Tourist commission hires

Tourist Commission

Tourist Commission Director Jesse Lambert

The River Parishes Tourist Commission is looking to step their advertising game up after hiring Louis Giacona Advertising LLC to take care of getting the word out that there’s plenty to do and see in the River Parishes.

Currently, the agency and the commission are in the research and development phase but have worked together on previous projects providing a rapport between the two that will be beneficial for both, according to River Parishes Tourist Commission Director Jesse Lambert.

“We need an ad agency,” Lambert said. “It’s been getting too much to keep up with, which forces us to put some things on the back burner and advertising can’t be one of them.”

Lambert feels the agency will help keep her commission on the forefront of what’s happening in and around St. Charles, St. James, and St. John parishes, keeping her department proactive, not simply reactive, she said.

Louis Giacona believes his agency is the perfect fit for St. Charles, being a lifelong resident of the New Orleans area and quite familiar with the river parishes, but insists the tourist commission will have plenty to say in what Giacona has in mind for their mission.

“Even though we’re taking over advertising duties, Jesse and the commission will still be a big piece of the puzzle,” Giacona said. “We’re trying to work out a group collaborative effort to come up with the best possible plan for the tourist commission.”

Giacona currently handles clients such as Zapp’s potato chips, Danny & Clyde convenience stores and Planet Beach tanning franchises.

His family is no stranger to business having served in the food and beverage industry for 85 years, working with Disney, Universal Studios, and even designing specialized glasses for Anheiser Busch. Locally they may best be known for the cups thrown at Mardi Gras that line the cupboards of many locals’ kitchens.

Giacona built his ad agency on his many worldwide contacts and has been flourishing ever since and he’s hoping to make St. Charles no exception to his success.

“A lot of planning is going into this over the next year,” he said. “It’s all part of goodwill to further tourism. Everybody is trying to make good things happen with this project. Everyone is dependent on tourism.”