Oklahoma Tourism last week provided more details about the advertising, including for Route 66, which it recently purchased for the gigantic video screens at Times Square in New York City.
The department stated this in a news release:
Visitors near Father Duffy Square, a heavily trafficked pedestrian plaza, will be able to look up and across toward advertisements showcasing Oklahoma as a superb travel destination.
The digital billboards began running in mid-May 2022. Three 15-second video ads will run each hour.
The department’s ads will appear on the billboards through May 2023. There were 26,280 spots obtained for the year, which breaks down to $9.13 per 15-second spot on a screen that annually serves over 50 million people from all over the world. This spring, in the Dallas-Fort Worth market, it cost OTRD between $115 and $360 to run a single 30-second spot one time on one cable channel. […]
The billboards are displayed on four LED screens at the Express flagship store at 1552 Broadway that reach up to 18 stories tall. As the billboards run, one of the screens provides a QR code that viewers can scan to visit themed TravelOK.com pages.
“Having the opportunity to showcase the people and places of Oklahoma, from our incredible cultural diversity and outdoor terrain to our rich heritage and history and 400+ miles of Route 66, on the world’s most visible stage is an unparalleled gift,” said Jennifer Mullins, Director of Travel Promotions at OTRD. “We’ve seen tremendous pride and positivity from the attractions featured in the first three spots, and we are so pleased to be able to showcase Oklahoma tourism, especially coming off the extremely challenging past couple of years.”
According to my math, that’s $240,000 that Oklahoma Tourism spent on a year’s worth of advertising in one of the most-visited places on the continent. The Times Square Alliance reports 63 million pedestrians went to Times Square in 2021. In 2022, that’s projected to rise to more than 100 million.
The agency also provided details about its Route 66 advertising there:
Another ad shows videos of the Mother Road, with shots of the Oklahoma Route 66 Museum in Clinton; the National Route 66 Museum Complex in Elk City; Lake Overholser Bridge in Oklahoma City; the Oklahoma State Capitol; Cain’s Ballroom in Tulsa; Tower Theatre in Oklahoma City; Coleman Theatre in Miami; the Blue Whale in Catoosa; The Butcher BBQ Stand in Wellston; and Buck Atom’s Cosmic Curios on 66 in Tulsa.
(Image of the Route 66 advertisements in Times Square in New York City courtesy of Oklahoma Tourism)