Date Approved

6-27-1997

Embargo Period

8-25-2016

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

M.A. in Public Relations

Department

Public Relations & Advertising

College

Ric Edelman College of Communication & Creative Arts

Advisor

Bagin, Donald

Subject(s)

Advertising--Tourism; Seaside resorts

Disciplines

Public Relations and Advertising

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to identify the visual design elements that contribute to the effectiveness of seashore tourism brochures and print advertising.

For the first part of the study, the researcher interviewed seven tourism communications professionals for resorts from Cape Cod, Mass., to Virginia Beach, Va. The researcher asked them to indicate the most effective elements in the following categories: brochure format, color tones, overall tone, use of text, style of text, use of photos and the elements within those photographs.

The researcher also conducted a survey of a non-random sample of 31 potential seashore resort visitors. The participants were provided examples of design elements and were asked to select those which made them feel more favorable about visiting a seashore resort.

The research showed the most effective brochure format to be the magazine. Vacationers preferred extensive text while tourism professionals chose minimal text. A dominant photographic image was seen as more effective than multiple, equally weighted images. Vacationers strongly preferred photographs of scenery over images of people. vacationers and professionals favored cool color tones, particularly blues and greens, and preferred a formal overall tone. Both groups also preferred conventional typefaces, such as Times Roman and Helvetica.

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