Illinois is Up For Amazing with New Campaign from OKRP

CHICAGO – The wonder and awe of traveling, and the feelings one gets from experiencing new places, is at the heart of a new advertising and marketing campaign for the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, Office of Tourism, from its new agency of record, Chicago-based O’Keefe Reinhard & Paul.

The ads leverage the State’s long-time “Are you Up for Amazing?” positioning with a purposeful focus on the word ‘Amazing.’ Advertising across all mediums open with the line Amazing is… and then expands to show and detail the State’s many near and far experiences. The ads end with a profound declaration: “Amazing isn’t just a place you take yourself. It’s where that place takes you.”

“Our goal with this new campaign is to touch our consumers’ heart and evoke real emotion. It’s about the specificity of our locations that makes them so memorable – the sights, sounds and tastes that are unique to Illinois,” said Erin Guthrie, Acting Director of the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity. “We’re very excited with how OKRP has evolved our tagline ‘Are you up for Amazing?’ Their insight into our state is fresh, with language and visuals that help bring to life that amazing feeling.”

In the advertising, the word ‘Amazing’ has a distinctive type treatment that heightens the impact of the word as it introduces such Illinois wonders as the Shawnee National Forest, Cave-in-Rock State Park, Main Street in Galena, Chicago’s Alinea restaurant and more. The campaign reveals the many different types of experiences Illinois delivers for those who might want to connect with nature, or to have a more cultural city-type visit, or even want to explore hidden gems and history. The goal is to get visitors to travel to Illinois and throughout the state and to stay overnight in paid accommodations.

“For the next chapter for this great tagline we really wanted to capture what ‘Amazing’ feels like, through the traveler’s eyes in a ‘show me, don’t tell me’ way,” explained Tom O’Keefe, CEO of OKRP. “Like a lot of us here, I’m an Illinois native and couldn’t be more proud to help show off what our wonderful state has to offer.”

The advertising shows Illinois destinations from the visitor’s point of view and will also include some user generated content. The ads will run across a wide range of media from television, online video, out of home, online sites, print and social.  Advertising will run throughout the summer across markets and states surrounding Illinois including St. Louis, Detroit, Indianapolis, Milwaukee and others. It will also run nationally through programmatic television and digital media investments. The media is being handled by Spurrier Group. An integrated PR effort is led by TimeZoneOne.

About OKRP

Chicago-based O’Keefe Reinhard & Paul (www.okrp.com), has Illinois blood rushing through its veins. In addition to the Illinois Office of Tourism, the agency’s clients include the Illinois Lottery, Chicago-based Groupon and Home Chef as well as Ace Hardware, Chili’s, YUM! Brands and others. OKRP was named by Advertising Age as a 2019 A-List “Standout Agency” and “Small Agency of the Year” 2015. It is a new model advertising agency that delivers big agency brand creativity with startup ingenuity.   

About Illinois Office of Tourism

The Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, Office of Tourism manages industry efforts that result in sustainable and significant economic and quality-of-life benefits for Illinois resident.