SALEM, Mass., July 17 /PRNewswire/ -- The City of Salem, Massachusetts is announcing the launch of the Haunted Passport, an affinity program to offer discounts and benefits to visitors of the city, and increased marketing and new business for local merchants. The passport program will be in effect from October 1, 2007 to April 30, 2008 to encourage visitors to come to Salem and be part of America's #1 Halloween celebration. The program is designed to build a year long relationship between visitors and Salem's tourist attractions, cultural and historical sites, restaurants and retailers.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20070416/NEM069LOGO )

For local merchants, the Haunted Passport program is an opportunity to promote their business to new and existing customers via print, radio and the internet, for a very small investment. The Haunted Passport will be marketed and sold to families, young adults and others who enjoy Halloween in Salem. Many of the passport's offerings will extend into April 2008, encouraging visitors to engage with Salem's businesses and return as regular customers. Some of the passport's benefits include discounts with major attractions, free give a ways, contest drawings and money off on meals and retail purchases.

"I am pleased that the City is partnering with King Fish Media, a Salem company, to create, promote and execute the passport program. This is a great example of a public/private partnership that will benefit Salem residents, taxpayers and local businesses. Last year over 100,000 visitors came to Salem in the month of October. The city will use the money earned from the passport program to make the month of October more manageable from a public safety standpoint. It will also provide additional funds to offset the costs related to all of the Halloween related activities Salem hosts each year. More importantly, it gives us a chance to market and brand Salem as a year round destination to a family-friendly audience," said Mayor Kim Driscoll.

King Fish Media will be responsible for selling and promoting the passport to the public. Mix 98-5 FM and The Boston Globe are the exclusive media sponsors of the Haunted Passport program and will be promoting the program. King Fish will be creating a national viral marketing campaign around an original short movie that highlights Salem as a tourist destination.

"We are very proud to partner with Salem, our home for the past six years. This is a great opportunity for us to apply our expertise in customer relationship marketing to benefit our own community," said King Fish Media President, Cameron Brown. "We believe this program will be equally beneficial for the city, local merchants and visitors."

The passport program has been greeted enthusiastically by Salem's business and tourism community. Nearly 50 have signed up to date with offers that represent total savings of over $150 to passport buyers. Partial list of participants include: The Salem Wax Museum, Spellbound Tours, The New England Pirate Museum, The Witch Dungeon Museum, The Salem Waterfront Hotel, The Witch Museum, The Peabody Essex Museum, A Passage to India, The Witch History Museum, City View Trolley, Salem Witch Village, The Boston Hot Dog Company, Cilantro, Harbor Sweets, Strega, Body and Soul and Crunchy Granola Baby.

"The Salem Waterfront Hotel is excited to be a part of the Haunted Passport as it will provide great family friendly discounts and offerings for our guests and others visiting Salem, not just during Halloween, but throughout the year as well," said Valerie Drapeau, General Manager of the Salem Waterfront Hotel.

"Harbor Sweets is pleased to participate in this program and appreciates the city's efforts to spearhead this incentive to visitors. It is a great way for our business to gain exposure as a visitor destination," said Billie Phillips, Vice President, Marketing of Harbor Sweets.

The passports will be sold online beginning August 15 at http://www.hauntedpassport.com/ (website will be live by August 15) and will be sold in cooperation with the National Park Service, Salem Maritime NHS at 174 Derby Street, Salem and at the National Park Service Visitor Center on Essex Street, Salem in addition to Feed Your Head Books, 272 Essex Street, during the month of October. The Haunted Passports are $13.00 each. Children under the age of 13 are covered by an adult holding a valid Haunted Passport.

For more details on the Haunted Passport, email Halloween@kingfishmedia.com.

About Salem, Massachusetts

Salem is known as the "hub" of the North Shore. It is the second incorporated city in Massachusetts (April, 1836) and the second oldest settlement in New England (settled four years before the settlement of Boston). While Salem has been long known as the "Witch City" due to the notable witch trials of 1692, Salem also played a prominent part in Revolutionary times and was an active leader of several Massachusetts' industries. In the early part of the 19th century, Salem's ships were pioneers in the India trade and opened up commerce with Africa, China, Russia, Japan and Australia. In fact, the first millionaire in America, Elias Hasket Derby, hailed from Salem. Today, Salem is bustling with commerce, development and hosts America's largest Halloween celebration each October. Situated 16 miles from Boston and along the commuter rail with regular service to Boston's North Station in 30 minutes, as well as a 40 minute seasonal ferry service that docks at Rowes Wharf/Aquarium. Salem is the ideal location for new or expanding businesses. The City of Salem, through its Department of Planning and Community Development, is committed to ongoing business development and retention.

About King Fish Media

King Fish Media(TM) is the leading Private Media(TM) solutions company delivering custom programs designed to spur relationship marketing, customer retention, and qualified lead development through its award-winning, design- rich Private Media solutions which can range from award winning custom media (print and interactive), web casts, face-to-face events and research.

Founded in 2001, King Fish has a proven track record for creating innovative custom marketing solutions for a diverse base of clients, spanning a variety of industries -- both business to business and business to consumer. Visit http://www.kingfishmedia.com/ to view samples of electronic and print work executed for Albertsons, ATG, Bank of America, Cendant, CMP Media, Compass Bank, Garlinghouse, New England Cord Blood Bank, Nuance, PC Connection, SCORE, SunTrust, and Verizon, along with many others.

Recent awards include Fastest Growing Company by the Boston Business Journal, CPC Gold Pearl Award, the Society of Illustrators, the Hatch Award and three Print Excellence and Knowledge (PEAK) awards from Print Solutions Magazine.

CONTACT: Jason Silva, Chief of Staff of City of Salem, +1-978-745-9595,
ext. 5603, jsilva@salem.com , or Gordon Plutsky Mkt. Director of King Fish
Media, +1-978-832-1485, gplutsky@kingfishmedia.com

Web site: http://www.kingfishmedia.com/