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October 13. 2012 9:14PM
This New Hampshire moose could have posed for the moose profile of the New Hampshire Grand's logo. There are plenty of moose in Coos County. (SARA YOUNG-KNOX)
A team from Muddy Paw Sled Dog Kennel glides through the winter snow. Muddy Paws offers rides at The Rocks Estate in Bethlehem and at the Omni Mount Washingtion Hotel in Bretton Woods. White Mountain Sled Dog Adventures takes sled passengers on runs at the Mountain View Grand Resort in Whitefield. Both organizations offer certified Grand Adventures. (COURTESY)
Snowmobilers hit the trail on demo sleds at the annual Swift Diamond Riders’ SnoDeo, held in March at Coleman State Park in Stewartstown. The Snowmobile Highway from Jefferson to Pittsburg is one of New Hampshire Grand’s certified Grand Adventures. (SARA YOUNG-KNOX)
NH Grand reboots marketing for Coos tourism
This New Hampshire moose could have posed for the moose profile of the New Hampshire Grand's logo. There are plenty of moose in Coos County. (SARA YOUNG-KNOX)
A team from Muddy Paw Sled Dog Kennel glides through the winter snow. Muddy Paws offers rides at The Rocks Estate in Bethlehem and at the Omni Mount Washingtion Hotel in Bretton Woods. White Mountain Sled Dog Adventures takes sled passengers on runs at the Mountain View Grand Resort in Whitefield. Both organizations offer certified Grand Adventures. (COURTESY)
Snowmobilers hit the trail on demo sleds at the annual Swift Diamond Riders’ SnoDeo, held in March at Coleman State Park in Stewartstown. The Snowmobile Highway from Jefferson to Pittsburg is one of New Hampshire Grand’s certified Grand Adventures. (SARA YOUNG-KNOX)
LANCASTER — It's got mountains, lakes and rivers. It's got trees, moose and eagles. It's got grand adventures and grand hotels.
What the northern White Mountains and the Great North Woods didn't have until several years ago was a collaborative effort marketing the region — letting the world know that Coos County was more than woods and mountains, that it was, and is, New Hampshire Grand.
That moniker has now been tweaked to Experience New Hampshire's Grand North, with the original logo and brand still in place.
The branding initiative, begun after Roger Brooks of Destination Development Inc. was contracted by Northern Community Investment Corporation (NCIC) in 2008 to help with tourism efforts, continues to expand its marketing, and now the team wants to expand its business outreach and support, closely tracking 10 businesses to see if the program has helped them.
Overseen by Cathy Conway of NCIC, the program is supported by New Hampshire-based travel and tourism marketing professionals. The team coordinates the advertising, marketing, public relations, website and social media activities.
According to Conway, anecdotal evidence suggests that there has been a positive impact this year, with harder data showing that Coos County saw a greater percentage increase in rooms and meals tax collections from 2009 through 2011 than the state's other counties. This appears to have continued into 2012, with businesses indicating, on average, a 7 percent increase in activity. (The county's total, however, could be negatively affected by the closed-for-renovations Balsams.)
“We want to promote our business success stories and continue to provide marketing assistance,” Conway said. The effort has brought together the small chambers of commerce that serve Coos County communities, taking scattered marketing efforts and focusing them for better result.
“It is important to recognize that the New Hampshire Grand program exists both as a resource for visitors to learn about the area's attractions, businesses, what to do, where to stay, what to see — and also as a tool for Coos businesses who want to improve their marketing efforts to attract those visitors. New Hampshire Grand continues to look for collaborative ways to help Coos businesses succeed and makes marketing initiatives like the tourism conference and advertising opportunities available to them,” Conway said.
Pam Sullivan, the marketing consultant for New Hampshire Grand, will be one of the presenters at the third annual Northern New Hampshire Tourism Conference, “Live Free and Prosper” on Nov. 8 at the Appalachian Mountain Club's Highland Center at the top of Crawford Notch.
Keynote speaker at the conference is Nancie Freitas, former chief marketing officer of Constant Contact. Other speakers include Judi Window of Granite State Ambassadors, Veronica Francis of Notchnet and Chris Thayer of the Appalachian Mountain Club.
New Hampshire Grand is coordinating the conference with the Women's Rural Entrepreneurial Network (WREN), and the Northern Forest Canoe Trail.
In the past year, New Hampshire Grand has leveraged a Neil and Louise Tillotson Fund Challenge Grant of $35,000, getting $3 for every grant dollar, which has helped the team scale up their cooperative marketing program. This also allowed them to obtain $61,000 from the state Joint Promotional Program (JPP).
Those involved in the initiative have attended the Boston Globe Travel Show, and the JPP funds have enabled New Hampshire Grand to advertise on Canadian radio stations, and increase the brand's presence in the Boston area and southern New Hampshire. The USDA assistance allowed the team to update the New Hampshire Grand website.
“Our partnerships have been critical to the success of the program. We have recently started bringing the chambers back together for joint meetings with renewed purpose. Our Tourism Development Team is the eyes and ears of the program and provides valuable insight into the needs of their regions and helps to set policy and program direction,” Conway said.
There are now 14 certified Grand Adventures, among them year-round dog sledding adventures, Team O'Neil Rally School, white water rafting adventures and TNT Registered Guide Service's eagle tour.
Funded in large part by the Neil and Louise Tillotson Fund, the program has also received substantial financial help from the Northern Border Regional Commission, USDA Rural Business Enterprise Grant, and JPP, and continues to reach out for financial support from the community.
For more information, go to nhgrand.com. New Hampshire Grand is also on Facebook and YouTube.
What the northern White Mountains and the Great North Woods didn't have until several years ago was a collaborative effort marketing the region — letting the world know that Coos County was more than woods and mountains, that it was, and is, New Hampshire Grand.
That moniker has now been tweaked to Experience New Hampshire's Grand North, with the original logo and brand still in place.
The branding initiative, begun after Roger Brooks of Destination Development Inc. was contracted by Northern Community Investment Corporation (NCIC) in 2008 to help with tourism efforts, continues to expand its marketing, and now the team wants to expand its business outreach and support, closely tracking 10 businesses to see if the program has helped them.
Overseen by Cathy Conway of NCIC, the program is supported by New Hampshire-based travel and tourism marketing professionals. The team coordinates the advertising, marketing, public relations, website and social media activities.
According to Conway, anecdotal evidence suggests that there has been a positive impact this year, with harder data showing that Coos County saw a greater percentage increase in rooms and meals tax collections from 2009 through 2011 than the state's other counties. This appears to have continued into 2012, with businesses indicating, on average, a 7 percent increase in activity. (The county's total, however, could be negatively affected by the closed-for-renovations Balsams.)
“We want to promote our business success stories and continue to provide marketing assistance,” Conway said. The effort has brought together the small chambers of commerce that serve Coos County communities, taking scattered marketing efforts and focusing them for better result.
“It is important to recognize that the New Hampshire Grand program exists both as a resource for visitors to learn about the area's attractions, businesses, what to do, where to stay, what to see — and also as a tool for Coos businesses who want to improve their marketing efforts to attract those visitors. New Hampshire Grand continues to look for collaborative ways to help Coos businesses succeed and makes marketing initiatives like the tourism conference and advertising opportunities available to them,” Conway said.
Pam Sullivan, the marketing consultant for New Hampshire Grand, will be one of the presenters at the third annual Northern New Hampshire Tourism Conference, “Live Free and Prosper” on Nov. 8 at the Appalachian Mountain Club's Highland Center at the top of Crawford Notch.
Keynote speaker at the conference is Nancie Freitas, former chief marketing officer of Constant Contact. Other speakers include Judi Window of Granite State Ambassadors, Veronica Francis of Notchnet and Chris Thayer of the Appalachian Mountain Club.
New Hampshire Grand is coordinating the conference with the Women's Rural Entrepreneurial Network (WREN), and the Northern Forest Canoe Trail.
In the past year, New Hampshire Grand has leveraged a Neil and Louise Tillotson Fund Challenge Grant of $35,000, getting $3 for every grant dollar, which has helped the team scale up their cooperative marketing program. This also allowed them to obtain $61,000 from the state Joint Promotional Program (JPP).
Those involved in the initiative have attended the Boston Globe Travel Show, and the JPP funds have enabled New Hampshire Grand to advertise on Canadian radio stations, and increase the brand's presence in the Boston area and southern New Hampshire. The USDA assistance allowed the team to update the New Hampshire Grand website.
“Our partnerships have been critical to the success of the program. We have recently started bringing the chambers back together for joint meetings with renewed purpose. Our Tourism Development Team is the eyes and ears of the program and provides valuable insight into the needs of their regions and helps to set policy and program direction,” Conway said.
There are now 14 certified Grand Adventures, among them year-round dog sledding adventures, Team O'Neil Rally School, white water rafting adventures and TNT Registered Guide Service's eagle tour.
Funded in large part by the Neil and Louise Tillotson Fund, the program has also received substantial financial help from the Northern Border Regional Commission, USDA Rural Business Enterprise Grant, and JPP, and continues to reach out for financial support from the community.
For more information, go to nhgrand.com. New Hampshire Grand is also on Facebook and YouTube.
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