McDonald’s Corp. and Coca-Cola Co. are helping Ohio promote its tourist destinations.
The state’s TourismOhio office took the wraps off its Discover Ohio To Go partnership with almost 400 Ohio McDonald’s restaurants that will allow tourists to swap branded cups for discounts at an assortment of attractions.
Basically, consumers can buy a large soft drink or iced tea at a McDonald’s involved in the program, consume it, clean it and trade it in for a number of deals. Some incentives include up to $15 off an admission to Cedar Point amusement park or buy-one-get-one-free admission at the Columbus Museum of Art. The cups will be available at McDonald’s starting Monday through June 9, but redemption for most deals are good through the summer.
The list of McDonald’s restaurants taking part in the partnership and the available discounts and deals are here.
Pat Barker, interim tourism director, told me the state has discussed partnership ideas with McDonald’s for years before arriving at Discover Ohio to Go.
“For us, this was a good kick-off to the season,” she said. “Next year we hope to add more participants.”
The state routinely looks for partnerships with Ohio businesses and has relationships with Marysville-based Honda of America Manufacturing Inc., which donated a Honda Element vehicle for the Too Much Fun Mobile Tour, while Speedway LLC in Enon pays for the promotional vehicle’s gas.
McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) has 127 restaurants around Central Ohio. Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) owns many drink brands in addition to its namesake beverage line, including Sprite, Vitaminwater, Powerade and Minute Maid.
Dan Eaton covers retail, restaurants, manufacturing, automotive and the advertising/PR industry for Business First.
http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2013/04/29/mcdonalds-promoting-ohio-tourism.html
