Explore Oak Ridge campaign includes new website, logo

Posted at 10:52 pm August 23, 2015
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Marc DeRose, executive director of the Oak Ridge Convention and Visitors Bureau (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

A new Explore Oak Ridge campaign markets Oak Ridge to visitors, and it includes a new logo and website. The Oak Ridge Convention and Visitors Bureau launched the campaign on Thursday, August 20.

“Over the past several months, the CVB and their marketing partner Girl on the Roof Inc. have been doing extensive research into Oak Ridge’s tourism appeal,” a press release said. “What they found didn’t surprise anyone. Oak Ridge has a lot to offer with one big problem: Most people don’t know about it.”

The campaign is designed to help reveal what makes the Secret City such a special place.

“As it turns out, the Secret City is quite good at keeping its secrets,” ORCVB Executive Director Marc DeRose said. “We found Oak Ridge to have many exciting and interesting attractions for visitors, but people outside of Oak Ridge simply have no idea of just how much there is.”

To kick off the campaign, the CVB has launched www.ExploreOakRidge.com. The new website will provide a resource for visitors and residents to learn, experience, and plan their time in Oak Ridge. The website will serve as a starting point for visitors to learn about Oak Ridge history, natural resources, science and innovation, and the arts.

“It will provide beautiful images, a local events calendar, and offers interesting editorial content by various writers about Oak Ridge,” the press release said. “You can even book your hotel room right from the site! Most importantly, www.ExploreOakRidge.com provides a platform for the CVB to publicize the positive news and achievements of the Oak Ridge community.”

“Although the website is only in its first phase, we’re all so pleased with its design and the sheer volume of content we were able to include in this phase,” DeRose said. “We’re only scraping the surface of what Oak Ridge has to offer.

Carol Reeve, founder of Girl on the Roof Inc. (Photo by Carol Reeve via Twitter)

Future website phases will add more content, video, social media, and interactive services for visitors.

“The time has come for the Secret City to give up some of its secrets and show the world just what a special place it is,” DeRose said.

Contact the Oak Ridge CVB for more information or to promote the great things happening in Oak Ridge, the press release said.

A presentation by DeRose and Carol Reeve, founder of Girl on the Roof Inc., pointed out that tourists in Anderson County in 2014:

spent more than $115 million in Anderson County in 2014, a 3.7 percent increase;
provided $6.7 million in state tax, a 4.7 percent increase;
provided $2.47 million in local tax revenue, a 3.8 percent increase.

Also, 905 Anderson County residents have tourism-related jobs, DeRose and Reeve said, citing numbers announced last week by the Tennessee Department of Tourism.

Here are other highlights of that presentation:

Oak Ridge has a lot to offer, but people don’t know about it. Inconsistent messaging makes it harder to tell the city’s story, and “we all need to sing the same song!”
The CVB and Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce co-hosted a community leader event to collect input related to strengths, challenges, audiences, and shared goals. The CVB collaborated with Breakfast Rotary Club to build upon the branding message they were developing.
Goals of Explore Oak Ridge are to entice more audiences to visit Oak Ridge, encourage them to do more while here, bring more residents to the area, and bring in more financial resources.
The new website is stage one. Coming soon are expanded website features, city-wide signage, public relations strategy, social media, and collaborations to expand reach, and more. Other website additions are expected to include more video footage and photography; more events, assets, and articles; more search engine optimization; visual timeline of Oak Ridge; business/lab tour coordination; sponsored advertising and coupons; and user-generated content.

The Explore Oak Ridge logo was unveiled Thursday, Aug. 20, 2015.

The Oak Ridge Convention and Visitors Bureau launched its Explore Oak Ridge campaign during a reception at Riverside Grille on Thursday, Aug. 20, 2015. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

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