(Images courtesy of Richmond Region Tourism)
In a new campaign, a local tourism group is mixing it up in attempt to give Richmond a boost of national visibility.
Richmond Region Tourism recently kicked off a new advertising strategy that aims to lure visitors to the region by highlighting peculiar pairings of the area’s attractions or characteristics.
A “History + Hipsters” ad pairs photos of local historical attractions with images of cafes, a tattooed man and street art. “Cobblestones + Craft Beer” shows visitors walking on a cobblestone street and a man serving up a frothy beer.
The campaign is called “Find your mix.”
“We have this fantastic airport but we also have paddleboarding downtown so we have this ad that says “Fly in + Paddle out,” said Jennifer Carnam, vice president of marketing at Richmond Region Tourism.
Previously known as Richmond Metropolitan Convention and Visitors Bureau, the nonprofit group rebranded itself as Richmond Region Tourism about a year ago. Carnam said they thought a fresh new ad campaign would pair well with their new name.
RRT hired Richmond marketing firm JHI to help create the “Find your mix” campaign. The firm previously designed the identity for the Richmond Folk Festival and was part of the creative group behind the RVA brand initiative, said JHI partner Jo Watson.
RRT budgets about $400,000 a year for advertising. Most of that is spent on online, Carnam said, which pales in comparison with the budgets of other southern destinations, like Asheville, N.C. and Savannah, Ga., Carnam said.
“We have to be really creative and smart with what we do,” she said.
Another of the campaign’s new ads.
In making its national push, the group chose the “History + Hipsters” concept for a full-page ad which recently appeared in USA Today.
RRT has placed the USA Today ad for a couple of years now. Jack Berry, RRT’spresident and CEO, actually won the ad each time at an auction at a nationalconvention for about $10,000-11,000 a year. Carnam said that’s about a fifth ofwhat an ad like that would cost at full price
Other ads for the campaign will appear in Southern Living and Garden and Gun, Carnam said.
Each year, Richmond gets about 6 million visitors, a total that is made up of nearly equal percentages of business travelers, convention and meeting attendees, people in town to visit friends and family, and those visiting for leisure, according to RRT.
The group is funded primarily by a hotel tax. Carnam said Richmond Region Tourism gets nearly a quarter of an 8 percent tax charged for rented rooms in the Richmond area.
RRT’s most recent financial report from 2013 listed revenue of about $4.75 million and expenses of about $4.61 million, according to Guidestar.org.
(Images courtesy of Richmond Region Tourism)
In a new campaign, a local tourism group is mixing it up in attempt to give Richmond a boost of national visibility.
Richmond Region Tourism recently kicked off a new advertising strategy that aims to lure visitors to the region by highlighting peculiar pairings of the area’s attractions or characteristics.
A “History + Hipsters” ad pairs photos of local historical attractions with images of cafes, a tattooed man and street art. “Cobblestones + Craft Beer” shows visitors walking on a cobblestone street and a man serving up a frothy beer.
The campaign is called “Find your mix.”
“We have this fantastic airport but we also have paddleboarding downtown so we have this ad that says “Fly in + Paddle out,” said Jennifer Carnam, vice president of marketing at Richmond Region Tourism.
Previously known as Richmond Metropolitan Convention and Visitors Bureau, the nonprofit group rebranded itself as Richmond Region Tourism about a year ago. Carnam said they thought a fresh new ad campaign would pair well with their new name.
RRT hired Richmond marketing firm JHI to help create the “Find your mix” campaign. The firm previously designed the identity for the Richmond Folk Festival and was part of the creative group behind the RVA brand initiative, said JHI partner Jo Watson.
RRT budgets about $400,000 a year for advertising. Most of that is spent on online, Carnam said, which pales in comparison with the budgets of other southern destinations, like Asheville, N.C. and Savannah, Ga., Carnam said.
“We have to be really creative and smart with what we do,” she said.
Another of the campaign’s new ads.
In making its national push, the group chose the “History + Hipsters” concept for a full-page ad which recently appeared in USA Today.
RRT has placed the USA Today ad for a couple of years now. Jack Berry, RRT’spresident and CEO, actually won the ad each time at an auction at a nationalconvention for about $10,000-11,000 a year. Carnam said that’s about a fifth ofwhat an ad like that would cost at full price
Other ads for the campaign will appear in Southern Living and Garden and Gun, Carnam said.
Each year, Richmond gets about 6 million visitors, a total that is made up of nearly equal percentages of business travelers, convention and meeting attendees, people in town to visit friends and family, and those visiting for leisure, according to RRT.
The group is funded primarily by a hotel tax. Carnam said Richmond Region Tourism gets nearly a quarter of an 8 percent tax charged for rented rooms in the Richmond area.
RRT’s most recent financial report from 2013 listed revenue of about $4.75 million and expenses of about $4.61 million, according to Guidestar.org.