Baltimore Area Convention & Visitors Assn. fall campaign designed to

Daily Record, The (Baltimore), Oct 5, 2007 by Louis Llovio

The Baltimore Area Convention and Visitors Association has launched a national marketing campaign to draw visitors to the city's arts and cultural attractions, especially during Free Fall Baltimore.

Free Fall Baltimore is an October-long salute to the arts that features 85 arts and culture attractions and more than 300 free events. It is in its second year and is sponsored by the Baltimore Office of Promotion & the Arts.

The marketing campaign was actually designed to draw visitors during October and November, but a special push is being made to get them here during Free Fall Baltimore.

Nancy Hinds, vice president of communications for BACVA, said the campaign is designed to promote Baltimore as an "arts destination."

BACVA has advertised Baltimore's art attractions during the fall for the past several years, Hinds said, but Free Fall gives the association a linchpin event to pitch.

The $30,000 marketing campaign is aimed at the "cultural heritage traveler" and has two components, Hinds said. BACVA has reached out to media in several markets and has launched a Web site pointed at travelers.

The campaign, which began Sept. 17 and runs through Oct. 22, has already had some success.

On Sept. 26, Comcast's regional morning program, which is shown in markets from Maine to Virginia, broadcast live from Baltimore and highlighted several attractions. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution featured the event and area hotels in its Daily Deal column last week.

The Web site offers venue packages, hotel discounts and links to attractions. Plus, there are coupons and discounts available that are worth about $400 in savings, Hinds said.

The site is being marketed using banner ads on Web sites like DailyCandy.com, washingtonpost.com, Sherman's Travel and RealCities.com, Philly.com, NyDailyNews.com and InsideNoVa.com.

BACVA is also posting banner ads on Web sites geared to gays and lesbians, including Outtravler.com and gay.com.

The aim is to drive business to area attractions during Free Fall, which Hinds said, helps establish Baltimore as a premiere arts community.

A number of cultural attractions in the city saw significant increases in attendance during last year's Free Fall, which lasted two months as opposed to one.

The B&O Railroad Museum saw a 56 percent increase in first time visitors, the Baltimore Street Car Museum saw a 280 percent increase in attendance and the American Visionary Art Museum saw 356 first- time visitors and six times as many visitors on Saturdays, according to the Baltimore promotion office.

In all, about 180,000 people participated in Free Fall-related events last year, according to the Baltimore promotion office.

David Fischvogt, director of education at Sports Legends at Camden Yards, said he's seen an increased interest in the museum since last year's Free Fall. During the time, Sports Legends saw a 300 percent increase in attendance and 960 first-time visitors.

The museum featured an exhibit on the Civil War last year and this year will feature basketball in Baltimore.

"Free Fall is a good way for people to come in and see something that they normally wouldn't see," he said. "And if they are happy and enjoy it, they'll come back."

Getting people to keep coming back to attractions is the goal of Free Fall, said Bill Gilmore, executive director of the promotion office, who calls the event "audience development through accessibility."

"We want to expose families, and especially children, to new outlets of creativity. There is never enough exposure when it comes to art education," he said.

Once someone discovers what's available they will continue to come out, he said.

But looking past Free Fall, selling Baltimore as an arts destination establishes the city as serious player in the art world, said Anne Mannix, director of communications for the Baltimore Museum of Art.

"Once the outside world sees what's here, it will establish Baltimore as an arts-friendly city," she said.