County tourism embarks on bold new campaign, 'There's A Story Here'

May 4—Crawford County has temporarily moved into New York City's Times Square.

A 15-second video ad promoting county tourism is featured on an electronic billboard there for the next two months.

It's part of a new branding campaign by the Crawford County Convention and Visitors Bureau — "There's A Story Here" — to promote the county's tourism opportunities to residents and tourists in one of the largest cities in the world.

"We know Crawford County is great, so now it is time for us to be noticed on a larger scale with national and international travelers," said Victoria Soff, the bureau's executive director. "When the opportunity presented itself, it was one that we just could not refuse."

The billboard ad started Monday and runs on a loop every 15 minutes, 24 hours a day, encouraging viewers to visit the bureau's website and follow the hashtag #TheresAStoryHere on social media.

The video will run in Times Square for eight weeks at a spot dubbed "the Polo Screen" where it will be viewed by an estimated 1.8 million people weekly, Soff said.

The video has high-resolution footage of people kayaking, biking and camping in the county along with shots of locally-produced wine, events such as the Thurston Classic hot-air balloon event, and amenities like the Oil Creek and Titusville Railroad to tell a visual story that represents the Crawford County experience.

The high-profile ad is the initial public rollout of "There's A Story Here," the bureau's new county-wide branding initiative which was presented to area business, municipal and community leaders in March.

The goal of the tagline "There's A Story Here," is to attract visitors through positive storytelling by conveying the best Crawford County has to offer in a personalized, authentic way, Soff said. It's a destination that visitors can best experience through a combination of the county's natural, cultural and historical amenities.

"People often remark that Crawford County is a hidden gem, and this opportunity, along with the new campaign, will help put this unique destination into the limelight and spread the word far and wide," Soff said. "We're excited to see the return we'll get by the end of June."

"The Times Square project is a fantastic opportunity to unveil a set of products that should make us stand out when tourists are exploring vacation opportunities," said Josh Sherretts, who sits on the bureau's board of directors as a representative of the Crawford County Historical Society.

The bureau collaborated with two local agencies — Bull Moose Marketing in Meadville and Continuum Creative Media in Titusville — to produce the video ad.

Other enhancements of the county's brand identity of "There's A Story Here" will be the upcoming launch of a new website and mobile app.

The Crawford County Convention and Visitors Bureau intends to share a modified version of the video that, unlike the Times Square ad, includes an audio track. The ad will be posted on its Facebook and Instagram channels.

Soff said area retailers, restaurants, amenities and other entities supporting local tourism are encouraged to participate in the county's tourism efforts by visiting visitcrawford.org and by using #TheresAStoryHere on their own social media profiles.

Video link

Here's a link to the Crawford County Convention and Visitors Bureau new video ad now playing in New York City's Times Square:

youtube.com/watch?v=AsDU1-CFoOE

Keith Gushard can be reached at (814) 724-6370 or by email at kgushard@meadvilletribune.com.