aixcentric

If you are in Paris right now, you may have caught the unexpected sight of some of the 240 4m x 3m ads pasted in metro stations advertising the delights of Aix-en-Provence. There are two visuals, with the same strapline: La Provence a Un Prenom…et Mon Prenom C’est Aix and here they are:

So what is going on?

The background is the catastrophic year 2020 was for the town which depends so much on tourism.  Hotel occupancy was just 34%, the Congress had to cancel/postpone 41 events, income plummeted at museums, cafés, shops which were shut for much of the time.  And the outlook is worrying.  According to the tourist office, international clientele (representing 45% of tourist income) is not expected to be back to normal until the end of 2022 ‘au mieux’.

In the meantime, Aix hopes to attract French visitors who are free to travel inside their own country and will be looking for cultural and leisure activities.  The trouble with that is that other regions have had similar ideas and are also launching campaigns.  Hence Aix’s metro ads targeting Parisians.

The giant posters are placed across the network including the 5 TGV hubs, 10-16 May.  The timing was chosen to boost visitors for the opening of café terraces from 19 May and also to take advantage of reduced ad rates in the capital.

I wonder what you think of the ads? The thinking from the agency and tourist office is here: https://www.tourmag.com/Aix-en-Provence-monte-a-Paris-campagne-Mon-nom-est-Provence-et-mon-prenom-c-est-AIX_a108617.html

« Il ne s’agissait pas de « montrer Aix » mais de faire « rêver avec Aix », de permettre une projection, de positionner au milieu d’une concurrence qui va être particulièrement intense, c’est bien compréhensible, au sortir de la crise, le caractère universel et exceptionnel de notre étoile de Provence … » statement from Michel Fraisset, director of the tourist office.

There will also be regional, Provence-wide publicity throughout the year which will publicise Aix too.