WILLIAMSBURG — President Franklin D. Roosevelt famously had his Four Freedoms. More modestly, the Historic Triangle will be touting three freedoms this summer.
As laid out by Brad White, president of Luckie, the destination’s advertising agency, and Corrina Ferguson, head of marketing for the Williamsburg Area Destination Marketing Committee, Friday, those freedoms include “the freedom to have fun,” “the freedom to be curious” and “the freedom to relax.”
To illustrate those themes, WADMC brought two families — the Settles from Chesapeake and the Fays from Maryland — to town and followed them with cameras as they went to Busch Gardens, Water Country USA, Jamestown Settlement and Historic Jamestowne, the Yorktown Victory Center and even Go-Karts Plus. That footage, along with interviews with the families about how they liked their trips, will make up the content of WADMC’s 2015 media campaign, “A Summer of Freedom.”
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Ferguson said the theme allowed the destination to “tell our stories in a more diverse way.”
Two long-form films were shown Friday. They’ll be used in digital advertising. Traditional TV commercials will be trimmed out of the films, although the tourist industry here seems to be leaning more to digital media.
Although the films show the families at historic attractions, the word “history” isn’t mentioned, part of a destination-wide push to promote “History+” as a theme.
Ferguson said WADMC’s television campaign will be restricted to the Philadelphia and Washington markets. Raleigh, N.C. and New York will be added as digital targets.
On Monday Colonial Williamsburg told City Council it will concentrate more on digital marketing than television.
Carl Lum, president of Busch Gardens Williamsburg and Water Country USA, said those attractions would also be adding more digital and less television to their marketing mix. “I think that’s the way everyone is moving,” Lum said after the preview event. “A 15-second or 30-second TV commercial really doesn’t give you time to talk about all the things we have here.”
Thus, there was less new video to show at this year’s tourism forum. But that doesn’t mean there’s nothing new. Individual presentations from the area’s attractions and by Karen Riordan, president of the Greater Williamsburg Chamber Tourism Alliance spotlighted those.
At Colonial Williamsburg, Chowning’s Tavern will re-open as an ale house. The foundation hopes, given city approval, to illuminate several iconic buildings in the Historic Area. Both developments are an attempt to make the Historic Area a more attractive destination at night. There will also be a new episode of the interactive scavenger hunt game, “RevQuest.”
Busch Gardens opens a new coaster, “Tempesto” on April 25. It will also offer its own version of Octoberfest, with two beer-themed weekends at the end of September. The park is also celebrating its 40th anniversary with special events, including a special joint ticket with Kings Dominion, also celebrating 40 years.
One thing that won’t be featured at Busch Gardens this year is concerts.
“It’s not that there was anything wrong with concerts. Concerts are great,” Lum said. “We just wanted to shake things up and do something different. If you keep doing the same things, you keep getting the same results.”
At the Yorktown Victory Center, parts of the new American Revolution Museum at Yorktown will be open. The entire museum is scheduled to open at the end of 2016. Meanwhile, Jamestown Settlement is partnering with the Mariners’ Museum in Newport News to produce a special exhibition, “Working and Racing on the Bay: The Chesapeake Log Canoe,” until September.
Destination-wide, a major new event is being added for the fall, the Williamsburg Harvest Celebration. It runs Nov. 11-15 and will feature 30 culinary-themed events including an oyster roast and a celebration of bacon. It will stretch across the destination from Yorktown to the Williamsburg Winery.
This builds on other attempts to attract tourists outside the summer peak tourism season, such as Williamsburg Fall Arts, Christmas in Williamsburg and Garden Month. All of those events also return for 2015.
Vaughan can be reached at 757-345-2343.
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