by DAVID HAMILTON

NATCHEZ — Sometimes called “The Little Easy” for its similarities to New Orleans, Natchez will fittingly be featured in a “Big Easy” staple: The New Orleans Saints official 2017 yearbook.

The Natchez Convention Promotion Commission Wednesday authorized an agreement that would place a full-page, full-color advertisement in the yearbook.

Tourism director Jennifer Ogden Combs said the details of the contract were finalized Thursday, and her department has begun designing the ad.

Combs said this agreement presents a unique opportunity to drive tourists to Natchez. Because the ad space is a remnant — meaning space that the Saints have been unable to sell and must fill quickly — the ad will cost just more than $6,000, which Combs said is an approximately 80-percent discount of the typical price tag for a full-page, full-color advertisement in the guide.

“We could never buy this ad (at full price) ourselves,” Combs said.

Advertising, Design and Marketing Coordinator Amanda Hargrove said the advertisement would print in 500,000 publications, while Combs noted that the books are distributed outside of just the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.

“They’re also sold all over town,” Combs said. “They are sold on newsstands — they’re sold everywhere,” Combs said.

Hargrove added that the yearbook would also be available online.

The advertisement, Combs believes, is also important because of the connection it can establish with New Orleans. Just on the heels of Natchez’s tricentennial, New Orleans will also be celebrating its 300th birthday in 2018.

“It ties us to the tricentennial,” Combs said. “It gives us a chance to be in something in New Orleans that’s a little bit different.

“It’s people that are going to the games, but it’s also people that take those guidebooks with them. Maybe if they see a really cool ad, they might think ‘My next trip, I want to go to The Little Easy.’”

With the artwork due Aug. 4, Combs said she wants the ad to focus on connecting Natchez to the tricentennial of its “big sister.”

As another feature that excited Combs and NCPC members, the advertising package includes four tickets with lower-level seating to two Saints games this season. The four tickets — two for each game — will be used in a promotional giveaway to help drive web traffic towards the Visit Natchez website and Facebook page, Combs said.

Combs said specific games for the giveaways have yet to be determined.