Tampa; Steve Hayes.

Tampa solved a tourism problem with a cool ad campaign.

"For us, May through September is not the coolest time in the world to get tourists," says Steve Hayes, exec VP, Tampa/Hillsborough Convention & Visitors Association, as he understated the marketing challenge. "So we ran a campaign during that time and broke away from what we had been doing."

Moving beyond heavy dependence on Busch Gardens collateral advertising, Mr. Hayes extended Tampa tourism media choices to include direct-mail pieces and print ads to get results. Tampa outdoor and heritage options were promoted.

But best of all, the city looked in its own back yard for visitors, …