And that’s exactly what travel marketers in St. Petersburg and Clearwater, Florida, were hoping to capitalize on when they commissioned an original, scripted TV series, seeking to draw quarantine-weary tourists to the area’s sugar sand beaches.
“Life’s Rewards” aired on Amazon Prime last month. The eight-episode show is based on a charming yet cavalier wealth manager who loses his money and uses travel rewards points to stay at the posh, pink Don CeSar hotel while rebuilding his life.
Each episode is only eight to 14 minutes long, and was filmed using a local production company, director and actors. The series cost roughly a million dollars to create, with contributions from the city and the state’s tourism arm.
Some of the “ad” spots woven throughout the dialogue are obvious, like the random episode about the Tampa Bay Watch Discovery Center. But the characters quickly pivot back to plot forwarding dialogue. It’s a quick-hit ad versus the sustained 15- to 30-second hard sell of conventional commercials.
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