Seattle hopes to lure tourists with New York Super Bowl campaign

Seattle’s tourism advocates are hoping the Seahawks Super Bowl appearance will help them lure more visitors to the Emerald City.

Visit Seattle has quickly expanded its “2 Days in Seattle” campaign to New York, taking over a bunch of Big Apple tour buses.

“We’ll be running throughout the streets with beautiful images of Seattle painted on the sides and the back of seats including the Space Needle and mountains and waterfalls and float planes, all with a call to action, of course,” says David Blandford, Visit Seattle’s VP of Communications.

Blandford says the plan came together in just a couple of days as Visit Seattle and its advertising agency brainstormed ways to take advantage of a possible Seahawks Super Bowl appearance.

“This one happened so quickly, we’re just going to figure it out as we go,” he says. “Our campaign is really a regional, Northwest and Western U.S. campaign so this is our first foray into the East Coast.”

The first bus decked out in Visit Seattle ads hit the streets Monday and more will follow throughout the days leading up to the Super Bowl.

“We’re seizing the opportunity for some national and international publicity and definitely a laser focus on Seattle and hoping that we can convince New Yorkers and others visiting New York to visit Seattle,” Blandford says.

The 2 Days in Seattle consumer travel marketing campaign promotes overnight stays in Seattle and highlights the city’s unique arts and culinary scene.