More Media Eyes on Roanoke These Days

The Taubman Museum by night.
The Taubman Museum by night.

Virginia’s Blue Ridge – that’s how the Roanoke Valley is being packaged these days by the Roanoke Valley Convention and Visitor’s Bureau – experienced a big jump in media coverage in 2013, when compared to 2012. That’s according to Catherine Fox, director of Public Relations & Tourism for the RVCVB.

In fact, there was a 40 percent increase in media coverage over 2012. More than 60 travel journalists made their way to Roanoke, focusing on several niche markets where the Star City has hung its hat – like outdoor amenities and the arts. There were stories in AAA Journeys magazine, and in newspapers as local as the Bristol Herald Courier or as far away as the Los Angeles Times.

The Fort Worth Star Telegram wrote about “Relaxing in Roanoke” in November. The Miami Herald took a “Step back in time at Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains” in December; the San Jose Mercury News reported that “Virginia’s Blue Ridge rolls out the green carpet” in early November. Southern Living magazine described some of the best “Cheap Eats Under $10” and a number of blog writers also were lured to town to write about the area.

“What we…found was a community of welcoming people, a vibrant place for the arts, for culinary delights, and that sense of place that is so captivating,” said journalist Mary Casey-Sturk, who took part in an October 2013 media tour.

“We had been working on a public relations initiative for the past couple of years,” said Fox about the efforts to draw publications and journalists to town. “Each year it’s built on the previous year. The number of articles has really come forward. There’s certainly a lot of important coverage that we’ve seen in print. From coast to coast we’ve seen some great media pickup for Virginia’s Blue Ridge.”

The RVCVB developed specific tracks, niche markets that would appeal to different media sectors: an outdoor track, arts & culture, food and golf. “There are certain areas we can develop [for media outlets] to entice them,” said Fox, “then they take it from there. It’s based on what their reader’s interests are. They develop those story ideas while they are here.”

The visitroanokeva.com website, which launched over a year ago, helped focus attention on the Roanoke Valley by zeroing in on a number of amenities. Photo galleries also entice journalists – and tourists – as well. “The number of impressions that people see from this area is so important. They see us once, they see us twice. We want them to think about us when they’re driving by,” said Fox. The east coast is the principal target market; Roanoke is a day’s drive from the many of the country’s population centers.

Many are “discovering something they have not discovered before,” noted Fox. “The impression they have of our area [upon arrival] is totally different then when they leave,” she adds of the journalists that have been enticed to visit. The emerging outdoor activity emphasis, the growing number of craft breweries, food tours to the area’s restaurants – it’s all added up to new excitement about what the Roanoke Valley can offer visitors.

“They’re [often] discovering Virginia’s Blue Ridge for the first time.” Passenger train service in a few years that can make Roanoke an easier, less stressful trip from close by markets like Washington will only help make it easier to put tourist packages together. That means more money spent at local shops, restaurants and cultural attractions.

“I think we’ll see an increase in the number of folks visiting,” Fox predicts. The increased media attention helps fan the flames.

See visitroanokeva.com for more information on recent media coverage and on area amenities.

By Gene Marrano

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