Brand USA Hopes Cord-Cutters Will Like Its New Streaming TV Channel
Skift Take
Brand USA's content, including films, have generally won praise and performed well with many international travelers. But the competition on streaming services and TVs is fierce, and much of the organization's challenge will be to tell compelling stories that don't read like a tourism campaign.
After one of the worst years for international tourism to the United States in the past decade, Brand USA, the country's national destination marketing organization, is turning to smart televisions and streaming to get an edge.
Brand USA is launching its GoUSA TV channel this week on smart TV platforms, or those with Internet connections, that stream programming through Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV and Roku in various markets in North America, Europe, Asia, and Latin America.
The smart TV channel, which had a soft launch in November in some markets, will feature episodic video content about outdoor activities, road trips, food, and events throughout the United States.
Many travelers are cord-cutting and ending relationships with cable providers because of the popularity of streaming services like Netflix and Hulu, and buying smart TVs to stream these services and other channels.
GoUSA can be viewed by any traveler in some of the country's largest visitors' markets such as Canada, the UK, and Germany, but millennial travelers remain a key audience for Brand USA, said Tom Garzilli, chief marketing officer of Brand USA.
"Millennials are cord-cutting in record numbers and to be on their TV sets and provide them with different experiences is what we feel like is a big part of what we call our all-screen strategy, to be in front of travelers whether they're at a movie theater, a smartphone or a TV in their living room," said Garzilli.
