By Chelsey Hinsenkamp
SLN Staff
The Walworth County Visitors Bureau received its third consecutive Joint Effort Marketing (JEM) grant, awarded by the Wisconsin Department of Tourism Nov. 13, for its “Snow Much Fun” campaign.
The grant, totaling $24,404, will be used primarily to promote Walworth County January through March and inform visitors and residents of winter fun activities, according to the Bureau’s Executive Director Kathleen Seeberg.
“The first year was about the branding, it was the research for the new brand. The second year was to implement the new brand through the campaign and so the third year is to continue that,” Seeberg explained.
Through the “Snow Much Fun” campaign effort, which takes place January through March, the Bureau expects to bring in a projected $2.2 million in traveler spending in addition to last year’s actual $4.5 million economic impact.
The Bureau said the numbers come from research done by a third party company, Tourism Economics.
“They did independent research and then developed the numbers,” Seeberg explained.
The Joint Effort campaign includes the participation of several communities throughout the county, including Burlington, Delavan, East Troy, Elkhorn, Fontana, Lake Geneva, Sharon, Walworth, Whitewater and Williams Bay.
Seeberg said some of the specific items the money will fund as part of the “Snow Much Fun” campaign, include the creation and distribution of a coupon book, online advertising and a Facebook promotion giveaway for one “Walworth County experience” a week for 13 weeks.
She said the Bureau is putting a lot of the emphasis on online advertising, as some of the other outlets, such as a billboard used last year, failed to draw much attention.
“Online was very successful, our social media was extremely successful so we are focusing on that,” she explained.
The actual budget for this year’s campaign totals about $100,000, according to Seeberg, and the Bureau is responsible for the 75 percent not covered by the grant.
The JEM grant can fund up to 75 percent of a project’s first year of advertising and marketing costs and subsequently provide only support for second and third year projects.
“We have to come up with in-kind or pull out of our own budget. Many of our local media outlets give us an in-kind donation,” Seeberg said.
She explained that the in-kind donations are basically an agreement with local newspapers, and other media outlets, that the given publication will fund part of the cost of advertising.
Seeberg said the Bureau was able to bring costs down a bit this year for the campaign.
“We found a new marketing firm and this one is charging much less then the other one did, so that’s the major difference,” she explained.
Seeberg said that although the blanket goal of the campaign is to promote Walworth County as a whole, special attention will be given to some of the local attractions.
“We have some great snow hills, we have Alpine Valley, Grand Geneva, some great trails, the Kettle Moraine, our indoor waterparks, our theaters,” Seeberg said.
She said the main goal is to get across to visitors that, “We are lake communities, but we’re here in the winter and we have a lot to offer.”
For more information on Walworth County tourism or the “Snow Much Fun” campaign, call the Walworth County Visitors Bureau at (262) 723-3980.
For information on the JEM program and application materials, visit http://industry.travelwisconsin.com.
