Pure Michigan branding campaign inspires other states to recast their image

In an effort to boost tourism, New Hampshire, New Jersey and Rhode Island have embarked on expansive branding campaigns. With the success of Michigan's "Pure Michigan" campaign, states now have a solid case study of how to quickly turn around a state's image toward a much brighter future. USAToday.com writes, Pure Michigan is a prime example of state "branding," the process by which a state (or any other place) plants a readily identifiable notion of itself in the national imagination. The goal is to make people visit, move there, do business there, or buy its products. Michigan has been spending $1 million to $2 million a year to make Pure Michigan ads. In 2009, when its total tourism marketing budget was $28 million, the state spent $19.4 million to advertise, including $10 million on national cable TV. A survey commissioned by the state credited the Pure Michigan national broadcast ads with attracting 681,000 additional visitors from outside the region. They spent $250 million and produced $17.5 million in extra taxes, for a return of $2.23 per national ad dollar.

It looks like branding campaigns can provide significant revenue for states - if done correctly. With Michigan's example, do you think that more states will jump on board, spending extra dollars to boost tourism?