May 15, 2003 - Old-school economics are helping Atlanta tourism officials get more bang for their buck in promoting the metro area. 

The Atlanta Convention and Visitors Bureau is bartering for commercial time this summer from television and broadcast stations across the Southeast to advertise the city's accommodations, restaurants and attractions. 

The agency turned to the age-old concept after its advertising campaign budget was cut nearly 60 percent to $165,000, said the ACVB's Brandy Humphries. 

But by offering hotel rooms, tickets to local attractions and meals at Atlanta-area restaurants, the ACVB was able to turn that outlay into $1.5 million in promotions, Humphries said. 

That bested last year's results, when the agency, working with an advertising budget of $420,000, generated $995,000 worth of media and advertising for metro Atlanta. 

Humphries said the difference this year was that the ACVB offered a lot of excess inventory to stations that had a lot more uncommitted time to fill. 

"They are having a hard time, too, so they were willing to deal," she said. 

ACVB officials offered stations in Birmingham, Chattanooga, Greenville, S.C., Knoxville, Savannah, Columbus, Macon and Augusta -- the group's primary advertising market -- packages that include everything from getaway trips to the metro area to Braves tickets, said Bill Howard, vice president of marketing, communications and tourism for the ACVB. 

"A typical prize would be a three-day trip to Atlanta for a family of four with tickets for four attractions," said Howard. He said, overall, 800 to 900 packages have been offered in exchange for airtime. 

The result has been 2,500 television spots and 5,400 radio ads valued at about $1.5 million and rising, Howard said. Ads are also running in secondary markets, which include such Florida cities as Jacksonville, Tallahassee and Pensacola. 

"It was born out of absolute necessity," said Howard, who is getting calls from several cities interested in duplicating Atlanta's bartering effort, including Asheville, N.C., and Gatlinburg, Tenn. "We have had a great response to this campaign." 

Ken Bernhardt, regents professor of marketing for Georgia State University, isn't surprised. Bernhardt said bartering is an effective way to make every dollar count when money is in short supply. 

"Bartering is a great strategy to leverage cash," said Bernhardt, pointing out that auto dealers and Six Flags Over Georgia are masters of the practice. 

Bartering among tourist organizations is not new, said Bernhardt. Many have tried it over the years, including the ACVB, of which he is a board member. 

But few have had such success, which he attributes to timing: The broadcast stations are just as hungry to barter as the ACVB because of the ailing economy. 

"If they could sell all their time, they wouldn't have time available for bartering," he said. 

John Odum, vice president and general manager of Six Flags, said participating in a bartering system is very beneficial to local companies. 

"We get the benefit of having, say, Birmingham talking about Six Flags Over Georgia," Odum said. "We're interested in being in front of people and reminding them that they can come out for a lot of fun." 

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