Brand USA, the destination marketing organization for the United States, is expanding its "Market the Welcome" program to welcome more travelers during their arrival and planning process. The "Market the Welcome" program is an integral part of Brand USA's branding and marketing strategies, comprised of welcoming and informational signage to provide travelers with a warm and seamless experience at U.S. consular waiting areas and U.S. ports of entry.
In January, the Tom Bradley International Terminal at the Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) became the sixth U.S. airport and the first on the West Coast to implement this innovative Brand USA program. The program helps provide a best-in-class arrival experience and warm-welcome to travelers from the moment they enter the airport and continuing on as they proceed through immigration, passport control, and baggage claim. The other airports are: Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL), Miami International Airport (MIA), Chicago O'Hare International Airport (ORD), Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport (MSP), and Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport (MSY).
Beyond gateway airports, Brand USA works with its U.S. Embassy and consulate partners in providing print and video assets to display as future travelers wait in consular areas. Recently, Brand USA released a “Market the Welcome” toolkit specifically deisgned for U.S. embassies and consulates offering customized displays with welcoming messages. This toolkit includes a suite of assets that give visitors to consular areas an authentic sense of welcome and to generate excitement about the many adventures that await. Included in this toolkit is a 27-minute loop video for use in consular waiting rooms that was designed in collaboration with the Bureau of Consular Affairs at the State Department. You may preview it here. This beautiful, high-definition video features stunning imagery from every region of the United States and also includes a mandatory segment on fingerprinting and visa applications as well as what to expect upon arrival at U.S. ports of entry.
The embassy toolkit follows on Brand USA installing specially-tailored installations in several key U.S. embassies and consulates including in Chennai, Delhi, Frankfurt, Hyderabad, Kolkata, London, Mumbai, Shanghai, and Tokyo. Since rolling out the new toolkit with the Bureau of Consular Affairs on Monday of this week, some 13 posts have requested downloads of the content from Eastern Europe to Africa and Latin America. Plans are underway for further distribution of the toolkit with the U.S. Commercial Service in the coming days.