'Mystic Country' Brand Driving State Marketing Effort

If the theme of a breakfast forum in Mystic on Tuesday was that tourism is a vital component in the state’s economic recovery strategy, one take-away message was that the Mystic Country brand is an essential part of that component.

Connecticut Lt. Gov. Nancy Wyman and Kip Bergstrom, the newly appointed executive director of the Commission on Culture and Tourism, were the guest speakers at a pre-season regional tourism forum, which reviewed marketing efforts and collaborations during the past year.

“Mystic Country is a great brand,” said Stephen Coan, president and CEO of the and chairman of the Greater Mystic Visitors Bureau. “It conveys a sense of wonder, a place of imagination, a place where history is celebrated, a place of great cultural resources, a place to have fun.”

The Greater Mystic Visitors Bureau evolved from the former Mystic & More and Mystic Coast & Country tourism groups. The result, Coan said, was a more modern collaboration that was able to raise significant private and public-matching funds to promote the region.

Money to promote tourism and market the state as a destination was essentially cut out of the  state budget under former Gov. Rell.  In his budget proposal for next year, however, Gov. Malloy has restored $15 million for marketing the sate.

Promoting tourism is seen as a priority by Gov. Malloy, said Wyman, who said she is no stranger to the Mystic area.

“Tourism is a major way to get things accomplished, and you’ve promoted your area better than anyone else in the state,” said Wyman, who participated in this year’s . “People are envious.”

Wyman said one slogan that doesn’t work in Connecticut is “Staycation.”

“It implies just staying home, and we don’t want people to stay home,” she said. “We want them to come here any way they can.” 

Bergstrom, the forum’s keynote speaker, said another slogan that doesn’t reflect the state’s current economic needs is “the land of steady habits.”

A better one, he said, might be “innovate or die.”

“And that applies as much to tourism as any business,” he said. “Our entire history has been about innovation overcoming natural disadvantage.” He said the state’s economic strategy “should draw on the history of the place.”

And the was the perfect place to make that point. Mystic, he said, is the strongest calling card in the state, a stronger brand than the state itself.

Several business owners who spoke at the forum concurred. Susette Tibus of said her business is celebrating 20 years in Mystic.

“It was tourism that made our business a success,” she said. “I would say if you want your local business to be successful, put Mystic at the top of the list. It’s all about Mystic.”

Besides the Visitors Bureau, the forum was sponsored by the Eastern Regional Tourism District, the and the Chamber of Commerce of Eastern Connecticut.

Several members were invited to speak during the forum, including Peter Glankoff, the aquarium’s senior VP of Marketing and Public Affairs, and Steve White, president of the Mystic Seaport, which hosted the event.

White noted that the Seaport is 80 years old this year, and that the museum’s centerpiece, the whaling bark Charles W. Morgan, was launched 170 years ago, and came to the Seaport 70 years ago.

Bob Bell, president of the Valley Rail Road and Essex Steamboat Museum, said his organization is celebrating a 40-year anniversary this year.

These attractions, together with the region’s two casinos, the Nautilus Museum at the Submarine Base, Ocean Beach Park in New London and others all lend to the strength of the Mystic Country brand.   

Andy Wood, of Caspari McCormick marketing, gave a presentation on Mystic.org, Mystic Country’s revamped website that was launched in June. He said the region is being pitched as “a breath of fresh air between New York and Boston.”

Wood said the largest number of visitors to the website have been from New York, followed by Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island. He said visitors are first seeking places to stay, followed by things to do and then places to eat.

In other words, he said, “they’re using the website the way we hoped they would.”