Welcome to
Working For You
, the Pennsylvania Great Outdoors Visitors Bureau's quarterly membership newsletter from Executive Director, John Straitiff.
The busy summer and fall travel seasons have passed and the holidays will soon be upon us. The PAGO staff has been busy working hard to attract visitors to the region and we are gearing up for the 2019 trade show season. Here are just some of the highlights of how PAGO marketed our region to travelers this fall, as well as some plans put in place for 2019.
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Website, Online, and Social Media
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The new VisitPAGO.com launched in February 2018 and is performing very well and our paid Google AdWords campaign, which runs through December, continues to drive traffic to the website.
We will be advertising with Hearst Women's Travel Group (Country Living, Good Housekeeping, and Woman's Day) in the new digital travel guide download program starting in January 2019.
PAGO is a featured destination in the GuestQuest Traveler Magazine with web ads and collecting online leads.
You will see PAGO throughout the PA State Tourism Office promotional pieces including a custom content article, web ads, print ad, and content submitted to the email newsletter each month.
We have purchased online advertorials in January, June, and September 2019 editions of PittsburghMagazine.com, a skyscraper banner ad with Maryland Motorcoach Association, and web ads on Explore Jefferson, Explore Clarion, and CookForest.com along with PAGO Photo of the Day.
Every Tuesday, we give away anything from admission tickets or gift certificates to merchandise or an overnight stay to our 56,000 Facebook followers. The most successful post reached nearly 840,000 people! Any of our members are welcome to take advantage of this opportunity to use the power of our Facebook page to grow your business. To participate or for more information, contact Jamie Popson at
Jamie@VisitPAGO.com or call (814) 849-5197.
The
PAGO Photo Contest continues with a new theme each quarter. Hundreds of photos have been submitted and winners have been announced for the Outdoor Adventures segment, Scenic Beauty has come to an end with voting happening soon, and Winter Fun just began with several submissions already! Cash prizes are awarded to top four winners.
Winter Lodging Specials is a campaign we run each winter promoting off-season lodging discounts November through March.
Friends of PAGO - 56,000 followers on
Facebook,
Twitter has 2,071 followers,
Instagram has 1,193 followers, and our
YouTube channel has 124,844 video views.
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Beyond Your Backyard with Erik the Travel Guy
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The episode of
Beyond Your Backyard
called “Pennsylvania’s Great Outdoors” reached even more people than we originally anticipated! In August, we received news that the series was made available for nationwide distribution to all PBS stations for airing during the fall of 2018. The series is also available worldwide on PBS Passport. Erik the Travel Guy will be returning to the are to film season two and another episode in June 2019.
View the 7 minute teaser on our YouTube Channel.
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- Major Sporting Events: We purchased TV spot advertising in four Pittsburgh Steelers preseason games in August and regular season NFL games including two Steelers games September 30th and October 7th. NCAA Football was also part of our TV advertising plan with ads in high profile games like Penn State at Pitt, Penn State at Ohio State, and Notre Dame at Michigan.
- Kaleidoscope the Series: During November the show ran segments on Foxburg. The first segment featured the Allegheny RiverStone Center for the Arts and the Red Brick Gallery. The second segment featured the Foxburg Country Club and the American Golf Hall of Fame. Both of these segments can be seen on the PAGO YouTube channel.
- Elk Cam: During the elk rut this fall, the Pennsylvania Game Commission had a live elk cam near Benezette. On the PGC elk cam page there was a direct link to the PAGO website.
- Live Cams: We continue to offer the public two popular live river cameras. One is located in Foxburg overlooking the Allegheny River, the second is in Cook Forest overlooking the Clarion River. We also maintain a wifi hotspot for visitors in Cook Forest near the park office.
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PAGO advertises in several major publications and online promotions including a full-page ad in the 2019 PA state tourism guide, Fall One Tank Trips in Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 1/2 page ad in Pittsburgh Magazine's September 2018 and 2019 Guide to Travel in June and September, ad in the September issue of Road Runner Magazine along with March and September 2019 issues, 1/4 page ad in the Iron & Oil Review publication, 1/4 page ad and PAGO events listed in each issue of Where & When Magazine along with a special feature on Foxburg in the spring, 1/4 page ad in all 2019 issues of PA Angler & Boater Magazine, ad and editorial in September Wine section in PA, DE, MD, and Northern VA, a full page ad in all issues of Pin Point Pennsylvania publication along with PAGO generated content, 1/3 page ads in the directories of PA Bus Association and Maryland Motorcoach Association, and display ads for 2019 in Outdoor New in PA, Ohio, and New York.
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We are excited to introduce a new vibrant backdrop display
for our booth this year!
2019 Shows:
Ohio Home & Remodeling Show
in Columbus
January 11-13
Capital Home & Remodeling Show
in Chantilly, VA
January 18-20
NRA Great American Outdoor Show
in Harrisburg, PA
February 2-10
Philly Home & Garden Show
in Oaks, PA
February 15-17
Western NY Home & Outdoor Living Show
in Hamburg, NY
February 21-24
Pittsburgh Home & Garden Show
in Pittsburgh, PA
March 1-10
Toronto Sportsmen’s Show
March 13-17
Uncork the Alleghenies
in Altoona, PA
March 16
Where & When Family Travel Fair
in Lancaster, PA
April 27
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35,000 copies of PAGO's Fall/Winter GO magazine arrived in early September and were completely distributed by mid-October. 120,000 copies of the 2019 Welcome Magazine will arrive in early January. They will be available in every PA interstate rest stop and turnpike travel plaza, also available at PA Welcome Centers.
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Rack Cards:
Just a reminder that we offer free rack card distribution for our members. We stock our magazines and members' rack cards at more than 150 locations across the region. If you need help creating your rack card, we offer design services for $75. We have room for only 32 members' rack cards in a spin rack at the booth during the 2019 trade shows. The cost is $150 for all of the shows listed above. To reserve your spot, contact John Straitiff at
John@VisitPAGO.com
or call (814) 849-5197.
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Signage:
Renewed contracts for signs at Thunder Mountain and Hummingbird Speedways, a combo billboard with Forest County ATV and Snowmobile Clubs, and the PAGO directional sign on Allegheny Boulevard in Brookville.
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From everyone at Pennsylvania Great Outdoors Visitors Bureau, we hope you have a great end of summer and a fantastic fall season! Never hesitate to contact our office to maximize your membership or visit the Membership Section of the website
www.VisitPAGO.com/members
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