'Road to Mighty' theme of newest tourism campaign

The Utah Office of Tourism has revealed its newest campaign on the heels of its highly successful “Mighty 5,” launched three years ago. Gov. Gary Herbert unveiled the new program, “The Road to Mighty,” at an event recently.

The Utah Office of Tourism has revealed its newest campaign on the heels of its highly successful “Mighty 5,” launched three years ago. Gov. Gary Herbert unveiled the new program, “The Road to Mighty,” at an event recently.

“Our tourism and travel is growing very rapidly. It has significant impacts on us as a state. Most of us who have lived here for any length of time appreciate the beauty of Utah,” said Herbert. “So many of our 43 state parks are just gorgeous and wonderful venues to go and visit and participate in. Our 'Mighty 5' shows the ability we have to attract the world to our parks. It’s great to be able to showcase our state. We host the world in so many different ways.”

While the “Mighty 5” campaign highlighted Utah’s national parks, the new advertisements showcase the beauty of rural Utah between the five parks, including the 43 state parks. The “Road to Mighty” campaign encourages tourists to get off the beaten path and see some of the state's hidden treasures.

“This is an exciting day for us. We’re sharing a big secret — a secret that Utahns already know,” said Vicki Varela, director of the Utah Office of Tourism. “That great American road trip, the dreams you’ve always had of the adventures with family and friends, taking in the spectacular scenery that’s in Utah. We all have this birthright to this amazing American road trip. We’re sharing that with tourists now. It’s the ‘Road to Mighty’ — the road to our ‘Mighty 5.’”

Varela referred to Utah’s five national parks as the “capitals” of the region, but said that the adventure around the region will beckon millennials, group travelers and multi-generational travelers to the state.

The new ads, designed by the same company that worked on “Mighty 5,” advertising agency Struck, are a three-season marketing campaign, with 30-second commercials being showing in the key Western markets of Los Angeles, Las Vegas and Denver. Digital ads are currently running and will run through late April with social advertising continuing through the end of June. The campaign budget is $4.6 million. Tourism officials compare the expenditure to the $7.98 billion in tourism spending in the state last year, netting the area $1.09 billion in state and local tax revenues.

“We’ve asked our park managers to redouble their efforts. Our folks are spending every day, from the time their boots hit the ground in the morning to the time they collapse into their beds at night, finding what we call, simply, more. We define more as more people having more fun in more parks more often,” said Hayes. “That’s their sole goal in life, is to make sure that when the next generation of visitors comes to Utah, they are met with amazing family and friend activities that will cement those relationships for the eternities. Folks, as you travel the ‘Road to Mighty,’ we encourage you to find a state park and come visit us. You’ll enjoy it, we promise.”