• Be our guest

  Research on Iowa Tourism Office and its industry partners nets Greenlee School's Angela Mak top prize at international conference.

• Radio and print ads. Large slick publications.
  
  These are just a couple of the ways that the Iowa Tourism Office works to get people to visit the state's attractions.
  
  It's doubtful that even tourists looking to spend several days in our state perused those materials as carefully as Angela Mak, assistant professor in the Greenlee School of Journalism and Communication has.
  
  Mak's research into the Iowa Tourism Office focused on the reputation management and organization-public relationship management between that office and its industry partners or stakeholders.
  
  "The Iowa Tourism Office can't just communicate with visitors to the state," said Mak. "They have to be able to tell their story to their industry partners as well."
  
  In addition to analyzing the tourism promotional materials, Mak also interviewed staff members of the Iowa Tourism Office. That research identified four key identity attributes - agriculture/dairy industry, small town environment, strong family values and pride in education - of the State of Iowa.
  
  All of these, Mak says, shape the direction of how that office promotes Iowa within the state and beyond its borders.
  
  In her study, Mak surveyed 200 industry partners including owner/operators of hotels, motels, bed and breakfast inns, restaurants, and attractions. Local chamber of commerce offices and convention and visitor bureaus were also included in the telephone survey.
  
  Almost three-fourths responded to Mak's questions, which included, listing the items and issues that came to mind when they thought of Iowa, rating how important those organizations felt they were to the success of the Iowa tourism industry, evaluating whether the four key identities mentioned earlier best described the state, and describing how strongly the industry partners felt a sense of identification with the state's tourism industry.
  
  "The results helped to determine what reputational items and issues are important to the future of the Iowa travel industry," Mak said.
  
  The results also helped the selection of Mak's paper, "Identity-Centered Model of Reputation Management: A Case Study of Iowa Tourism Office and its Industry Partners," as a "Top Three Paper" at the 8th Annual International Public Research Conference.
  
  Mak presented the paper at the Miami conference and received a $1,000 award.
  
  "Examining the efficacy of public relations practice from the inside out provides a rationale for building and maintaining more durable stakeholder relationships of all kinds," she says.
  
  Mak plans to continue her study with the Iowa Tourism Office since the office has developed a new theme for its promotional materials. During the initial study, the tourism materials asked people to "Come be our guest."
  
  In recent weeks, the entire state has begun a new theme, "Iowa Life Changing." Other statewide agencies are using the theme including the Department of Economic Development, which produced television ads that appeared throughout basketball telecasts in March encouraging young adults to stay in the state after graduating from high school and/or college.
  
  "It's perfect timing to continue this study," Mak said.
  
  Over 200 students in Mak's Advertising Principles class have adopted the new theme for their group projects. A poster session will be held April 26-28 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. in 172 Hamilton Hall, where individuals can vote for the best print ads in promoting attractions to Iowans and from the surrounding states.

Around LAS
April 25 to May 8, 2005