SIDNEY — Jeff Raible, director of the Sidney Visitors Bureau, recently released promotional statistics for January and February.
The bureau’s website saw 1,688 web sessions in January, 1,822 in February; and 2,989 page views in January, 3,047 in February. The Facebook page reached 4,570 in January and 8,435 in February.
The visitors bureau exhibited at the AAA Great Vacations Expo in Columbus. The AAA show is likely the largest vacation, leisure and travel show in Ohio. The Shelby County bureau collaborated with neighboring visitors bureaus in Darke, Miami, Auglaize, Mercer and Van Wert counties to showcase the many attractions of this region. Eight hundred goodie bags were distributed plus a large number of Made In West Ohio rack cards to promote factory tours in the six-county region. According to AAA, this year’s EXPO was attended by 11,656 consumers, representing the highest attendance in the past five years.
The bureau contracted with Kenjoh Outdoor for advertising space on the digital billboard near the corner of Vandemark Road and state Route 47 in Sidney. West bound traffic on state Route 47 at this intersection numbers more than 22,700 vehicles per day. Northbound traffic on Vandemark Road at this intersection numbers more than 5,800 vehicles per day. This billboard is highly visible to these vehicles. The Visitors Bureau’s six-second advertising messages will appear on this billboard 720 times per day. This space will be used to promote area events and attractions in addition to those associated with the 2019 and 2020 Shelby County-Sidney Bicentennial. The monthly contract runs through Dec. 31 with an option to continue in 2020.
Bureaus in Darke, Miami, Auglaize, Mercer, Shelby and Van Wert counties produced a promotional rack card highlighting the most popular tourist attractions in this six-county region.
The local bureau added 27 Sidney-area events to the Great Miami Riverway events calendar. This online calendar is a popular resource for those looking for things to do in the greater Miami Valley. Postings on this site are also shared on the Great Miami Riverway Facebook feed for added exposure.
The Sidney Visitors Bureau online calendar has been populated with nearly 100 items of interest representing fun events to attend in Sidney and Shelby County. Included are a large number of events being organized to celebrate Shelby County’s bicentennial. The calendar page can be viewed at www.visitsidneyshelby.com/calendar/.
The spring edition of Crossings magazine will feature an article and advertisement promoting travel to Sidney. Crossings is a leisure travel magazine published in Canada that is available in print and online.
OhioTraveler.com published an article promoting travel to Sidney in the March 1 edition of its eNewsletter. In addition, this same article was distributed to 900 regional media outlets for possible inclusion in their newspaper, magazine, radio, television, and social media features.
The Sidney Visitors Bureau contracted with Eldora Speedway to be listed on the speedway’s web site as a travel resource for those visiting the area.
The bureau will sponsor the annual Buckeye Farm Antiques Show by taking an ad in the show program and serving as entertainment sponsor.
To support its evolving outdoor advertising strategy, the bureau is developing a series of billboard templates to promote events and attractions occurring throughout the county and in association with Shelby County’s Bicentennial celebrations.
The Sidney Visitors Bureau has contracted to advertise in My Miami County magazine and MyMiamiCounty.com to promote the Shelby County Bicentennial and its many events planned for this year.
A branding initiative has been launched to investigate the feasibility of undertaking the development of a formal brand for the Sidney Visitors Bureau and perhaps more widely for the community at large. A number of community leaders along with select individuals skilled in marketing and advertising have been asked to help with this project.
