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Agency behind ‘Love the Philippines’ tourism video sorry for using shots of other countries

Agency DDB Philippines apologises for using ‘highly inappropriate’ images that stock footage providers offer from Brazil and Indonesia

A tourism campaign for the Philippines backfired after the creators of a video promoting the archipelago nation as a holiday destination said it had used stock shots from other countries.

Advertising agency DDB Philippines apologised on Sunday for the “highly inappropriate” images, which included rice terraces in Indonesia and sand dunes in Brazil.

The agency was behind the video for the government’s $900,000 “Love the Philippines” tourism campaign , which launched on 27 June.

The tourism ministry said the previous day it was investigating allegations that DDB’s video included “non-original shots”, and the video was later removed from its Facebook page.

Tourism is a key industry in the Philippines, which boasts pristine dive spots and white sand beaches, but arrivals lag those of its neighbours due to poor infrastructure and high costs.

There were 2.7 million inbound tourists to the Philippines last year, down 68% from pre-pandemic levels in 2019, according to data from the UN’s World Tourism Organisation.

Questions emerged after popular Philippine blogger Sass Rogando Sasot posted on Facebook that several images in the campaign video were from other countries.

Analysis by Agence France-Presse’s Fact Check team confirmed that the video showed places in Brazil, Indonesia, Switzerland and the United Arab Emirates.

DDB apologised on Sunday for using “foreign stock footage”, describing it as an “unfortunate oversight on our agency’s part”.

“Proper screening and approval processes should have been strictly followed,” DDB said in a statement. “The use of foreign stock footage in a campaign promoting the Philippines is highly inappropriate, and contradictory to the DOT’s [Department of Tourism’s] objectives.”

The video was produced at its own expense, DDB said.

The tourism ministry said in its statement it had “repeatedly sought confirmation from DDB on the originality and ownership of all materials contained in the AVPs (audio-visual presentations) and key visuals presented to the department”.

“In all these occasions, DDB repeatedly assured the DOT that the originality and ownership of all materials are in order,” the ministry said.

Some of the images used in the promotional video can be found on the websites of stock footage providers.

For example, footage of rice terraces is on Pond5, which identified the location as Ubud on the Indonesian tourist island of Bali.

Videvo has the same aerial shot of sand dunes as the one used in the Philippine ad but says the location was Cumbuco in north-eastern Brazil.

Other footage shows a fisherman casting a net while wearing a hat that is not typically worn in the Philippines and a person driving a buggy over sand dunes in the United Arab Emirates.

A spokeswoman for the tourism ministry did not respond to requests for comment on Sunday.

The tourism minister, Christina Frasco, told local media last week the new branding campaign cost 49m pesos (nearly $900,000).

Frasco said the ministry conducted a global survey which found that, in the post-pandemic era, tourists wanted “authentic interactions with communities”.

The new slogan replaced “It’s more fun in the Philippines”.

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Philippines tourism ad agency apologises for using stock footage from foreign countries

Philippine tourism officials have been left red-faced after the creators of a video promoting the archipelago nation as a holiday destination said they had used stock shots from other countries.

Key points:

• The video showed stock footage places in Brazil, Indonesia, Switzerland and the United Arab Emirates
• The ad agency had previously assured the Tourism Ministry of the originality of the images

The new "Love The Philippines" tourism campaign cost $1.33 million

Advertising agency DDB Philippines apologised for the "highly inappropriate" images, which included rice terraces in Indonesia and sand dunes in Brazil.

The agency was behind the video for the government's $1.33 million "Love The Philippines" tourism campaign launched on June 27.

The tourism ministry announced it was investigating allegations that DDB's video included "non-original shots".

The video was later removed from its Facebook page.

Popular Filipino blogger Sass Rogando Sasot had posted on Facebook that several images in the campaign video were from other countries.

Analysis by Agence France-Presse's fact check team confirmed that the video showed places in Brazil, Indonesia, Switzerland and the United Arab Emirates.

DDB apologised for using "foreign stock footage", describing it as an "unfortunate oversight on our agency's part".

"Proper screening and approval processes should have been strictly followed," DDB said in a statement.

"The use of foreign stock footage in a campaign promoting the Philippines is highly inappropriate, and contradictory to the DOT's [Department of Tourism] objectives."

The video was produced at its own expense, DDB said.

Sand dunes in UAE, rice terraces in Ubud

The tourism ministry said in its statement it had "repeatedly sought confirmation from DDB on the originality and ownership of all materials contained in the AVPs [audio-visual presentations] and key visuals presented to the department".

"In ALL these occasions, DDB repeatedly assured the DOT that the originality and ownership of all materials are in order," the ministry said.

Some of the images used in the promotional video can be found on the websites of stock footage providers.

For example, footage of rice terraces is on Pond5, which identified the location as Ubud on the Indonesian tourist island of Bali.

Videvo has the same aerial shot of sand dunes as the one used in the Philippine ad but says the location was Cumbuco in north-eastern Brazil.

Other footage shows a fisherman casting a net while wearing a hat that is not typically worn in the Philippines and a person driving a buggy over sand dunes in the United Arab Emirates.

A spokeswoman for the tourism ministry did not respond to AFP's requests for comment on Sunday.

Tourism minister Christina Frasco told local media last week the new branding campaign cost 49 million pesos (nearly $1.33 million).

Ms Frasco said the ministry conducted a global survey which found that, in the post-pandemic era, tourists wanted "authentic interactions with communities".

The new slogan replaced "It's More Fun in the Philippines".

Tourism is a key industry in the Philippines, which boasts pristine dive spots and white sand beaches, but arrivals lag those of its neighbours due to poor infrastructure and high costs.

There were 2.7 million inbound tourists to the Philippines last year, down 68 per cent from pre-pandemic levels in 2019, according to United Nations' World Tourism Organisation data.

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Company behind ‘Love the Philippines’ stock footage fiasco apologizes

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This is AI generated summarization, which may have errors. For context, always refer to the full article.

MANILA, Philippines – The marketing communications company behind the “Love the Philippines” campaign of the Department of Tourism (DOT) apologized for using stock footage of Thailand, Indonesia, and Dubai in a promo video on the country, noting that the video was meant for internal use only.

In a statement on Sunday, July 2, DDB Philippines said the presentation uploaded on social media was meant to be a “mood video to excite internal stakeholders about the campaign.”

“While the use of stock footage in mood videos is standard practice in the industry, the use of foreign stock footage was an unfortunate oversight on our agency’s part. Proper screening and approval processes should have been strictly followed. The use of foreign stock footage in a campaign promoting the Philippines is highly inappropriate, and contradictory to the DOT’s objectives,” DDB Philippines said.

The DOT told reporters that the government “did not pay, and will not pay” for the video. The agency declined to comment on the company’s apology.

In its statement, DDB Philippines said: “No public funds were released, or would be released, to fund the video. This was a DDB initiative to help pitch the slogan.”

It added that it was an “isolated incident” and succeeding ad materials for the campaign have yet to be produced.

“We sincerely hope this will not diminish the genuine love and appreciation the stakeholders and the public have been showing for the Love the Philippines campaign,” DDB Philippines said.

The DOT, however, noted that it will “not hesitate to exact accountability and take the necessary action to protect the interest of the country even as it continues to exhaust all efforts to develop and promote the Philippine tourism industry.”

Not in PH? DOT probes ‘stock footage’ allegation in new tourism video

DDB Philippines will be paid P49 million for the campaign, in which it is required to deliver market research, key visuals and logos, a branding guideline across media platforms, as well as five audio-visual presentations.

Meanwhile, the DOT has another rebranding endeavor pegged at P250 million, according to a bid notice abstract uploaded on the department’s website. Rappler learned that this bid notice is for an “entirely different” branding project.

DDB Philippines is part of DDB Group Philippines, the country’s first integrated marketing communications and services network.

Incorporated in 1992, DDB Group Philippines is comprised of three agency networks – DDB PHL, DDB MNL, and Tribal Worldwide; three specialist agencies – Ripple8, Agile Intelligence, and Bent and Buzz; and seven strategic business units – Touch XDA, Optimax, Beyond, Field Outsource Asia, Philippine Movers, Strawberry Jam Creative Services, and The Bernbach School.

This is not the first time that DDB handled a DOT project. It was behind the award-winning “Balikan ang Pilipinas” campaign.

Other campaigns include the Philippine International Dive Expo’s “Our Sea, Our Story,” Philippine Deposit Insurance Corporation’s “Maniguro, Magbangko,” and the Department of Health’s “RESBAKUNA: Kasangga ng Bida.” – Rappler.com

Please abide by Rappler's commenting guidelines .

On DBB Philippines statement: “We sincerely hope this will not diminish the genuine love and appreciation the stakeholders and the public have been showing for the Love the Philippines campaign.” Sorry, guys, great damaged has been done, with so many vloggers negatively talking about the issue and influencing their many followers – “Love the Philippines” has now been swiftly, strongly and concretely associated by the Filipino people to “Rob the Philippines.”

Is it really true that according to DBB Philippines: “No public funds were released ….” for the controversial DOT video? Who would investigate if it is really true that no public funds were released to DBB?

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Ad agency apologizes to DOT; admits using stock footage in ‘Love the Philippines’ video 

DOT file image / JUNE 29, 2023 Department of Tourism Love the Philippines Photo from tourism.gov.ph

MANILA, Philippines —  DDB Philippines, the agency that prepared and published the “Love the Philippines” tourism promotion video, apologized on Sunday to the Department of Tourism (DOT) for including stock footage clips of other countries in its audio-visual presentation.

DDB issued the statement after the video under DOT’s newly launched campaign drew flak from locals, as various online users pointed out that it contains clips from Thailand, Indonesia, and United Arab Emirates accessible in Storyblocks, a rapid video creation platform.

“DDB Philippines profusely apologizes to Tourism Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco, the DOT, and the Filipino People for the apparent use of non-original or stock footage in the audio-visual presentation shown in the launch event of the Love The Philippines campaign. As DOT’s agency on record for the launch of this campaign, we take full responsibility over this matter,” the agency said.

“The AVP in question, uploaded by the agency on social media, was intended to be a  mood video to excite internal stakeholders about the campaign,” it added.

It also highlighted that the video was produced “at its own expense, and no public funds were released or would be released, to fund the video,” adding that the “use of stock footage in mood videos is a standard practice in the industry.

“[T]he use of foreign stock footage was an unfortunate oversight on our agency’s part. Proper screening and approval processes should have been strictly followed. The use of foreign stock footage in a campaign promoting the Philippines is highly inappropriate and contradictory to the DOT’s objectives,” DDB said.

“This is an isolated incident, and the AVP has already been taken down as of this time. The succeeding ad materials have yet to be produced for this campaign,” it added.

DDB further revealed that it is already cooperating with the DOT’s investigation.

“We sincerely hope this will not diminish the genuine love and appreciation the stakeholders and the public have been showing for the Love The Philippines campaign,” it said.

Earlier, DOT said that the DDB has repeatedly confirmed and assured the originality and ownership of all materials in the video.

The tourism agency added that it will not hesitate “to exact accountability and take the necessary action to protect the interest of the country even as it continues to exhaust all efforts to develop and promote the Philippine tourism industry.”

RELATED STORY:

DOT probing alleged use of stock footage in ‘Love the Philippines’ video

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‘Love the Philippines’ is country’s new tourism slogan — DOT

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DOT terminates deal with ad agency in ‘Love the Philippines’ campaign

The Department of Tourism (DOT) is ending its contract with DDB Philippines—the advertising firm behind the country’s new tourism campaign “Love The Philippines.”

This developed after the agency admitted using non-original stock footage in its audiovisual presentation on the Philippines' new tourism campaign.

The DOT said DDB Philippines violated the terms under the tourism branding campaign contract.

“As DDB Philippines has publicly apologized, taken full responsibility, and admitted in no uncertain terms, that non-original materials were used in their AVP, reflecting an abject failure to comply with their obligation/s under the contract and a direct contravention with the DOT’s objectives for the enhanced tourism branding, the DOT hereby exercises its right to proceed with termination proceedings against its contract with DDB," it said in a statement .

The DOT said it would exercise its right to forfeit performance security as a result of default in obligations under the contract, "as well to review standards of performance or lack thereof vis-a-vis any claims for payment and/or any other engagement."

The DOT reiterated that no public funds were used for the controversial video.

GMA News Online is getting DDB's comment and will publish it as soon as it becomes available.

DDB apology

DDB Philippines on Sunday apologized as it admitted using “non-original/stock footage” of tourist sites in other countries for the Philippines’ tourism campaign video.

The development came a day after the DOT ordered a probe into the claims , which blogger Sass Sasot said contained at least five scenes shot in other countries.

These include rice terraces in Bali, Indonesia; a fisherman throwing a net in Thailand; a passenger plane in Zurich, Switzerland; jumping dolphins; and a person driving a vehicle on dunes in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates.

"While the use of stock footage in mood videos is standard practice in the industry, the use of foreign stock footage was an unfortunate oversight on our agency’s part," DDB Philippines said.

"Proper screening and approval processes should have been strictly followed," the DDB Philippines it added.

The advertising agency called the matter "an isolated incident."

"The AVP [has] already been taken down as of this time… The succeeding ad materials have yet to be produced for this campaign," DDB said on Sunday.

‘Love the Philippines’

The DOT formally launched the "Love the Philippines" campaign  on June 27. It replaced the "It’s More Fun in the Philippines" campaign which had been running since 2012.

The department said it had ''repeatedly sought confirmation from DDB on the originality and ownership of all materials contained in the AVPs and key visuals.''

''[O]n all these occasions, DDB repeatedly assured the DOT that the originality and ownership of all materials [were] in order,'' the DOT said. 

The DOT said it held "the responsibility of promoting the country to the highest standard.''

''Therefore, it will not hesitate to exact accountability and take the necessary action to protect the interest of the country even as it continues to exhaust all efforts to develop and promote the Philippine tourism industry,'' the DOT said. —NB/KG, GMA Integrated News

New Philippines Tourism Campaign Gives Props to Local Workers

Mary Ann Ha , Skift

June 6th, 2022 at 2:00 PM EDT

The Department of Tourism Philippine's newest video is the epitome of "talk about creative advertising" — performers mold their bodies into birds, mountains, waterfalls, and oceans to remind tourists that there are workers behind every tourism experience, and that they deserve recognition.

Mary Ann Ha

In the face of one of the most longheld problems in tourism — the tourist’s inability to respect the connection between the land and the true community, often resulting in the appropriation of both the destination and culture   — the newest ad from the Department of Tourism of the Philippines chooses to speak to the phenomenon directly.

“For years, we have shone the spotlight on the country’s stunning beaches and landscapes, its marvelous heritage sites and natural attractions,” reads the video caption on their Facebook page, “As tourism begins to pick up anew, we recognize the people who have always made our destinations more memorable and more fun — our tourism workers.”

The nearly two-minute advertisement, titled “The People Make the Destination”, takes place entirely in a studio. It acts almost as an art film, silently stating in the beginning that there was no use of any aerial drone footage, flashy photography, special effects, or actors involved in the making of the video.

Instead, energetic and elegant dancers fill the camera frame, using their painted limbs to play out landscapes, animals, and famous natural monuments throughout the Philippines. These performers are in constant movement throughout the entire video, as they twist and turn their bodies to provide the props and sets that would have otherwise been bought and sourced in filming a normal tourism ad. 

In addition to visually depicting major natural sites and outdoor activities, the advertisement uses audio that is composed of raw soundbites from 23 locations all throughout the country, from “crashing waves in Samar” to the drumming sound of La Union’s best percussionist. 

During a time when we see travel campaign after travel campaign hoping to grab the Western tourist’s attention with trendy pop songs or upbeat advertisement jingles, the Department of Tourism Philippines stayed loyal to what they know the beauty of their country can truly offer, regardless of whether it might seem less attractive to the party-goer or adrenaline-junkie.

A Message Long Overdue

Tourism is about desire, and to market a desirable product, it’s irrefutable that curation has to be a factor. However, curated content in tourism campaigns, especially when it involves bringing camera crews to untouched natural sites or depicting “happy” natives whose homes are being flaunted as exotic places to pose in front of, can quickly become harmful to both the location and the integrity of the local culture. 

Like the recent project by the Philippines tourism team indicates, tourism organizations need to show a stronger willingness, no matter how desperate they get with lower pandemic numbers, to communicate that “fun” as a tourist doesn’t appear out of thin air. It doesn’t wash up on beaches, or grow from palm trees, and is most certainly not a free entitlement. It grows from the workers who make sure to carefully curate a seamless “paradise” experience, it’s built by the management and the service employees who are repeatedly forced to blend into the background, and is gifted by the natives and locals who are willing to open their backyards to outsiders so that they might be able to share the joy of their homeland to others as well. 

With a deeper recognition of this messaging, tourists will not only keep this newly-found respect for the people at the front of mind, but will also hopefully have a stronger dedication towards respecting the land and prioritizing nature preservation and climate consciousness when traveling.

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Tags: advertising , asia monthly , destination marketing , marketing , philippines , tourism campaigns , tourism marketing , tourists

Ad agency apologizes for using stock footages in ‘Love the Philippines’ video

The advertising agency handling the “Love the Philippines” tourism campaign has apologized to the Department of Tourism (DOT) for utilizing non-original or stock footages in the audio-visual presentation (AVP) of the agency.

In a statement released by the DDB Philippines on Sunday, July 2, the firm tapped by the DOT took full responsibility for the tourism video blunder.

“DDB Philippines profusely apologizes to Tourism Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco, the Department of Tourism (DOT), and the Filipino People for the apparent use of non-original / stock footage in the audiovisual presentation (AVP) shown in the launch event of the Love The Philippines campaign,” it said.

“As DOT’s agency on record for the launch of this campaign, we take full responsibility over this matter,” the firm added.

The DDB said that the tourism video in question was produced by the advertising agency at their own expense.

“No public funds were released, or would be released, to fund the video. This was a DDB initiative to help pitch the slogan,” it noted.

“The AVP in question , uploaded by the agency on social media was intended to be a mood video to excite internal stakeholders about the campaign.”

According to DDB, the use of stock footages in mood videos is “standard practice” in the advertising industry.

The advertising firm, however, said the utilization of foreign stock footages was an “unfortunate oversight” on the DDB’s part.

“Proper screening and approval processes should have been strictly followed. The use of foreign stock footage in a campaign promoting the Philippines is highly inappropriate, and contradictory to the DOT’s objectives,” it stressed.

It further claimed that the tourism video blunder was “an isolated incident”, noting that the controversial AVP has already been taken down as of writing.

“The succeeding ad materials have yet to be produced for this campaign. We are fully cooperating with, and assure our full compliance towards the Department of Tourism’s investigation of this matter,” the DBB said.

Earlier, the tourism department  launched an investigation into the said tourism video after several netizens alleged that some of the stock footages used in it were shot in other countries.

In a Facebook post, blogger Sass Rogando Sasot alleged that at least five of the footages used in the tourism video were taken from different locations such as  Indonesia, Thailand, Switzerland, United Arab Emirates, and another location she said was not taken in the Philippines.

She accompanied her post with links of the videos used in the tourism video. All of them can be accessed on the Storyblocks website.

One of the apparent stock footages used in the tourism video resembles to the Philippines’ Rice Terraces, but according to Sasot, the footage used was actually taken from a rice farm in Bali, Indonesia.

Other netizens also had the same observation as the blogger and posted screenshots and links to prove their point.

Frasco has recently bared that the government s pent P49 million for the development of the latest tourism campaign of the country—“Love the Philippines.”

What you need to know about DDB Philippines, the firm behind the tourism campaign video using stock footage

By John Patrick Magno Ranara Published Jul 03, 2023 8:24 pm Updated Jul 03, 2023 8:39 pm

DDB Philippines made headlines recently for producing the Department of Tourism's campaign video for the country’s new tourism slogan "Love the Philippines."

Despite the good intentions behind the video, the firm instead drew the ire of Filipinos who were outraged and disappointed when they noticed that the video seemed to use shots that were not taken in the Philippines and were only downloaded from subscription stock footage website Storyblocks.

DDP Philippines later admitted and apologized for this, leading to the termination of their contract with the Department of Tourism (DOT).

But how can such a big-time marketing communications and services network that had won several awards before commit such a mistake?

What does DDB Philippines do?

DDB Philippines is a sub-agency of   DDB Group Philippines , which touts itself as "the country’s largest and most recognized integrated marketing communications and business solutions provider."

Aside from DDB Philippines, the organization comprises agency networks DDB MNL, Tribal Worldwide; specialist agencies Ripple8, Agile Intelligence, Bent and Buzz; and strategic business units Touch XDA, Optimax, Beyond, Field Outsource Asia, Philippine Movers, Strawberry Jam Creative Services Inc., and The Bernbach School.

According to their website, the firm mainly operates to build a brand's equity and help them achieve their marketing goals through coming up with advertisements, c reative business solutions, digital strategies, among others. 

All of these steps are integrated with a so-called "PEOPLE FIRST approach," wherein the group strives to offer training programs to ensure that employees are engaged and skilled up, which in turn ensures that the quality of service they provide are "at par with, if not exceeds, clients’ requirements and expectations."

Awards and recognitions

DDB Group Philippines declaring itself as a big-shot marketing firm is not just all for show as they previously earned several recognitions for their campaigns.

Some of the awards that they've earned came from the likes of Adobo Design Awards Asia, PANAta Awards, Philippine Quill Awards, Mumbrella Asia Awards, Campaign Agency of the Year Awards, Anvil Awards, Women’s Empowerment Principles Awards, and more.

In March this year, the group also become the first advertising company in the Philippines to be given the "Great Place To Work" certified seal.

This comes after the employees underwent a survey that measured their experiences across five focus areas, namely, credibility, respect, fairness, pride, and camaraderie.

Significant campaigns

The awards that DDB Group Philippines took home would perhaps not be possible if not for their famous campaigns that have captured the attention of Filipinos. 

One of their memorable ones is their "Pork Sisig campaign" in partnership with barbecue fast food chain Mang Inasal, wherein they produced a television commercial that puts the spotlight on actor Empoy Marquez as he highlights the delicious qualities of the restaurant's pork sisig in a catchy song.

Some of their other significant campaigns that were recognized include the "Choose Gentle" rebranding campaign for Johnson & Johnson’s Baby franchise, PepsiCo’s "Gatorade #NothingBeatsGirls" campaign, and Jollibee’s "Best Twirl Ever" blockbuster media event with Miss Universe Catriona Gray

TAGS: department of tourism dot love the philippines ddb philippines

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From ATV excursions in small towns to scenic drives across the state, West Virginia is made for everyone. Rest and relax at a world-class resort or head out for a waterfall hike. It’s all waiting for you this summer in Almost Heaven.

Chase stunning fall foliage this season aboard a scenic train ride or ATV excursion. Reconnect with friends and family in a cozy cabin. From charming small towns to flavorful farm-to-table dishes, an autumn adventure awaits in Almost Heaven.

Featured Road Trip

Get a true taste of west virginia along this memorable route.

Less than three hours outside Roanoke, this stretch of West Virginia is unlike anything you’ve ever seen before. Shaped by the famous New River Gorge, you’ll find plenty of riverside activities, outdoor adventures and some of the most extraordinary views. Pair that with the region’s compelling historical past and vibrant small towns, and you’ve got one very memorable trip....

Explore Road Trips

Culture & Lifestyle

Check Out These Charming Small Towns in Almost Heaven

Get a true taste of west virginia along this memorable route, a memorable trip through the potomac highlands.

Defined by its rivers and lush forests, this region in southern West Virginia has some of the most spectacular outdoor recreation.

Explore Some of West Virginia's Most Stunning Sights

Just a short drive outside of the Washington and Baltimore metro areas, this loop through West Virginia’s Eastern Panhandle is both a relaxing and enlightening weekend getaway.

You Can Take a Drive and a Dip Along This Historic Loop

Travel regions, parks and public lands.

Public Waters

National Parks

State Parks

Wildlife Management Areas

National Forests

Mountain Towns

Cabins & Vacation Rentals

Bed & Breakfasts

Hotels & Motels

Vacation Homes & Rentals

Explore lodging.

Whether you prefer a luxury retreat at a world-class resort or a rustic campsite stay under starry night skies, West Virginia has accommodations for every type of traveler. As you plan your mountain road trip, explore one-of-a-kind stays and traditional comforts along the way. The peace and solitude of Almost Heaven is just an overnight stay away.

Current Season

Blooming rhododendrons. Wildflower hikes. Rushing waterfalls. Welcome to spring in West Virginia. It's the season where Almost Heaven comes alive.

Escape the churn and burn of the daily routine and hit the road this summer. Explore wide open spaces with plenty of room to roam.

Nature works her magic every autumn in West Virginia. As the third most forested state, our country roads are vibrant with color and a sight to behold in the fall.

The wonder of winter in West Virginia is filled with untouched fallen snow, scrapes of skates along fresh ice and snow-capped mountain views you have to see to believe.

COOPERATIVE ADVERTISING PROGRAM

The West Virginia Department of Tourism’s Cooperative Advertising Program provides partners with the opportunity to leverage state resources and brand identity to advertise individual destinations, attractions and events. 

Partner Portal

Program Goals

• Increase awareness of the West Virginia brand, products and partners
• Create a positive shift in travelers’ attitudes and perceptions
• Provide measurable advertising outcomes for every dollar spent
• Leverage state resources and partner budgets to maximize industry’s overall economic impact

How Does It Work?

The program will offer a mix of local, regional and national advertising opportunities and will leverage marketing dollars from the Department of Tourism and the participating travel industry partner(s). The program will be a dollar-for-dollar match partnership that offers a variety of investment tiers.

Program Information

There are two advertising seasons per year—spring/summer and fall/winter. To kick off each season, the Department of Tourism holds an industry webinar with our agency partners to review seasonal plans and goals. Through this call, partners will learn what ad opportunities will be available that particular season.

Partners can request advertising opportunities online in our partner portal during a certain window before each season begins. These openings will be announced through our Industry Newsletter beforehand. Opportunities are offered on a first-come, first-served basis.

Who Can Participate?

• Destination Marketing Organizations  (Regions or areas containing three or more attractions)
• Fairs & festivals
• Performing arts centers
• Sporting organizations & venues
• Vineyards/wineries
• Craft breweries
• Distilleries
• Scenic or natural areas
• Theme or amusement parks
• Zoos, aquariums, wild animal parks
• Campgrounds
• Bed & Breakfasts
• Vacation rentals
• Destination entity/organization that provides recreational activities , including but not limited to, whitewater rafting, skiing and snow activities, mountain biking, hunting and fishing.
• Destination shopping
• Government Partners 

Bonus Marketing Packages

In addition to selected advertising placements, partners will receive a free marketing package based on their total buy.

Terms and Conditions

All program participants must complete and sign the Terms and Conditions of the program for each program year. Submit completed applications to  [email protected] .

Cooperative Advertising Terms & Conditions

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U.S. Department of Commerce

Travel and tourism.

The National Travel and Tourism Office , part of ITA, creates a positive climate for growth in travel and tourism by reducing institutional barriers to tourism, administers joint marketing efforts, provides official travel and tourism statistics, and coordinates efforts across federal agencies through the Tourism Policy Council. The Office works to enhance the international competitiveness of the U.S. travel and tourism industry and increase its exports, thereby creating U.S. employment and economic growth through:

• Management of the travel and tourism statistical system for assessing the economic contribution of the industry and providing the sole source for characteristic statistics on international travel to and from the United States;
• Design and administration of export expansion activities;
• Development and management of tourism policy, strategy and advocacy;
• Technical assistance for expanding this key export (international tourism) and assisting in domestic economic development

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