Tahoe readies tourism campaign

Some of the nation's biggest publications as well as some tightly focused niche publications in northern California will be targeted next year by the publicists for Lake Tahoe tourism.

About 50 of the nation's top freelance travel writers a crowd whose work appears in major newspapers and magazines will be in the area in May for a meeting of the Freelance Council of the Society of American Travel Writers.

"We expect it will be very beneficial for the community," said Allison Wagda of Weidinger Public Relations, which works with the Lake Tahoe Visitors Authority.

At the same time, the PR agency will launch a series of press releases targeted to ethnic markets in northern California.

Those releases,Wagda said, reflect the growing diversity of the Bay area and the other northern California cities that are among the primary feeder markets for Lake Tahoe tourism.

This year, the public relations campaign for the area has brought coverage in publications ranging from the Wall Street Journal and New York Times to Sunset Magazine.

Officials of Weidinger Public Relations reported to the Lake Tahoe Visitors Authority board that the publicity was equivalent to $1.9 million worth of paid advertising and reached an audience estimated at 49 million people.

Much of that publicity centered on the region's effort to position itself as "Blue World," a campaign that emphasizes the special characteristics of the south shore of Lake Tahoe.

"The public relations outreach is absolutely essential to our efforts with the Blue World campaign," said Bill Chernock, executive director of the visitors authority.

The redevelopment and renaissance of South Lake Tahoe also generated large amounts of publicity for the area.

Weidinger Public Relations said its campaign this year generated publicity worth more than 18 times the amount invested in the program.

The company said a return of five to 10 times the investment is considered successful among PR agencies.

Other events also generated positive public relations for the region, the PR agency said its report.

Operation Sierra Storm, an annual conference of meteorologists, generated an estimated $290,000 worth of publicity.

Golf the High Sierra, a media tour, generated another $275,000 worth of publicity.

Although final figures haven't been compiled, television and radio coverage of the American Century Championship, a celebrity golf tournament, are estimated to have been worth at least $1 million.