A new way to market your destination: Write a TV series Part 1

Remember that longing you felt after an episode of Sex and the City to shop at the characters’ favorite New York haunts and drink cosmopolitans at the same bars? Or that sense of wanderlust for the seaside cliffs of Ireland after watching Game of Thrones? Hollywood’s flattering spotlight has put small towns on the map, like Wilmington, North Carolina, from Dawson’s Creek and the woods of Senoia, Georgia, from The Walking Dead. And that’s exactly what travel marketers in Florida’s St. Petersburg and Clearwater were hoping to capitalize on when they commissioned an original, scripted TV series, seeking to draw quarantine-weary tourists to the area’s sugar sand beaches. Life’s Rewards aired on Amazon Prime in May. The eight-episode show is based on a charming yet cavalier wealth manager who loses his money and uses travel rewards points to stay at the posh, pink Don CeSar hotel while rebuilding his life. Each episode is only eight to 14 minutes long, and was filmed using a local production company, director and actors. The series cost roughly a million dollars to create, with contributions from the city and the state’s tourism arm. Some of the “ad” spots woven throughout the dialogue are obvious, like the random episode about the Tampa Bay Watch Discovery Center. But the characters quickly pivot back to plot-forwarding dialogue. It’s a quick-hit ad versus the sustained 15- to 30-second hard sell of conventional commercials. (AP) To be continued… This article was provided by The Japan Times Alpha.