February 23, 2015 By Gregory Connolly
This year marks the 40th anniversary of Busch Gardens and Kings Dominion, prompting the parks to partner up on a marketing campaign to try to lure Northeastern families to Virginia for summer vacations.
The campaign received a $25,000 grant from Gov. Terry McAuliffe on Wednesday as part of the Virginia Tourism Corporation’s Marketing Leverage Program. That money will join funds from the parks, the Greater Williamsburg Chamber & Tourism Alliance and Richmond Region Tourism to pay for online advertising for the campaign, called Virginia Family Thrills 2015.
“There’s Orlando-quality experiences right here in Virginia,” said Dan Dipiazzo, the vice president of marketing for Busch Gardens and Water Country USA. “And that’s the key message to get across. We’re trying to reach family vacationers who want alternative that’s closer and more affordable to Orlando.”
The campaign’s message — that families in the Northeast do not have to drive more than 1,000 miles each way to have a blast at theme parks — will be front and center in online ads and social media posts displayed to people in the New York City and Philadelphia markets between May and July.
The ads will target family members who plan vacations in advance, with the goal of attracting them to the area for a visit that lasts several days.
“The summer vacation business is gold for everybody,” Dipiazzo said. “It’s more people staying longer doing more and splurging a little bit. That’s good for us, it’s good for hotels, restaurants and everybody else. That’s really what we’re going after.”
Online ads will be displayed to people based off their past search habits. So if they appear to be the kind of person who has a family and is looking for a place to vacation for the year, they will see an ad. There will also be ads displayed for anyone who visits certain websites, like TripAdvisor.
Dipiazzo declined to share how much money Busch Gardens would be putting up alongside the VTC grant, though he said the sum was “significantly more.” A news release from Del. Monty Mason (D-93) announced the partnership behind the campaign will contribute more than $100,000 to the effort.
“These grants show the importance of pooling our tourism assets in an increasingly competitive tourism environment,” Mason said in the release. “I am thrilled that our region will benefit from partners working together to bring more tourism dollars to Virginia.”
Though the campaign is a substantial ad buy, it is only a part of the overall advertising the parks will field for the 2015 season.
“We’ll still have a considerable amount of advertising that’s promoting Busch Gardens and Water Country USA,” he said. “That’s our dominant message. [The campaign] is an additional message for the people looking perhaps for a longer stay who might be more inclined to really want a theme park their vacation and try it all.”
Virginia Family Thrills 2015 will also include a joint ticket to both parks.
Busch Gardens and Kings Dominion both opened in 1975. With their 40th anniversaries falling in 2015, the two parks marketing departments began discussions of how to boost awareness in distant markets of the theme park offerings in Virginia, leading them to partner with the Alliance and Richmond Region Tourism to apply for the VTC grant.
The VTC Marketing Leverage Program offers grant funding to help local and regional tourism operations attract more visitors. McAuliffe announced a total of $773,000 in grants Wednesday.
“The Marketing Leverage Program grants give local tourism businesses the tools they need to succeed in an intensely competitive market,” McAuliffe said in a news release. “The grants facilitate community partnerships, smart business decisions, and dissemination of tourism success stories. This program is another example of how we can help build a new Virginia economy, providing good jobs for our citizens and revenue for our communities.”
VTC grants total about $1.7 million per year, with the local groups that receive matching the grants on a 3:1 ratio
Source: http://wydaily.com/2015/02/23/busch-gardens-kings-dominion-partner-on-marketing-drive?cat=localnews/
This year marks the 40th anniversary of Busch Gardens and Kings Dominion, prompting the parks to partner up on a marketing campaign to try to lure Northeastern families to Virginia for summer vacations.
The campaign received a $25,000 grant from Gov. Terry McAuliffe on Wednesday as part of the Virginia Tourism Corporation’s Marketing Leverage Program. That money will join funds from the parks, the Greater Williamsburg Chamber & Tourism Alliance and Richmond Region Tourism to pay for online advertising for the campaign, called Virginia Family Thrills 2015.
“There’s Orlando-quality experiences right here in Virginia,” said Dan Dipiazzo, the vice president of marketing for Busch Gardens and Water Country USA. “And that’s the key message to get across. We’re trying to reach family vacationers who want alternative that’s closer and more affordable to Orlando.”
The campaign’s message — that families in the Northeast do not have to drive more than 1,000 miles each way to have a blast at theme parks — will be front and center in online ads and social media posts displayed to people in the New York City and Philadelphia markets between May and July.
The ads will target family members who plan vacations in advance, with the goal of attracting them to the area for a visit that lasts several days.
“The summer vacation business is gold for everybody,” Dipiazzo said. “It’s more people staying longer doing more and splurging a little bit. That’s good for us, it’s good for hotels, restaurants and everybody else. That’s really what we’re going after.”
Online ads will be displayed to people based off their past search habits. So if they appear to be the kind of person who has a family and is looking for a place to vacation for the year, they will see an ad. There will also be ads displayed for anyone who visits certain websites, like TripAdvisor.
Dipiazzo declined to share how much money Busch Gardens would be putting up alongside the VTC grant, though he said the sum was “significantly more.” A news release from Del. Monty Mason (D-93) announced the partnership behind the campaign will contribute more than $100,000 to the effort.
“These grants show the importance of pooling our tourism assets in an increasingly competitive tourism environment,” Mason said in the release. “I am thrilled that our region will benefit from partners working together to bring more tourism dollars to Virginia.”
Though the campaign is a substantial ad buy, it is only a part of the overall advertising the parks will field for the 2015 season.
“We’ll still have a considerable amount of advertising that’s promoting Busch Gardens and Water Country USA,” he said. “That’s our dominant message. [The campaign] is an additional message for the people looking perhaps for a longer stay who might be more inclined to really want a theme park their vacation and try it all.”
Virginia Family Thrills 2015 will also include a joint ticket to both parks.
Busch Gardens and Kings Dominion both opened in 1975. With their 40th anniversaries falling in 2015, the two parks marketing departments began discussions of how to boost awareness in distant markets of the theme park offerings in Virginia, leading them to partner with the Alliance and Richmond Region Tourism to apply for the VTC grant.
The VTC Marketing Leverage Program offers grant funding to help local and regional tourism operations attract more visitors. McAuliffe announced a total of $773,000 in grants Wednesday.
“The Marketing Leverage Program grants give local tourism businesses the tools they need to succeed in an intensely competitive market,” McAuliffe said in a news release. “The grants facilitate community partnerships, smart business decisions, and dissemination of tourism success stories. This program is another example of how we can help build a new Virginia economy, providing good jobs for our citizens and revenue for our communities.”
VTC grants total about $1.7 million per year, with the local groups that receive matching the grants on a 3:1 ratio
Source: http://wydaily.com/2015/02/23/busch-gardens-kings-dominion-partner-on-marketing-drive?cat=localnews/
