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Govt: 137 Million Watched Bulgaria's Tourism TV Ads Abroad

Friday, Apr 29, 2011

Bulgaria's government has reported impressive estimates of the number of viewers who watched the TV ads for Bulgarian tourism on four international TV channels.

A total of 137 million viewers are said to have watched at least four times Bulgaria's tourism ads on Euronews, Eurosport, National Geographic, and Discovery Channel.

The advertising campaign, which spurred some public debate as to the quality and substance of the videos and its general approach, cost a total of BGN 7.5 M funded under the EU Regional Development Program, and took place from September 6 till December 27, 2010, and from January 31 till March 27, 2011, announced Aneliya Genova, head of "Marketing, Advertising, and Information in Tourism" in the Bulgarian Ministry of Economy, Energy, and Tourism.

A total of 561 30-second video ads of Bulgaria were shown on Eurosport, 952 on Euronews, 504 on National Geographic, and 1020 on Discovery Channel. The videos on Euronews and Eurosport were general, while those on National Geographic and Discovery focused on culture and nature.

More than half of Bulgaria's ads were shown in the prime time of the four channels. A total of 14 million page views were generated through Bulgaria's advertising banners on their websites.

All four channels made documentaries about Bulgaria as part of the advertising campaign.

The Bulgarian Economy Ministry says the campaign focused on image-making and increasing awareness about Bulgaria, and that its effect is yet to be measured. When the campaign was introduced in August 2010, there were estimates that it is supposed to increase the number of foreign tourists in Bulgaria by 4%-5% but it remains unclear how example any such forecasts can be measured.

Source: novinite.com