2019 in key out-of-state markets.