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Ads beckon gay travelers

Pinellas County subtly markets its beaches in gay magazines.

By CRISTINA SILVA
Published November 12, 2006

ST. PETERSBURG - After months of anxious debate, the Pinellas County tourism agency is preparing to court gay tourists for the first time in its history.

But don't expect glossy images of women holding hands or a bar-hopping group of men. Instead, the advertisements that will be published in two of the country's most popular gay magazines will feature a deserted beach at Fort De Soto Park.

County officials say they will reach out to gay visitors the same way they target other groups. The Fort De Soto photo, which is also used for mainstream ads, is meant to conjure breezy afternoons and sun-drenched shores.

But some marketing specialists and local businesses say the ad is too bland and has little chance of standing out against more progressive marketing campaigns produced by other cities. They suggest the county be more daring and show two men walking along the beach or a female couple running on the sand.

"An image of an empty beach doesn't say 'We want you to be here,' " said Joan Kruger, assistant manager of the Suncoast Resort, a gay resort in St. Petersburg. "Why do they think it is going to be attractive to gay people just because it is in a gay magazine?"

The dispute is another wrinkle in the often contentious relationship between local government and gay leaders. City and county officials have repeatedly said they do not want Tampa Bay to be promoted as "gay friendly." Gay leaders counter that reaching out to the community is a smart business move because gays have more disposable income and travel more than other groups.

Painting Pinellas County as a gay party scene akin to Key West would mean marketing the county as something that it isn't, said Scott Schult, marketing director for the St. Petersburg/Clearwater Area Convention and Visitors Bureau.

"This is not that kind of location," he said. "People come here because of the beach and the weather."

The advertisements will appear in The Out Traveler and Passport magazines beginning in February. The Orlando agency that produces the county's marketing campaigns is still working on the wording of the ads, which will cost about $40,000.

As part of the marketing effort, the county also plans to send representatives to gay travel conventions to attract new clients and is planning a press junket for gay travel writers.

The county initially considered ads that featured two men riding in a kayak or two women standing in a museum, but then opted for the more neutral beach image, said Brian Longstreth, a founder of the St. Pete Pride festival and a member of the recently formed gay tourism advisory committee.

"The beach scene is an attractive scene," Longstreth said. "But I didn't see anything wrong with the other ads either."

Advertising that is designed for a general market rarely is as effective as targeted messages, even if they are placed in niche publications, said Ken Bernhardt, a marketing professor at Georgia State University and a board member of the Atlanta Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Cities long regarded as being gay-friendly often publish ads that show same-sex couples. Earlier this year, Provincetown, Mass., published ads in The Out Traveler showing a young man with a purple-tinted Mohawk. Even Atlanta, a city not traditionally known as a gay travel spot, recently beefed up its efforts to attract gay tourists with ads featuring a male couple.

Kenneth T. Welch, chairman of the County Commission and the county's Tourist Development Council, said he has never received complaints that gay people do not feel welcome in Pinellas. Welch cast the sole vote against the gay marketing program after talk circulated about creating a clothing optional gay beach at Fort De Soto Park.

"I think the ultimate goal is to increase awareness for Clearwater and St. Petersburg," he said of the ads. "I'm just not really interested in people's personal relationships."

Cristina Silva can be reached at 727 893-8846 or csilva@sptimes.com.

[Last modified November 12, 2006, 05:17:25]