WARWICK,
R.I. (WLNE) — Rhode Island Commerce is working on a new campaign that would put
installations of life-sized “stuffies” in airports across the country.
Stuffies,
also known as baked stuffed clams, are a Rhode Island staple.
The
goal of these installations is to get people curious about Rhode Island and
hopefully draw more people to the state.
Travelers
at Rhode Island T.F. Green International Airport have mixed reviews on whether
or not a stuffie would draw people into the Ocean State. Some people said yes,
but many people said something else would better represent Rhode Island.
“What
would you think if you saw a giant stuffed claim in the airport?” asked ABC 6’s
Alyssa Azzara.
“SpongeBob
lives here, I don’t know,” said one traveler.
“Would
it make you want to come to Rhode Island?” asked Azzara.
“I
think so…because it looks good,” said another traveler.
“I
don’t think they would come to Rhode Island for that,” said a third traveler.
Some
people say no way to the stuffie, but one traveler that spoke with ABC 6 thinks
it’ll peak people’s curiosity.
The
whole idea of these life-sized installations is to get people’s attention.
“The
goal is to make them say, ‘Well, what is that?’ And when they say what is that,
we have achieved part one of of goal, which is to get their attention and make
them curious,”‘ said Anika Kimble-Huntley, chief marketing officer at Rhode
Island Commerce.
Some
travelers think Rhode Island Commerce could have picked something different to
better represent the state.
“If
Rhode Island had a great coastline, or water, or mansions to visit, maybe if I
saw that I’d be more interested, a quahog… probably not,” said a traveler from
Rhode Island.
Kimble-Huntley
said they want to draw people in with something they may not know about, have
travelers talk with ambassadors about it, and then hopefully they’ll visit the
Ocean State.
“If
we’re able to drive food tourism to restaurants who probably need the help
selling stuffies then there’s an economic impact to that, then think about the
trickle down affect, now you have the shellfish fisherman.. Maybe they’ll be a
greater demand for quahog,” explained Kimble-Huntley.
Kimble-Huntley
said they’re also looking at doing events and marketing around the stuffies as
well as looking at putting a Newport mansion installation in airports.
The
stuffie installations are a part of a $4.5 million air service marketing
program.
Officials
hope to have the stuffie in airports in June.