West Palm Beach, FL, August 11, 2020 – The vibrant, upbeat PSA campaign Keep Florida Open calls upon visitors and residents alike to practice basic safety measures to reduce the spread and consequences of COVID-19, and to support our state's economic recovery.

The goal of Keep Florida Open is to encourage tourism, hospitality, and businesses throughout the state to communicate the need for us all to responsibly and safely conduct ourselves in order to stay open and keep businesses viable.

To date, the campaign has launched in a number of major cities throughout the state and by key economic industry partners, including the cities of Kissimmee and Miramar, South Fort Walton and Kissimmee's destination marketing organizations, the Palm Beach Chamber of Commerce, the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of the Palm Beaches, and more than 100 individual small businesses.

Major media partners have also signed on to support, providing out of home media space, including highway billboards between Miami and Palm Beach County- the state's pandemic epicenter. Additional campaign partners will be announced in the coming weeks.

Tourism is Florida's number one industry, with visitors spending more than $94B annually. In the first quarter of 2020, tourism in Florida fell 10.7 percent, and the numbers projected for the second quarter will fall far short of where they were a year ago.

South Florida-based creative agency LOMBARDO has launched Keep Florida Open to bring partners together for the good of our communities, businesses, residents, and visitors.

“About 50% of Florida's economy is supported by small businesses,” says Rita Lombardo, Principal. “As an agency, we knew we had to step up on behalf of our communities.”

Florida hotels lost nearly $3.5 billion in revenue between March 1 and May 30 alone. Most Florida restaurants lost more than 90% of their sales within the first few weeks, forcing many of them to lay off their entire hourly staff. Meanwhile, COVID-19 cases in the state continue to rise.

The campaign, which has been created in both English and Spanish, features colorful illustrations of celebrated Florida experiences, paired cleverly with health and safety messages.

“As we join with partners to help share the message,” says Rita Lombardo, “we're excited to help set the stage for righting the ship. Small businesses need our help right now.”

On the campaign's website, KeepFloridaOpen.com, any business or organization that desires to participate can easily find resources and receive a free Campaign Toolkit that contains messaging and assets, including print ads, emails, in-store/on-premise signs, social media, press material, all of which can be customized with destination branding, upon request.

For more information about Keep Florida Open or to participate, please visit KeepFloridaOpen.com.

About LOMBARDO

Lombardo is a creative agency based on the Palm Beach waterfront, with offices in New York and Los Angeles. Since 2010, Lombardo has gained a reputation for exceptional creative and bespoke service. Their work with both market leaders and challenger brands has fundamentally changed the way businesses and industries operate, and generated measurable value for communities and clients alike. These attributes have seen them develop a client list across Beauty & Health, Fashion, Food & Beverage and Home that includes Fendi Casa, Watches of Switzerland, Anheuser-Busch.

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Media Contact:  Carli Brinkman / cb@carlipr.com / 561.308.3683