Ads About Belize Exposed to Atlanta Football Fans

Belize is often called Mother Nature’s Best Kept Secret, but that might change soon! A series of eye-catching ads lit up the big screens at a packed U.S. football stadium, aiming to make Belize the go-to vacation spot for Atlanta residents. On Saturday, the Belize Tourism Board launched a strategic ad campaign at the bustling Atlanta Mercedes-Benz Stadium during a soccer match between Atlanta United FC and New York Red Bulls.  Leading the charge were the Minister of Tourism, Anthony Mahler, the Minister of Sports, Rodwell Ferguson, the Minister of State in the Ministry of Sports, Gilroy Usher, along with other officials.  Belizeans from the Atlanta Diaspora, and representatives from the Belize Hotel Association and the Belize Tourism Board were also in attendance. News Five’s Marion Ali brings us the scoop on this new marketing strategy that’s set to boost tourism from Atlanta.

 

Marion Ali, Reporting

To stay ahead in the fierce competition for tourist dollars, the Belize Tourism Board (BTB) came up with a creative strategy: sponsoring the Atlanta United Football Club for 2024. This partnership gave Belize prime-time advertising at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium, where Atlanta United triumphed over New York’s Red Bulls. According to Gale Malic Ozaeta from BTB’s Marketing and Communications, these ads showcased Belize to forty-five thousand fans at the game and at least five million Atlanta United fans across the U.S.

 

Gale Malic Ozaeta, Marketing and Communications Mgr., B.T.B

“We chose the Atlanta United FC team because they are based in Atlanta – Atlanta, Georgia being one of our key source markets for arrivals. They are one of the top ten destinations within the U.S. where we get our highest arrivals from. Atlanta is also a hub destination. Delta Airlines flies directly from Atlanta to Belize. So, by partnering with them, by being a destination sponsor of them, we had the opportunity to reach that entire audience through different mediums. So, being at the game,  having our ads running within the stadium, a stadium full of 45, 000 people, we’re directly targeting these 45,000 people. But we also had ads running outside the stadium.”

 

Minister of Sports, Rodwell Ferguson was one of the attendees at the game. He said the ads even took on creative sports/tourism concepts.

 

Rodwell Ferguson, Minister of Sports

“It shows sites in Belize, in particular, the blue hole. No matter how far there was a net and a ball, when you kick the ball, then there was a feature of the Blue Hole and somebody was sitting on a chair. And when somebody scores a goal, The person that the person that you are dropped up in the water into the blue world. It was very, very significant.”

 

The idea followed last year’s one closely where Belize did marketing advertising in New York’s Times Square. And now the B.T.B is expecting that the sponsorship we invested at the Atlanta game on Saturday will yield new visitors and great returns.

 

Gale Malic Ozaeta

“We would be able to definitely identify where the increase is coming from because the immigration form does ask them what state you’re coming from and so we will be able to measure.”

 

Marion Ali for News Five.