Melodie Phelps, News Editor
CNHI
6-16-10 — If Memorial Day weekend was any indication, Wayne County's new
tourism marketing efforts are working. The campgrounds were full and
the lake was filled with boats throughout the three-day holiday
weekend. And it may be the start of what could be the best summer for
tourism this area has seen since the work on Wolf Creek Dam began and
the lake level was lowered in 2007.
"Everybody I have talked to is pleased with Memorial Day
weekend...Both our local marinas had an excellent weekend and there
were a lot of rooms rented here," said Shannon Hutchinson, who works
in Community Development for the county. "I think it's directly
related to the job we have done in marketing."
With a 30 second television commercial that has aired on television
stations in Louisville, Cincinnati and Lexington, a new logo and
brochure, print ads that have been published in The Lane Report and
Kentucky Monthly, as well as a website that is updated each week,
local officials have climbed another rung on the ladder to marketing
Wayne County as a great vacation destination.
The great thing is this has been accomplished with little local
money committed to the marketing effort. The county has used matching
money for all these efforts and has gotten back about 90 cents of
every dollar spent.
The television commercial includes about 15 seconds that promotes
Kentucky vacations, and then an insert for the final 15 seconds about
vacationing in Wayne County. Hutchinson said the great thing about
this commercial is that everything featured on it relates to Wayne
County, like boating and camping.
Plus the commercial also provides the web address which is
www.heartoflakecumberland.com.
"It's growing everyday," said Hutchinson as he talked about the
website, as well as the interest in Wayne County. "We are mailing out
visitors packets everyday. The Chamber helps us with those, as well
as relocation packets."
The requests are coming in from a variety of states, as well as from
folks in Kentucky who are looking for a relaxing place to spend a few
days. For example, Hutchinson noted that someone in Lexington may see
the commercial, which is running on Bluegrass Insight Communications,
and they may decide to make the drive for a weekend visit. They can
be in Wayne County and on the water in only a couple of hours.
The website also provides information about restaurants and
attractions. It provides a schedule of events, as well as weather
information. It's updated about once a week by County Judge-Executive
Greg Rankin. In fact, Hutchinson noted that any inquiries for
visitors packets through the website are directed to Rankin's mailbox.
That's a tremendous asset, noted Hutchinson.
"We have a great website and he believes in this enough that he
updates it weekly himself," said Hutchinson.
They also have a twitter account, and Rankin sends out tweets to
anyone who registers through the website. Hutchinson said they are
informative and provide details about things that are coming up. It's
another important marketing tool in an age were social media is so
popular, noted Hutchinson.
It's taken a while for the county to get to this point. Hutchinson
said the first meeting was held in the spring of 2007, when local
individuals go together and began to come up with ways to better
market Wayne County. There have been many small steps along the way.
"It didn't happen overnight," said Hutchinson. "We are not where we
want to be, but we are making steps each day."
In fact, he noted that the marketing plan has already been made for
the fall of 2010 and the spring of 2011.
"We are sitting at tables that we never sat at before," noted
Hutchinson., who is now serving as vice-president of the Southern
Lakes and Rivers Tourism organization. He will move into the
president's role next year.