Citing a lack of use, Connecticut tourism officials on Thursday afternoon officially dumped the state’s seven-year-old “Still Revolutionary” slogan.
The state Office of Tourism sent out an email to industry stakeholders Thursday saying it will no longer use the tagline because it played a “very small part” in its communications and “was becoming a distraction.”
The conclusion was reached after state tourism officials said they spent time “carefully considering feedback from the industry.”
The new logo now being used by the tourism office looks similar to what it’s been in recent years but without the slogan.
The state tourism office began to noticeably step away from the slogan in recent months as it slowly phased out the catch-phrase from its website and promotional materials. When asked last month whether the state had dropped the tagline, officials said it had not dropped it entirely.
In the coming months, the tourism office on Thursday said it will consider adopting a new slogan.
“We’re keeping the successful brand and messaging, but the tagline will no longer be an element of our Connecticut logo,” the letter said.
Connecticut and a New York advertising firm in 2012 launched a two-year, $27 million “Still Revolutionary” campaign with an updated website, television and print advertisements, and other targeted marketing. That marked the state’s largest-ever investment in tourism, officials have said.
If the tourism office, which operates under the state Department of Economic and Community Development, decides to move forward with a new tagline, it would be the state’s tenth one since the 1980s.
Taglines in recent years include: “Connecticut. Full of surprises (2001); ‘Connect’ In Connecticut (2005); Real Fun Is Closer Than You Think (2007); Connecticut – Your Staycation Destination (2008).
Debate over Connecticut’s slogan resurfaced this year as state-appointed tourism groups, advocates and business leaders lobbied to increase state tourism funding, which has been cut by 73 percent since 2012.
Gov. Ned Lamont supports a new state slogan and has suggested a pitch competition to drum up new ideas.
The governor’s initial two-year proposed budget increased tourism funding $300,000 to $4.4 million, but it’s not exactly clear how much funding the tentative, $43 billion budget deal struck Thursday will provide the industry.
Advocates say state tourism funding directly impacts the industry, which generated $15.5 billion in total sales in 2017, up 5.5 percent vs. 2015, according to a recent study by the state tourism office.
