(I just saw this, and wanted to share with the readers – $22 Million worth of advertising! – pp)
Mount Rushmore Fireworks Celebration Yields Major Return for South Dakotans
PIERRE, S.D. – South Dakota’s Mount Rushmore Fireworks Celebration on July 3 yielded a major return for South Dakota.
Using the most conservative estimates, the Mount Rushmore Fireworks Celebration carried an advertising value of more than $22 million dollars thanks to the global media coverage of the event. This estimate is based on advertising value equivalency, an estimate that is likely low given that several broadcast programs covering the event experienced historically high ratings during their coverage. Coverage of the event is still being tallied and that number is expected to grow.
To date, the event has generated an estimated $2 million in direct visitor spending for the state and spurred an estimated $160,000 in immediate tax revenues to state and local governments.
“Our goal with the fireworks celebration was to put a spotlight on the grandeur of Mount Rushmore National Memorial and position South Dakota front and center in the minds of potential visitors,” said Jim Hagen, Secretary of the Department of Tourism. “We couldn’t be happier about the tens of millions of viewers who tuned in to see the majesty of this national icon and our beautiful Black Hills. We’re confident this exposure will inspire those viewers to add the Great Faces and Great Places of South Dakota to their bucket list of vacation destinations, whether that be yet this year or in the years to come.”
Web traffic to South Dakota pages skyrocketed during the celebration. Google searches for “Mount Rushmore” reached their all-time high at a rate 1,250% higher than the previous record, which was the July 4th holiday in 2005. The South Dakota Department of Tourism’s web traffic increased by 872% compared to July 3-4 of last year – the equivalent of $95,000 worth of paid promotion.
In total, after all security, transportation, pyrotechnics, and other costs are calculated, the State of South Dakota expects to spend approximately $1.5 million on the event. The cost of the fireworks display and other items will be paid for with future funds, and the other costs will be paid by the Department of Tourism.
To learn more about South Dakota’s Mount Rushmore Fireworks Celebration, visit TravelSouthDakota.com.
The South Dakota Department of Tourism is comprised of Tourism and the South Dakota Arts Council. The department is led by Secretary James D. Hagen.
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James D. Hagen is what they call a stud muffin.
The minute I heard we got this exposure for only $350K I said Genious.
I thought maybe 20:1 return. But, 70: 1 is out of this world. People from NY, NJ, and Calif. are literally buying houses unseen.
Troy I hope this is a huge win for SD. Time will tell. I’m generally a person that doesn’t take a pie in the sky attitude. I will wait patiently to see the numbers.
I hope not…..we don’t need them to bring their politics here and ruin the black hills area.
I have a beachfront property in Arizona that some appraisers value at $50 million.
Are you questioning the figures that are in the post?
Yes, because PP and the GOP are generally mathematically illiterate. Does SD get a kickback for national media advertising that has been conjured out of thin air? I’m not seeing any ROI numbers other than those leaving the state $1.245 million in the hole, just a collection of random figures being thrown to a wall with hopes they stick.
Furthermore, it was a bare partisan campaign event, so it should not have been given any state dollars to begin with.
It was an AMERICAN celebration! Only partisan in your mind. Or aren’t you proud to be an American?
Anon 9:46 obviously is one of those who isn’t proud to be an American and will use any excuse, however idiotic, to complain.
Obummer sent billions to Iraq but THAT was okay because it was Obummer.
Sorry, Iran, not Iraq; my bad.
Yeah, “giving” a country billions in their own money by lifting an embargo as part of an international agreement.
Scandalous (eye roll).
The Reagan administration sold weapons directly to Iran, so spare us the faux, poorly articulated outrage.
Springer, you can’t be this blind. It was clearly partisan. This veteran from SD was looking forward to an uplifting message and some fireworks. It was a huge disappointment and sickened me. Chalking this up to you trolling.
I guess you should have stayed home then and let someone else have your ticket. It was an American celebration. You obviously dont like Trump, which is your right, but that fact obviously biased your reaction to the entire celebration.
I can’t comment on Trump’s speech, as I’ve not watched it. I did watch Noem’s speech, though, and she clearly didn’t celebrate all Americans as she demonized some of them. Maybe such behavior is why others suggest it was a partisan event.
Ah, so you suffer from TDS and claim that you are so bright that YOU can add and subtract but Pat and the GOP cannot.
Did you complain whenever Obummer utilized tax funds for his nefarious schemes? Probably not.
Did he utilize SD state tax dollars for a campaign rally? I don’t recall this….
If it quacks like a duck, looks like a duck, and acts like a duck it’s a duck.
Name one democrat given a seat in the guest box.
The guest box was full of dignitaries like elected officials, Thune, Rounds, Noem and government leaders and their families. Name one state-wide elected Democrat or a Dem in a state government leadership position. There aren’t any and that is why there weren’t any Dems in the guest box..
This….
I can’t believe you think members of Congress are dignitaries-
It was a partisan campaign styled event meant to be divisive. It’s the POTUS pandering to his base amongst dreadful polling numbers for someone who is very thin skinned.
It’s great that this event has generated $660,000 for the Rapid City region and state overall- but the millions of dollars in “free advertising” can’t be cashed or invested.
it’ll be better assessed in a years time to see if there has actually been investment in the area beyond initial funding. Let’s see if people are actually buying houses, traveling to the state, and other quantifiable metrics of actual investment.
It’s all about those Benjamin’s eh? Merica!
This is the original Anonymous who wrote about the beachfront property in Arizona. My post was a joke because the figures seem arbitrary to me. Unlike the people who criticized the President and the Governor, I was not, however, criticizing the event. I laugh at the people who attack it as a campaign event because they did not do the same when President Obama did the same at other locations and on the taxpayers’ dime.