Amid a national economic drought, 11 area non-profits have found an oasis of funds in the Athens County Visitors Bureau.
Last year the bureau granted about $24,135 to local non-profit tourism attractions and organizations to aid them with marketing, promotion and advertising efforts, Executive Director Paige Alost said.
The Visitors Bureau, which promotes local events to develop the county economically and culturally,annually accepts applications from county organizations and offers two categories of assistance: cash sponsorships and advertising.
The bureau is almost entirely funded by a 3 percent lodging tax levied by Athens County and Athens City upon all hotels and cabins, Alost said.
The bureau’s advertising grants create commercials and airs them on television networks in Southeast and Central Ohio to attract people to visit and patronize local businesses, Alost said.
The cash sponsorships are designed to allow local organizations to create attractions, she added.
“We produce a commercial for an event and it airs in Central Ohio plus Lancaster, Logan, and Athens,” Alost said. “We know they have created a great amount of traffic for our special events.”
The bureau has an annual contract with Time Warner Cable for five ad campaigns for $16,000, Alost said.
In the past year, the bureau created advertisements for the Winter Jazz and Blues Festival, the Nelsonville Music Festival, the Quilt National Exhibit at the Dairy Barn, the Pawpaw Festival, Boogie on the Bricks and Ohio Brew Week, Alost said.
The bureau first began advertising for the Pawpaw Festival two years ago and they immediately saw a large increase in attendance, Alost said.
The bureau also provided $8,135 of $12,000 that could have been awarded to local non-profit tourist attractions to help them succeed, including the Sandlot Baseball League, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, Ohio Valley Summer Theatre, Stuart’s Opera House, Nelsonville Farmer’s Market, and Gus Macker’s 3-on-3 on 33.
The amount awarded depends upon the number of applications and how much money the bureau’s board thinks each should receive, Alost said.
“It’s wonderful because you hit a very different audience, and by using advertising that they’re already under contract for, it makes the money they could’ve given us to spend go so much further,” said Andrew Lewis, the Executive Director of the Dairy Barn.
In 2011, the bureau’s advertising effected a 41 percent increase in attendance to the Quilt National Exhibit at the Dairy Barn, Lewis said, adding that attendees came to the event from all over Ohio.
Of the thousands of the exhibit’s visitors, about 11 percent, more than 600 people, came specifically because of television ads, Lewis said, adding that those attendees generated at least $2,300 for the Dairy Barn.
“We get a huge visitation of people that come from the Columbus area,” Lewis said. “I think the power of applying for a grant and instead of receiving a grant, getting a commercial is very powerful for organizations.”
Alost said the bureau creates the ads itself because it is more economic than if the non-profit created and aired them.
“The cost of the ad is way more than what the cash sponsorship we would have given (the organization),” said Jenna Dill, the Marketing and Sales Manger of the Athens County Visitors Bureau. “We’ve already purchased air time through Time Warner … and we were able to fit those five organizations into our normal television spots.”
Beyond local exhibits, local festivals also noticed increased traffic from the ads.
“I thought (the ad) was great, we loved it,” said Chris Chmiel, the •organizer of the Pawpaw Festival. “Columbus is one of our target markets, so it’s a great way for us to reach out to a bunch of people … our attendance has gone up and I know that more and more people from Columbus do come down, so it seems to be working.”
The deadline for applications for the tourism grants is Feb. 10. The bureau receives 20 to 30 applicants a year, Alost said, adding that successful applicants must show that they will create an economic impact in the area and draw people from more than a 50-mile radius.
“We’re looking for it to create an impact in the community,” Alost said.
dd195710@ohiou.edu
