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By Kathleen
Cassedy
 If you
don't know that a holiday in Colonial Williamsburg is hip, hot, and
the most important vacation in America, then somehow you've missed the
clever advertisements that have enlivened magazines and television in
more than 10 major mid-Atlantic markets during spring for the past two
years.
In this era of flash and attitude, these ads are
remarkable because they are also intelligent, yet designed to appeal
to an array of leisure interests, whether its golf, fine dining, or
conversing with Thomas Jefferson.
That's right. Colonial Williamsburg, the reconstructed
18th century capital in Virginia, is populated by British colonists,
such as Jefferson and Patrick Henry, on the verge of Revolution. These
popular costumed interpreters were introduced at this outdoor living
history museum earlier this decade, and are featured in both print and
TV ads.
By the time Just Partners, a Richmond advertising
agency, took the account in 1996, annual ticket sales for Colonial Williamsburg
had slipped to 900,000 from its 1.2 million high in 1989, and, even
worse, most visitors were day trippers, if they stayed that long.
The marketing campaign's first year in 1997 was
a marked success. Ticket sales showed the biggest increase in 10 years
to 980,000, of which many more were multi-day passes. From 1996, hotel
occupancies rose by 2 percent to 74 percent, and the length of stay
increased by one day to 3.2 days. Similar growth has since continued.
"If the visitors are here longer, they are
staying at our hotels, shopping at our stores, eating at our restaurants.
So that their longer stays generated additional revenue in a lot of
other places that benefit the [Colonial Williamsburg] Foundation, and
the whole Williamsburg area," notes Susan Struntz, VP of Marketing
Communications for Colonial Williamsburg.
WINS ODYSSEY AWARD
Not surprisingly, this remarkable campaign was acclaimed
by the Travel Industry Association of America last October during its
Odyssey 1997 Award program, recognizing outstanding achievement by members
in the areas of Travel Promotion and Public and Community Service. From
more than 160 entries, eight winners were selected, of which Colonial
Williamsburg was honored in the Cultural Heritage category.
"We are very pleased that TIA recognized the
campaign. Recognition from peers is terrific, but what was most meaningful
is that this campaign was not only awarded on the basis of the work,
but also the results," Struntz remarks.
Colonial Williamsburg opened as living museum in
1932, and is owned and managed by the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation,
established by John D. Rockefeller Jr. in 1926 to restore and preserve
18th century Williamsburg. The foundation is a non-profit educational
institution, which operates for-profit subsidiaries that include hotels
and restaurants, convention facilities, golf courses, and sales of licensed
products and reproductions.
Just Partners was formed when Foundation board members
enticed a former advertising executive, Donald Just, from his B&B
in North Carolina to organize a new advertising agency, composed of
colleagues who had once worked on the Williamsburg account about a decade
ago, when it was with the Martin Agency in Richmond, Virginia.
"There is a lot of benefit of us becoming a
first client," recalls Struntz."We certainly recognize that
the agency has as much invested in our success as we do."
REPOSITIONING MATURE MARKET
Just Partners' mission was to turn around a mature
product, which had yet to regain its one million mark in ticket sales
following the 1990-1991 recession. Williamsburg had been repositioned
by the competition, such as Disney World, other theme parks, family-oriented
cruise lines, and newer destinations, such as Orlando, Florida, and
Branson, Missouri.
After careful market research, the former niche
marketing strategy, which had targeted history buffs, was thrown out.
That was like preaching to the choir, says John Boatright, Senior Partner
at Just Partners, and that niche was not large enough to grow substantial
attendance.
"We needed to make [Williamsburg] relevant
again to families with children, who are the primary audience during
the summer season," he says.
Williamsburg had maintained a strong repeat business,
accounting for 60 to 65 percent of ticket sales. "Many come three,
four, five times a year, and many have been coming back each year for
the past 20, 30, 40 years," Struntz notes. Even with this loyal
base, Williamsburg needed to reach out and attract new people.
Visiting historical attractions is highly postponeable
since people believe the attractions do not change. "What we had
to do, from a communications point of view, was add some urgency about
'Now's the time to visit,' and get back on the vacation radar,"
Boatright says.
A LIVING MUSEUM
Market research showed that people did not have
a clear idea of what Colonial Williamsburg is. They were unaware that
the historic area encompasses 173 acres, comprising 88 restored original
buildings and hundreds of other reconstructed buildings, which include
shops, taverns, government buildings, homes, and streets that existed
during the late 1700s. This setting is populated by interactive, interpretative
characters as colonists, some quite famous.
"What makes Williamsburg stand out from a lot
of other destinations, we feel, is that the characters are alive. This
is reality, not virtual reality. You become a part of it, as opposed
to standing behind the ropes and watching," Struntz says.
Advertising which had previously been successful
had lost relevance. Earlier campaigns had focused on features of the
place, and less on visitor benefits. "We invited folks to come
watch, instead of come do," Struntz recalls. "While we are
a serious place, we don't have to take everything seriously. The ads
by Just Partners were designed to make Williamsburg more approachable,"
she adds.
THE MOST IMPORTANT VACATION
In developing its creative brief for the Colonial
Williamsburg campaign, Just Partners considered the audience, when it
would be talking to them, and what it wanted to say. Then, within these
parameters, the team developed the one salient thought to leave with
the audience. "What is the support that makes this [product or
experience] relevant and believable," Boatright explains. That
salient thought, which evolved after the development of an elaborate
matrix, became: "A Williamsburg vacation is the most important
vacation in America."
"It wasn't just several trite words that we
put down on paper," Boatright says. Before arriving at the salient
thought, Just Partners considered Colonial Williamsburg on various levels
of interpretation. On a superficial level: the destination is a reconstruction
of old buildings of a place that existed a long time ago; it's a chance
to see the way things used to be.
On an added-value level, Williamsburg is the most
important town in America because of the historical events that happened
here. (Since decisions by the Virginia delegation influenced actions
by the Continental Congress, which led to the Declaration of Independence.
This action was treason, punishable by death. In fact, the events that
occurred in Williamsburg are the basis of what became the United States
of America.)
On the most important level, because of the experience
that is offered at Williamsburg and what that experience represents,
Williamsburg becomes the most important vacation in America. Yet this
salient thought, which is never used as a tagline or in any copy, inspired
and united the campaign.
"There's some tension between the ideas of
'important' and 'vacation,' Boatright points out. "It was the task
of advertising to make that [salient thought] relevant and believable
without actually saying it."
VISITORS ARE HIGHLY EDUCATED
Market research showed that about 90 percent of
adult visitors to Colonial Williamsburg have some college, of which
one-third have postgraduate degrees. "We would not have thought
education was that high," Struntz says.
Williamsburg, which had used income as its major
profile descriptor, now replaced it with education. As people's education
increases, the amount of information they require to make vacation decisions
increases as well. "For the audience that we're appealing to, time
is more important than money," Boatright says.
The ads are intentionally long. "If we are
going to ask someone to spend their precious time at our place for some
days, we better give them good reasons," Boatright says. "So
the goal behind any kind of advertising is: get their attention, hold
it, and encourage them to read something.
The print ad's clever headlines are able to combine
the ideas of history with vacation. Among attention-getting headliners
are: "The British are coming! The British are coming! Quick! Load
the camcorders." The copy that follows explains the ongoing live
action programs at Colonial Williamsburg. For an ad showing a most decidedly
decadent chocolate layer cake, the headline reveals, "In this restaurant
it wasn't a dessert that people were willing to die for. It was a country."
Its copy describes the interesting activities in Williamsburg, and how
they relate to the history of this country.
On a three-quarter page ad, which followed a few
weeks after two-page spreads had run, shows a photo of a golf course,
its headline notes that "If it were here 200 years ago, our forefathers
may never have gotten around to declaring independence."
Even though the ads are relatively long, reading
them is fun, and like a mystery, they pique the readers' interest.
COMPETING WITH THEME PARKS
 Some of
the ads, especially TV ads, directly compete with Disney's theme parks.
On several 30-second spots, historical figures are set in period action.
A voice, as if from a newscaster, calls out, "Thomas Jefferson,
you just signed the Declaration of Independence. Bet you're going to
Disney World?" or "George Washington, you just defeated the
British at the Battle of Yorktown. Bet you're going to Disney World?"
In each ad, the characters stop their action, turn
to the camera, and proclaim, "No, we're going to Williamsburg."
The ads are always jocose with a little edge. "We had fun without
demeaning the project," Boatright says. TV ads were shots onsite
using Williamsburg talent, such as the actor who plays Thomas Jefferson.
One two-page spread shows a colonialist's tricorner
hat, the headline reads, "Would you visit if we put big round ears
on it?" The copy that follows directly contrasts a vacation at
a theme park, which has rides, candy, and video games, to one at Colonial
Williamsburg, which will provide children with a perspective on America.
"...In Colonial Williamsburg," the accompanying
copy reads, "there are streets where everything is just as it was
two hundred years ago, when brave people placed their lives on the line
to create a country. You and your children can go there together. And
they won't go on rides or play video games, and the street isn't lined
with souvenir stands. They'll just do a lot of real fun things that
teach them about freedom and independence and feeling fortunate. Your
children, with fresh new insight, will look around and see that the
most exhilarating thing in the entire world is to be American..."
"Those ads are very unhistoric looking, because
we wanted to put [the Colonial Williamsburg experience] into a new framework:
This makes a good vacation alternative; it's something intellectually
stimulating, on one hand, and rewarding, on the other," Boatright
says.
SPRING AD CAMPAIGN
Ads ran in markets within a 500-mile radius, including
major cities along the East Coast, from Boston to Washington, D.C.,
Colonial Williamsburg's Number 1 market; and west to Ohio; and south
to North Carolina. Ads started in May, and ran intermittently through
mid-June to attract family summer vacationers.
Noting that women are traditionally the decision
makers regarding vacations, the print ads ran in magazines for women,
typically homemakers, such as House & Garden, Martha Stewart Living,
Ladies Home Journal and Southern Living. Ads were designed as two-page
spreads, and as one-third page ads. The large ones ran first, and were
followed up with the smaller ones.
No major changes occurred as the campaign was developed
because the client was involved in every step. Whatever tweaks and adjustments
needed were made during the process. "So that when we got to the
end, it was exactly on strategy and great," says Boatright.
During the campaign, phone calls for fulfillment
packages, redesigned to complement the advertising, increased by 100
percent. The conversion rate (those callers who actually visit Colonial
Williamsburg) increased from 30 percent to 40 percent.
The advertising campaign was complemented by an
aggressive public relations outreach program that resulted in doubling
impressions (circulation for articles about Colonial Williamsburg) each
year since the campaign began. So that impressions reached 100 million
in 1997, and doubled to 200 million in 1998.
Because of the advertising's effectiveness, its
budget has nearly doubled since Just Partners partnered with Colonial
Williamsburg.
"Our strategy hasn't changed, so [this year's
campaign] will be variations on a theme. But we still keep the same
strategy," reveals Boatright. "It hasn't worn out." 
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