Princeton tourism bureau wins marketing award

[The Times]

Princeton tourism bureau wins marketing award
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
BY KRYSTAL KNAPP
Special to the Times

WEST WINDSOR -- The Princeton Regional Convention and Visitors Bureau has been named a recipient of the New Jersey Governor's Tourism Award for marketing efforts that include a new advertising campaign and a revamped website.

The convention and visitor's bureau, a program of the Princeton Regional Chamber of Commerce, tried new strategies last year to market the Princeton region as a travel and meeting destination, both on a statewide and national basis.

Phyllis Oppenheimer, a tourism representative with the New Jersey Division of Travel and Tourism, was on hand to congratulate members for the group's efforts yesterday at the convention and visitors bureau membership meeting at the Hyatt Place.

"The bureau exemplifies the spirit of New Jersey tourism," said Oppenheimer. "The organization's groundbreaking activities in the last year effectively and successfully marketed the region in a cohesive manner that had never been previously been accomplished...This is an investment in the Princeton region and in turn an investment in New Jersey."

Adam Perle, vice president of the chamber, said the bureau launched a successful campaign by highlighting the region as a significant cultural, historic, educational, and artistic destination through both advertising and the bureau website. The theme of the new campaign is "Not just a town, an experience."

In train stations and publications through the Mid-Atlantic region, the group has been marketing Princeton as a weekend getaway for leisure, as a one-day destination for commuters and as a top location for business meetings. The marketing campaign was funded in part through a grant from the state.

The redesigned bureau website at www.visitprinceton.org included a new layout, an e-newsletter, an interface with the travel site Travelocity, and tools to target specific audiences. Perle said the number of unique visitors to the website jumped from 500 per month to 5,000 after the site was redesigned and the advertising campaign was launched.

This year the bureau will add content to the website, including videos, blogs, and advertising.

The Princeton Region includes the municipalities of Cranbury, East Windsor, Ewing, Hamilton, Hightstown, Hopewell Borough, Hopewell Township, Kingston, Lawrence, Montgomery, Pennington, Plainsboro, Princeton Borough, Princeton Township, Robbinsville, Rocky Hill, Skillman, and West Windsor.

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