French/West/Vaughan is executing a COVID-19 recovery plan for long-time agency client, the Wilmington and Beaches CVB.
Domestic visitors to and within New Hanover County spent a record $658.78 million in 2019, and New Hanover County ranks 8th in visitor spending among North Carolina’s 100 counties. As with many other destinations heavily reliant on travel & tourism, the impact of COVID-19 on tourism in New Hanover County is unprecedented, making FWV’s marketing efforts more critical than ever before. Its COVID-19 recovery campaign, “Fall is the New Summer,” highlights why fall is a perfect time to plan a trip to Wilmington and Beaches.
It seeks to reassure potential visitors about COVID concerns related to safety and calls to mind things that visitors love about the destination in summer and reminds them they are all still available—or even better—in the fall. The campaign, which launched in August and will continue through October, includes public relations, social media, creative and paid media.
For more than two decades, French/West/Vaughan’s work has helped organizations like the Greater Raleigh CVB collect its highest ever visitor-related tax revenues. It has driven millions of guests to North Carolina’s first theme park, Tweetsie Railroad, and contributed to record vacation bookings for dude ranches across the Western U.S. and Canada through our work with the Dude Ranchers’ Association. FWV has generated record visitation during the shoulder season and off-season on behalf of the Wilmington and Beaches CVB, and helped shepherd the destination through and recovery from the devastation of Hurricane Florence.