Forty-thousand folks of a particular persuasion have been asked to spend a day on Mayor Charlie Smithgall's stomping grounds.

"When you need a break, need to just get away some place new for a day (without spending hours in your car), head to downtown Lancaster,'' reads his invitation.

The pitch recently was sent to selected residents of Adams, Berks, Cumberland, Dauphin, Lebanon and York counties.

Only those who are 40 and older, who like to travel (especially to historic and heritage sites without children in tow), who enjoy culture and art, and who have a penchant for slightly upscale shopping and dining made the guest list.

Written in the first person, Smithgall's four-page letter promises a pleasant surprise for those who "come and rediscover the attractions, shops, restaurants and museums in downtown Lancaster.'' He boasts of how Lancaster is one of the largest historic areas in the United States, and how there's an abundance of architecture homes, churches and public buildings dating from the 1700s.

After outlining all of the things to see (such as galleries and shows) and do (including shopping, dining and walking tours), he concludes by mentioning special discounts and other incentives to reel in the potential visitors.

"Historic Lancaster City. Centuries of fun in just a day.'' Smithgall confessed they weren't his words, but he liked them.

So he signed on (his John Hancock is on the back page) to the copywriting of Carol Aubitz at Excelsior Direct Marketing Inc., 8 N. Queen St.

Aubitz was hired by a coalition of groups to market downtown Lancaster as a tourist destination.

She had $56,000 from the Downtown Improvement District, the Lancaster Campaign, the Lancaster Alliance, the city and Lancaster County to spend, according to Wendy Nagle, president of the Pennsylvania Dutch Convention & Visitors Bureau, which assisted in the effort.

This is the fourth year for the collaborative marketing initiative, but the first for the direct mailing, which includes a Discover Downtown Lancaster brochure, and three one-page inserts advertising the Heritage Center Museum of Lancaster County, the Historic Lancaster Walking Tour, stores in the Hager Arcade Mall and eight downtown shopping destinations.

The marketing campaign also features advertisements in Amish Country News and the Central PA and Susquehanna Style magazines; a WGAL Channel 8 television commercial that urges residents to sign up for downtown Lancaster's online magazine; and a city ambassador, who provides tourist information from a booth at Penn Square.

Aubitz, who's been producing direct marketing mailings for 30 years, said she used "psychographics,'' or the study of consumer values and attitudes, to determine exactly whom to send the letters to.

"We have lots of heritage and history, and many of our attractions relate to those, so my first profile match was to find people who travel frequently and go to historic and heritage places,'' she said.

Aubitz then wanted those within that core group who liked culture and art.

"We also went a little further and expanded the profile to include people who like shopping and dining with an upscale bent.'' She next added a couple of demographics. "We wanted people with incomes above a certain level ($50,000) so they wouldn't think this was too expensive a place for them to come, and we also added age.

"We wanted to appeal to an adult who no longer travels with kids and travels to get away.''

Aubitz sent the profiles to Experian, a consumer information database holder in Texas, to determine who, in the counties she had chosen, fit the target group she wanted.

That information was then sent to Calloway Network, East Hempfield Township, a direct-mail company that prepared the mailing and addressed the envelopes.

Although the letter was a first, Aubitz has marketed the city for the past three years.

She had created the Discover Downtown Lancaster brochure as part of a three-year contract. She was hired for another year based on her response to a request for a marketing proposal.

It was her idea to draft the "invitation'' and create the inserts, she said.

"It wasn't like I had to really sell them. Everyone was enthusiastic,'' Aubitz said.

"It really shows a unified approach. Not just the government officials and the visitors bureau worked together, but all of them pulled together with the businesses.'' Jim Radel, co-owner of Radel & Stauffer, 118 N. Water St., which is among those listed on the shopping destinations insert, said the targeted mailing was a "no-brainer.''

Marjorie Walsh, owner of Sharp Jewelers, 21 W. King St., agreed.

"I was just impressed with who it was going out to,'' she said. "And I liked the idea of it going out to nearby counties. People are looking for places that are drivable in a day.'' Being included on the shopping insert cost her less than $150, Walsh said.

"For me, to be able to get out to 40,000 homes, it was a good deal.''
blog comments powered by Disqus