Marketing the Berkshires Through Opportunity Creation
The primary goal of the 1Berkshire marketing team is to promote the region and attract new and repeat visitors who spend their dollars at your business. Our tactics include digital advertising, influencer campaigns, public relations, lead generation, direct-to-consumer e-communications, print media such as Guide and brochure distribution, and more. As indicated by tourism impact data released each year by the Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism, we are succeeding: Berkshire County received $641 million in direct visitor spending in 2022. (Data is always one year behind.) In this same calendar year, our marketing efforts garnered 167+ million impressions for visitors and 45 million for the local, business-to-business audience. We run campaigns all year long.
This is very good news for our members. When you purchase marketing through 1Berkshire, you are paying a fraction of the cost to reach these millions of potential customers. Whether it’s a display ad on berkshires.org for an upcoming event, or a text ad in a 1Berkshire Happenings blast to alert the community to a new initiative, we take pride in sharing your message far and wide. Here are a few of the upcoming marketing opportunities that are available to you as 1Berkshire members.
Grand Central Station Wrap-around Campaign
Beginning in March, the Berkshires will be featured throughout this bustling, historic station, reaching an estimated 14 million impressions. Stay tuned for more information about this exciting campaign – and if you’re in the City and see our boards, take a pic and tag us on social!
Reach up to 225,000 NYC residents and 95,600 Boston residents in our co-op eblasts. These communications focus on telling the story of the Berkshires by sharing all the amazing experiences just waiting to be booked.
Each season, we send an e-communication encouraging visitors to revel in spring, soak up summer, fall in love with fall, and explore winter. If you have seasonal-specific offerings, this could be a great opportunity for your business.
Berkshires.org continues to perform exceptionally well. All campaigns drive visitors to the site, which means they are likely to see your ad and business listing. In 2023, member listings were seen more than a million times, and site had a total of 755,000 visitors and almost 1.3 million sessions. What’s really great about the new ads is that they look like content to entice and engage the user and get them off our site and onto yours.
Host a Journalist
We work with professional PR experts to attract journalists for familiarization tours, otherwise known as FAMs. If you’re willing and able to host a journalist, blogger, or influencer by offering comped or discounted lodging, meals, tickets, etc., this is a great way to be featured in widely-read media outlets. Let us know if you’re interested! Also, be sure to keep current images on file with 1Berkshire and let us know what’s new with you and your business – we are asked frequently for suggestions. Send pictures to photos@1berkshire.com.
Annual Packages for Maximized Ease & Reach
In the position to plan? Like to set and forget your marketing? We can build customized marketing packages to run over the course of 6 months to a year. We are often able to offer discounts on these long-term packages, so contact us today to learn more. Contact Cara Vermeulen at cvermeulen@1berkshire.com.
We Are Here to Help
Our team often sits down with members, one on one, to discuss these opportunities in detail. We’re happy to hear about your marketing needs and discuss how we can help meet them. Get started by emailing Elizabeth Nelson, Director of Marketing, at enelson@1berkshire.com.
If you’re interested in any of these opportunities, please do not hesitate to reach out. Email sales@1berkshire.com. View our 2024 Media Schedule here.
As the saying goes, “a rising tide lifts all boats.” So too does the entire Berkshire economy and community benefit when any one of us succeeds. Whether you can afford to participate or not, whether you can directly attribute an ad to a customer or patron walking through your door, 1Berkshire’s marketing efforts support your business. We will continue doing our very best to attract visitors as well as relocators to our remarkable region and they will continue to patronize your business. Consider joining us today.