Advertising for City of Kent brings in business, tourism
Outreach for advertisements showcasing the city of Kent reach as far as Indiana, Pennsylvania, Michigan, West Virginia and New York.
The Central Portage County Visitors & Convention Bureau (VCB) markets the city of Kent through both print and broadcast means of advertising, the latter of which is present through radio and television. Visitor’s Guides are included as part of the advertisements for the city of Kent, of which 25,000 copies are distributed between incoming freshmen attending Destination Kent State, and attendees at nine different trade shows across six different states, Ohio included.
“The last couple of years, we’ve done a holiday commercial with WKYC Channel 3 in Cleveland, and last year they came down and did a remote video of downtown, as well as the Brimfield area, to encourage people to shop during the holidays,” Lori Wemhoff, Executive Director for the Kent Area Chamber of Commerce, said.
This past year, in lieu of a commercial, Wemhoff appeared on WKYC Channel 3’s show Live on Lakeside. Events specific to the holidays were highlighted, such as the Festival of Lights in the city of Kent. Wemhoff said that anywhere from 1,000 to 1,500 people come to Kent for such an event.
“I think that television has really helped. A lot of the downtown businesses have stressed their increase in sales. Though I can’t say it was specific to the advertising on Channel 3, they did see a spike in sales during the holidays this year.” Wemhoff said.
In 2015, the Central Portage County VCB spent $126,201.03 on advertising. However, there are other entities and organizations that advertise the area for tourism purposes, such as music festivals and events that go on in the area. Among these organizations are Main Street Kent, Destination Kent, College Town Kent, and Acorn Alley.
One of the bigger points of emphasis in the Central Portage County VCB’s advertising has been to shop local. For Meredith Flory, a freshman speech pathology major, downtown Kent is a favorite place of hers to visit.
“I like to window shop, and I love Off the Wagon. It just has a bunch of neat stuff,” Flory said. “In our downtown [back home], there are a few stores that are kind of knick-knacky, but not necessarily like that.”
Flory is from Troy, Ohio, approximately 208 miles away from Kent. When her family comes up to visit, they make a point to eat at different restaurants, especially ones that aren’t around in Troy.
“We really like Fresco’s. I like the salsa bar, with all the different salsas. We enjoyed that place a lot,” Dawn Flory, Meredith’s mother, said.
“I think the town is very inviting. It’s my kind of town, it’s a fun place to go.”