The organisation responsible for marketing the United States to world visitors has unveiled Brand USA, America’s first-ever global consumer brand.

Formerly known as the Corporation for Travel Promotion, but now doing business as Brand USA, the group introduced its global brand positioning and strategy before an international audience of travel professionals and destinations in London. 

The creation of America’s new global brand is the first critical step in the development of the nation’s first unified marketing effort.

Brand USA will launch their first official advertising and marketing campaign in the spring of 2012 to invite world guests to visit America for leisure, business and scholarly purposes.

During a brand launch event at London’s British Academy of Film & Television Arts (BAFTA), Brand USA spokespeople including chief executive Jim Evans and chief marketing officer Chris Perkins revealed details about the brand and how it was established.

Although initially incorporated as the Corporation for Travel Promotion, the organisation will now be doing business as Brand USA in an effort to more clearly align brand strategy and corporate messaging.

“The United States offers a range of destinations and experiences that are unparalleled in the world market,” said Evans. 

“Now, through the creation of Brand USA, we are inviting the world’s travellers to come to visit us, and experience the limitless possibilities for themselves.”

According to Brand USA, the logo was created to be “fresh, welcoming and inclusive”.

It aspires to remind the world that “the United States of Awesome Possibilities welcomes everyone”.

“What is so compelling about the United States is that no one thing can explain who we are as a nation.

“Each visitor and each experience helps create the fabric of American culture, and Brand USA embodies this spirit,” added Perkins.

“When we launch our global marketing and advertising campaign next year, we will be able to reach audiences around the world by showcasing the best of America and spreading the message that we welcome visitors with open arms.”

Travel Promotion Act

The United States’ first-ever nationally coordinated tourism marketing program was created by the Travel Promotion Act, federal legislation passed in March 2010.

A public-private partnership between the travel industry and the U.S. government, the Corporation for Travel Promotion - now Brand USA - was charged with increasing international visitation to the United States through marketing and promotional efforts to drive job creation and economic growth. 

The organisation is led by private industry with oversight from the Department of Commerce and US Congress.

The program is funded through a combination of private sector investment and funds collected by the Department of Homeland Security from international visitors who visit the United States under the Visa Waiver Program. 

No US taxpayer dollars are used to fund the program.

Brand USA’s headquarters are located in Washington, DC.

“Brand USA has arrived, and it is not just a tourism brand,” said Stephen Cloobeck, chairman of Brand USA and Chairman and chief executive of Diamond Resorts International.

“It is a 21st-century global brand that will help reposition our great nation in the market for travel - and drive economic activity, including billions in new spending, tens of thousands of new outsource-proof jobs and much-needed tax revenue, to spur powerful growth throughout all corners of the United States.”