Just over a year ago, Gov. Phil Bryant declared 2014 as the Year of the Creative Economy in Mississippi. The announcement was held in the midst of hundreds of public school students at Power Academic and Performing Arts Complex in Jackson and featured Mississippi native Bruce Levingston, the world renowned concert pianist. This kickoff celebration of our state’s collective talents was music to my ears, both literally and figuratively.

I’ve been promoting Mississippi’s Creative Economy since my days in the private sector and later in public service at the Mississippi Arts Commission.

Now, as the Director of Visit Mississippi, the state’s tourism office, I knew the year ahead would be filled with stories and events featuring the talents of our native sons and daughters. In this creative year that the Governor had declared, I also knew it was time to share Mississippi’s story with the world.

The first order of business was to create an ad campaign to leverage the Year of the Creative Economy, showcasing real Mississippians and authentic experiences that visitors would enjoy. There, the idea of a “Mississippi Homecoming” was born, which became a year-long celebration of our people, places, music, art, food and culture.

We called on friends like Grammy-winner Cassandra Wilson and Oscar-winner Morgan Freeman to be the faces of the campaign. Restauranteur and author Robert St. John shined a light on culinary legacy and the truly gifted performer Bobby Rush invited travelers and guests to experience our diverse musical heritage. We highlighted local festivals and events as part of the Mississippi Homecoming calendar, and we encouraged visitors from around the world to experience the arts and culture unique to our state.

The Mississippi Homecoming campaign was shared through a variety of marketing platforms including traditional print and television advertising and a fully integrated online digital campaign. In all, the campaign exceeded 15 million impressions and included a dedicated website at www.mshomecoming.com.

Significant growth was seen in social media on Facebook and on Twitter where @MSCreativeEcon had 186 percent growth in 2014.

One of the year’s greatest successes was the abundance of civic pride exhibited by our beloved Mississippi artists when they came home, reflecting on the influence their native state has had on their creative process and careers.

I am proud of the measurable success we achieved with this campaign, but we should not be fully content with where this one campaign brought us.

Our state has the smallest tourism advertising budget in the southeastern United States. Mississippi has a grand story to tell, and we are limited in sharing it with others.  However, we are hopeful that our marketing reach is about to strengthen.

This year, Gov. Bryant included an additional $5.1 million for tourism advertising in his Executive Budget. We’ve run the analytics and done the math; this additional tourism funding will increase our market impressions by at least 162 percent. Also, for every $1 the state allocates to tourism advertising, the state receives $6.46 back from visitor spending. Talk about return on taxpayer investment!

In order to remain competitive in today’s market, we need additional dollars to reach more people and share with them the great experiences awaiting them in our state. We cannot continue to whisper, “Visit Mississippi” while our surrounding states are shouting the message to visit theirs.  The Governor has added his voice and support for increased funding, and I’m hopeful that the Legislature will also support telling the Mississippi story in their budget recommendation.

We need everyone’s voices to lift up our state, as we continue to grow our economy. Now is the time to invest in our story and proudly open our doors to visitors from around the globe so they can witness Mississippi’s unique experiences first-hand.

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Malcolm White is the director of Visit Mississippi