CJRW at 300 Main St. in Little Rock.
CJRW, the Little Rock marketing agency with decades of history promoting Arkansas tourism, is putting its money behind its message in encouraging its own employees to vacation at attractions within the state.
Company President Jill Joslin announced this week that the firm will reimburse employees for traveling and spending in Arkansas, up to $500 a year. The idea behind the initiative is to offer added incentives for spending paid time off for in-state vacations, beyond Arkansas’ natural beauty and other attractions, and state officials hope that other Arkansas companies will see the program as a model.
“As the longtime marketing partner of the Arkansas Department of Parks & Tourism, we wanted to make sure that our employees are getting out and experiencing Arkansas,” Joslin said in a news release. “It will make us better at our jobs when we actually experience all the great things about our state that we so often promote.”
The program, which CJRW is calling “Explore Arkansas,” will include money for overnight stays, dining at restaurants, admission to attractions and museums, and watercraft rentals. Employees, who will pay for these expenses and then file expense reports for reimbursement, are encouraged to make posts about their travel, dining and destinations on social media. Those posts and images will also go into an Explore Arkansas Travel Journal that the agency has developed.
“Keeping vacation dollars right here in Arkansas is critical to our economy, and we want to do our part beyond our contracted marketing and communications responsibilities by encouraging investment in local communities,” Joslin said.
Cynthia Dunlap, interim director of the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism, praised what she called CJRW’s innovation in promoting in-state travel.
“CJRW’s commitment to Arkansas is evident in everything they do for travel and tourism,” she said. “Now they are backing up their work with an investment in this unique program. I hope other businesses in the state will follow suit.”
CJRW has offices on Main Street in downtown Little Rock and in northwest Arkansas. The firm, founded in 1961, has clients across the country and has evolved into one of the South’s highly recognized advertising, marketing and public relations firms.
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