Gulf Coast Regional Tourism Partnership Selects GodwinGroup

Gulfport, Miss. (November 10, 2011) – The Gulf Coast Regional Tourism Partnership, a non-profit entity formed to administer $16 million in tourism marketing and grant funding from BP America, has selected GodwinGroup for its branding, marketing and communications after a national competitive search that involved seven finalists including both local and national agencies.

To broaden its presence across all three Coastal counties, GodwinGroup created The Tri.Ad, an affiliation with Ad.In Advertising in Ocean Springs and AdLib Communications in Bay St. Louis. All three agencies in The Tri.Ad participated in the presentation.

GodwinGroup’s Gulf Coast and Jackson offices, along with Ad.In and AdLib, will work together on the project. As part of the agreement, GodwinGroup will guide strategic brand development and create marketing and communications strategies for tourism on the Mississippi Coast. The strategy will initially focus on crafting a new brand identity, competitive positioning, tourism promotions and communications.

“We look forward to our relationship with GodwinGroup,” said Partnership chairman John McFarland. “Their broad experience in traditional and digital media, public relations and research will help us not only grow Coast tourism but track and document results.”

“GodwinGroup is thrilled to be selected to work on this important tourism marketing program,” said Patrick Leary, senior vice president of Godwin Gulf Coast in Gulfport. “Along with our affiliate firms Ad.In in Jackson County and AdLib in Hancock County, we are already engaged in internal planning so that we will be ready to begin execution of marketing programs for the Gulf Coast Regional Tourism Partnership immediately. This is a major milestone in tourism for the Mississippi Coast as our focus will be promoting the entire Coast—Jackson, Harrison and Hancock Counties—with one voice.”

GodwinGroup, with offices in Jackson and Gulfport, Miss., serves clients nationwide. It has been recognized numerous times among the nation’s leading agencies by Ad Age and AdWeek. GodwinGroup provides branding, advertising and reputation management services, as well as Web marketing services through its digital arm WebMetro/Godwin. For more information, visit www.godwin.com and www.webmetrogodwin.com.

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