With the worst of the pandemic in the rear-view mirror, travelers are eager to hit the road this spring and Virginia Beach is ready to welcome them.
And not just as tourists, but as invited guests — according to the city’s latest marketing plan.
On Tuesday, Convention and Visitors Bureau Director Nancy Helman presented a new “open invitation” marketing plan to the City Council. It’s an extension of the city’s fall campaign, which focused on encouraging visitors to enjoy the beach like a local. But for the upcoming season, the $4 million marketing plan focuses on the family experience and will feature local community members.
“It’s not just about who we are, it’s about what we do, how we eat, how we drink, how we relax, play and unplug, essentially how we live the life,” Helman said.
The advertisements are designed like invitations, showing Virginia Beach families walking on the beach, eating ice cream and strawberry picking.
A parent holds a child at the Virginia Aquarium in one ad labeled “an open invitation to wonder,” and a young child stands facing the ocean with a boogie board in his hands in another tagged “an open invitation to bask.”
The campaign will be on social media, TV and billboards in several targeted markets. Many are places where people can drive to Virginia Beach, including cities in Ohio, Pennsylvania and North Carolina as well as Washington, D.C.
Virginia Beach will also roll out its campaign in Canada for the first time since the pandemic.
“That’s a market that went away for two years,” Councilman Linwood Branch said. “There was a time in Virginia Beach where in July or August you’d go to a grocery store near the Oceanfront and you’d hear as much French spoken as English. I hope we can get back to that.”
Stacy Parker, 757-222-5125, stacy.parker@pilotonline.com