Minn. tourism agency puts out call for advertisers to market state as vacation destination

The Associated Press
August 19, 2013 at 9:20PM
Not since the battle of 1978 to designate the BWCA as a wilderness area has the town of Ely been so divided. This time it's the possibility of Copper/Nickel mining and the promised jobs it brings -vs- the fear that mining so close to the BWCA could contaminate the water. Since its designation as a wilderness in 1978, people have come from all over the world to enjoy this canoe country jewel.
The town of Ely, Minn. (Tom Wallace — Star Tribune/file/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

ST. PAUL, Minn. — Make Minnesota a must-see.

That's the goal of an advertising contract that the state's tourism agency is seeking to fill.

Explore Minnesota put out a call Monday for ad firms to bid on a marketing and promotion contract due to start on Jan. 1 and run through March of 2015. The state currently pays about $3.5 million for those services. There's an option for renewal periods for up to five years.

Officials say every dollar spent on advertising generally reaps many times the return in tourism spending. Tourism is a roughly $12 billion annual industry in the state.

The current ad campaign has the theme, "There's More to Explore in Minnesota." Minneapolis-based Colle+McVoy is the incumbent ad firm.

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