NASSAU (February 4, 2013) — The Bahamas’ Behold advertising campaign expanded to national proportions in the United States this morning, continuing the rollout that will sustain a year-round presence for the country’s tourism product.

The bold Behold campaign debuted on CBS during Super Bowl Sunday with a 60-second television spot in select Florida markets. National advertising follows with both :60 and :30 spots taking place on cable channels such as Weather Channel, Travel Channel, MSNBC and the Cooking Channel, said Nalini Bethel, a senior director for Communications in the Ministry of Tourism.

Spot cable advertising will take place on CNN, Bravo, ESPN, HGTV, USA, Food Network, Lifetime and channel in core markets such as New York, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., and Miami/Ft. Lauderdale, she said. As the advertising schedule progresses, spots in network morning shows will appear in cities such as Washington, Philadelphia, New York, Miami and Ft. Lauderdale. This will be followed by an Out of Home campaign that will feature dominant outdoor advertising in public transportation stations such as Grand Central Station and at Rockefeller Center in New York as well as billboard advertising in Times Square and a dynamic wallscape in Miami and billboards in Ft. Lauderdale, Ms. Bethel said.

“The whole plan is to have a sustained presence throughout the year by staggering the media in key target markets,” she said.

Ms. Bethel revealed that the print component to the campaign will begin in the second quarter of the year.

“In addition, we have a very strong digital campaign, which will include Search Engine Marketing on Google, Yahoo Travel, MSN Travel and display advertising on the OTA’s, Travel Guide sites, Travel Magazine sites and many more travel related sites, “ she said.

Ms. Bethel also pointed out that there is a very large public relations component of the Behold campaign that will include the interaction of the ad’s celebrities and other individuals through social media channels such as Facebook, Twitter and Youtube.

“We grew from an initial 315 views to over 13,000 views (on YouTube) this morning and it’s still climbing.”

While the campaign used Bahamian celebrities of international acclaim, it also enlisted dozens of other Bahamians in various roles. The Grand Bahama Youth Choir provided background vocals from their recording of “Brown Girl In The Ring” and Bahamian Greg Barrett delivered the voiceover. During the shoots in Exuma, more than 30 individuals and businesses provided services that include production assistance, assistance to the director, local casting, transportation, marine coordination, accommodations and stand-in model work.