By Dave Fidlin
Correspondent
A year-old pilot marketing project aimed at spreading Whitewater’s attributes to a broader region could advance to a second year if new funding is infused into the project.
The initiative, dubbed Go WW Now, was hatched as a concept in early 2018 and began taking form last spring. Jeff Knight, president of locally based Knight Public Affairs, is spearheading the effort.
The online effort, which to date has relied heavily on social media, has gained traction, Knight said, though additional plans are in the works if Go WW Now proceeds to its next stage of evolution.
While Go WW Now has content of interest to local residents, Knight and others behind the venture said there is a bigger picture behind the effort, including marketing Whitewater’s amenities to parents of current and potential University of Wisconsin-Whitewater students in a 10-county region in southern Wisconsin and northern Illinois.
“If you think about it, there are people coming into town, and we’re not even touching them,” Knight said. “They come in, and they come out.”
Knight discussed the first year of Go WW Now and its potential next stage of advancement at the Whitewater Community Development Authority’s most recent monthly meeting on April 25.
During his discussion with CDA members, Knight asked the panel to contribute $2,916 for year two. A motion was made to offer up the funding through a line item in the budget known as the urban development action grant, or UDAG, but ultimately was nixed on a 3-3 vote.
CDA board member Donna Henry, who majored in advertising when she was in college, was among the proponents of offering up the funding.
“I do think it’s something the CDA should be backing,” Henry said.
Dissenters were not inherently opposed to the funding but advocated for discussing the matter further behind closed doors, in executive session, which was not permissible based on the components of the posted meeting agenda. It will be revisited again when the CDA meets late this month.
“We’ll have two new members (on the CDA in May), and I’d like to hear from them,” board member Al Stanek said. “I don’t think anybody’s opposed to the program. I just don’t know if there’s any urgency.”
If Go WW Now receives an additional infusion of cash from the CDA, and potentially other funding sources, Knight said a goal is to create a landing page to further diversify the marketing effort’s reach.
Facebook has been a vehicle for spreading Go WW Now’s message, Knight said, but it has not worked flawlessly.
“They’re going all over the place, as opposed to a direct marketed place,” Knight said of where Go WW Now’s posts are winding up.
Other efforts in the pipeline include using Instagram, which also is owned by Facebook, as a tool to further spread information about posts.
For his part, Dave Carlson, who serves as the CDA’s executive director, said he heartily backs a continued contribution.
“It’s gotten a lot of traction,” Carlson said of his impression as the pilot effort ends year one. “I’ve seen some positive results.”
