California Travel and Tourism Commission Award

Templeton, CA (USA) – 12 March 2012 – Mental Marketing and TJA Advertising & Public Relations, two leading California Central Coast marketing, advertising and public relations agencies, have been recognized by the California Tourism and Travel Commission with the prestigious 2012 “California Excellence in Tourism Marketing Award” at the Visit California Outlook Forum, held February 21-23 in Sacramento. A panel of tourism industry marketing experts awarded them the “Best Print Advertisement” for the San Luis Obispo Visitors & Conference Bureau’s (SLOVCB) “California’s Natural Escape BID Co-op Campaign.”

Mental Marketing and TJA were tasked with delivering a campaign for the SLOVCB that united the area’s major tourism Business Improvement Districts, namely the Unincorporated San Luis Obispo County Business Improvement District (CBID), Pismo Beach BID, Paso Robles BID (Travel Paso Robles Alliance), San Luis Obispo BID, and Morro Bay BID. As part of the county-wide branding campaign designed to differentiate the destination and demonstrate the benefits of combining resources amongst the BIDs, John Sorgenfrei, President of TJA Advertising and Mark Elterman, CEO of Mental Marketing created a media strategy that included a 22-page regional profile in US Airways Magazine April 2011 issue, where the award winning ad was featured. Creative direction for the ad by William Stansfield, President of Mental Marketing, showcased the unique experiences that inspire visitors to discover the rich diversity throughout the County. As a unifying call to action, the ad offered a getaway sweepstakes through a dedicated website landing page that enabled visitors to find more information about the county attractions.

In addition to uniting the County Business Improvement Districts, the campaign generated 8,447 landing page unique visits, 4,328 sweepstakes entries, and a 12% increase to the consumer database.“The team welcomed the opportunity to collaborate on this countywide project to support tourism—the lifeblood of our local economy and our state. We thoroughly enjoy what we do, which makes it even more fantastic to be recognized by our top marketing peers in this industry,” said Mark Elterman.

About Mental Marketing Inc.
Mental Marketing, Where Grey Matter Matters, is a full-service interactive, marketing, advertising and public relations agency located on the California Central Coast. Founded in 2006, Mental Marketing’s team includes strategically-placed specialists managed by the founders William Stansfield, President/COO and Mark Elterman, CEO. Current and former clients include: Norcast Telecom Networks, Festival Mozaic, San Luis Obispo Visitor and Conference Bureau, We Olive Franchising, Travel Paso Robles Alliance, Friends of Hearst Castle, American Express Publishing, The Ritz Carlton Hotel Company, Amtrak, Shutters on the Beach Hotel, LaBellasera Hotel & Suites and OluvSkin®.

About TJA Advertising and Public Relations
TJA Advertising & Public Relations has been serving clients on the Central Coast of California for over thirty years. The full-service agency offers clients a wide array of services including advertising, website design, video production and public relations. Current clients include Pismo Beach Conference and Visitor Bureau, Avila Beach Tourism BID, First Solar, Area Agency on Aging, Santa Maria Area Transit and several retail accounts. John Sorgenfrei is the President and owner and has over 35 years of advertising agency experience.

Media Contact:
Mental Marketing
Mark Elterman
805-305-5584
www.mentalmarketing.com