The Lord Group will handle all advertising duties for the account, beginning with print efforts set to launch in fall 2000, and running in the U.K., Japan and Brazil. The Media Edge will handle all media buying and placement. Their objective is to brand SeeAmerica as the leader in the communication of U.S. travel information and to help relay the message that travel to the United States is both diverse and affordable. The account will be funded on a pay-to-play basis by U.S. travel companies and destinations, more than 2,100 of whom are members of TIA.

Currently, the correlation between the online population and travel is extremely strong; 93 percent of U.S. Internet users are also travelers. Since 1996, Internet travel planning has increased 1500%, with studies showing that most people use search engines to plan travel and company sites to book trips. Enter SeeAmerica, a unique site representing both information and product providers, where travelers can log on and discover America.

�The SeeAmerica campaign launches America�s first strike in the highly competitive world tourism market,� said Betsy Bromberg-O�Rourke, SVP, Marketing & Member Programs, Travel Industry Association of America. �With SeeAmerica the U.S. will see an increase in our share of world tourism and an expansion of the one million jobs that Americans now have because of international visitors.�

The Lord Group will work in conjunction with the goals of TIA to promote and facilitate increased travel to and within the United States while communicating the diversity and affordability of the U.S. travel product. The Lord Group�s efforts will be focused on garnering attention in the U.K., Japan and Brazil � three of the U.S. travel industry�s largest overseas markets. The agency�s first campaign will focus on �America�s Skiing� and will not only promote America during ski season, but will equally promote the U.S. as host to the 2002 Winter Olympics.

�Our agency is thrilled to be working with the Travel Industry Association of America on such a unique branding assignment,� said Roger Chiocchi, President & COO, The Lord Group. �We will be branding the United States as a product � this is something we don�t get to do every day. At the same time we will be driving international tourists to the SeeAmerica website for an informative and convenient method of planning their visits to our country. We are truly looking forward to our work with the Association.�

About the Lord Group
The Lord Group, a joint venture of Young & Rubicam Inc. and Dentsu (of Japan), is a fully integrated marketing communications consultancy. Its client partners include Bell Atlantic, Kraft Foods, Major League Baseball, Siemens and USAA.

About the Travel Industry Association of America
Based in Washington, DC, Travel Industry Association of America (TIA) is the national, non-profit organization representing all components of the $540 billion travel industry.  TIA�s mission is to represent the whole of the U.S. travel industry to promote and facilitate increased travel to and within the United States.

TIA is the national, non-profit organization representing all components of the $540 billion travel industry. TIA�s mission is to represent the whole of the U.S. travel industry to promote and facilitate increased travel to and within the United States.