In the two years since its launch, Virginia Beach's Live the Life campaign has won 67 national marketing and travel-and-tourism  awards. And there are other numbers indicating how effective it is: traveler inquiries about the destination in 2005 were up 61% over 2004; web-site visits jumped more than 71%; hotel sales grew by 7.4% and restaurant sales by 8%.

So, what's the secret behind the success? “Our challenge in serving up a sustainable, revenue-generating image for Virginia Beach was to differentiate the experiences people can have here”, says Art Webb, president of BCF, the brand communications firm behind the campaign. “That challenge prompted us to dig deeply into people's psyche. Bottom line, people told us they just want to live the life they dream to live.”

Promotional products played an important role in helping spread the message that BCF crafted. Jessica Rinck, PR account supervisor at BCF, says, “We do use a number of promotional products, specifically for journalists and influential people within the travel/tourism industry, such as visits from the Southeast Tourism Society.” These include canvas beach bags with leather handles, a journalist notepad with canvas cover, canvas-covered necessity kits and alarm clocks - all with the Live the Life logo.