The marketing value of rolling into the public eye as part of the Tournament of Roses Parade has motivated at least two different state tourism agencies to participate with themed floats.
For the Louisiana Office of Tourism, the organization’s 2025 float, symbolizing the food, music and cheer of a “Louisiana Saturday night” – marks the group’s fourth year in the parade, said Charlie Whinham, public information officer with the Louisiana Office of Tourism.
Each year it costs $400,000 to build the float and $185,000 to participate as a mid-parade performance, he said.
The return, however, he said amounts to roughly $23 million in a cumulative advertising-value equivalency, with Louisiana reaching “billions” of viewers, since its involvement in the 2022 parade, and generating more than $40 million in earned media coverage.
“The return on investment is incredible,” Whinham said, “and it leads to very successful numbers of tourists coming to our state.”
Pauline Annarino, 70, of Covina, works on the Louisiana Office of Tourism float in Irwindale, Calf., ahead of the 2022 Rose Parade on Monday, Dec. 27, 2021. (Photo by Trevor Stamp, Contributing Photographer)
Louisiana Lieutenant Gov. Billy Nungesser shared the positives, which focus on generating good promotional vibes for the state, especially in the wake of the pandemic.
“The Rose Parade is an excellent way for us to encourage everyone to come to Louisiana to share our music, our food, our culture, and ‘Feed Your Soul,’” he said, quoting the state’s tourism slogan.
“Considering the challenges following the pandemic, our goal at Explore Louisiana was figuring out how to make a big splash on the national and international stage to make sure Louisiana was a top-of-mind destination for travelers,” he said. “The Rose Parade was a perfect fit.”
In 2022, the state generated $17.1 billion in visitor spending, netting a total of $1.9 billion in state and local tax revenue, according to state figures. Louisiana’s leisure and hospitality industry is the fourth largest employer in the state.
Whinham said that the idea to get involved with the Rose Parade began during the pandemic.
“Everything was upside down, every business, including tourism, and we were looking outside the box,” he said. “The Tournament of Roses Parade became a thinking-out-of-the-box possibility and really allowed us to showcase to a large audience what coming to Louisiana is all about.”
“Nobody loves a parade like Louisiana, so this was a perfect set-up,” he said.
Rendering of Mississippi’s entry into the 2025 Tournament of Roses (Courtesy, Tournament of Roses)
The tourism department for the state of Mississippi had a similar recognition this year.
“This is Visit Mississippi’s first year at the parade,” said Katie Coats, director of marketing and communications, “but we have already seen excitement locally and regionally through social media,” as well as news articles.
She said the hope is that participation will drive traffic to the state’s tourism website, “and ultimately inspire travel to Mississippi.”
Coats recounted that their float would be viewed by 850,000 in-person spectators at it travels the famous 5.5-mile Colorado Boulevard route, along with 27.8 million television viewers in the U.S., and a multiple more throughout more than 60 other countries.
“In addition to the broadcast features, we will promote the float through additional Tournament of Roses events,” she said, such as Floatfest, which gives visitors an up-close look at all the participating floats in a two-mile showcase held Jan. 1 to Jan. 3.
Whinham, likewise, said the parade itself is not the only promotional feature, but includes lead-up interviews and stories in the media, as well as exposure in the days following the parade.
“It’s more than just one day of an event for us,” he said, noting that they start getting extensive attention starting in mid-December.
Rendering of Louisiana’s float entry in the 2025 Tournament of Roses Parade (Courtesy, Tournament of Roses)
According to the state, Mississippi saw a record 43.7 million visitors in 2023, with $11.5 billion generated in visitor spending. Tourism in Mississippi generated $1.1 billion in total state and local tax revenue.
Hoping to highlight its musical history in its first official year participating in the parade, Mississippi is focusing on a theme called “Two Kings,” which will feature the Chapel Hart Band and singer Brandon Bennett performing segments of songs made famous by Mississippi natives Elvis Presley and B.B. King. Statuesque likenesses of the icons will adorn the 2025 float.
This year Louisiana is focused on food, using the float to highlight its culinary history with an emphasis on the seafood industry.
“This year’s float will play off of our new marketing campaign … We announced in New York City the last couple of days, that 2025 is going to be declared the year of food for Louisiana,” Whinham said.
Country artist Timothy Wayne will be providing entertainment on the float. “We’re really excited to have him onboard,” Whinham said.
“The Tournament of Roses Parade is a real showcase for us to show off our food, our music, and our culture,” he said.
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Jarret Liotta is a Los Angeles-area-based freelance writer and photographer.