“Just another day on the island” is the new slogan Wrightsville Beach marketing officials will use at the center of a campaign that features eye-catching photography of the area’s picturesque scenery.
Meeting Tuesday, Aug. 11, the Wrightsville Beach Marketing Advisory Committee reviewed the new campaign created by Raleigh advertising agency Clean Design and considered new crisis response plans in light of the recent spate of shark incidents.
Clean Design creative officer Scott Scaggs explained how the agency moved from the previous campaign, which marketed the beach town for its accessibility, to the new campaign, which focuses on the island’s general appeal.
“We used to market … much more about the active things that you do here, and we don’t want to lose that,” Scaggs said.
The ads still feature full-bleed photographs, but the tight shots showing people doing beach activities have been replaced by wide shots, often with an aerial perspective. There are still people in the photographs, Scaggs pointed out — a human element to help the target audience connect to the campaign — but now the focus is on the “beautiful, arresting, scenic vistas.”
Scaggs said the creative team spent about one month scouting locations around the island, both sound side and ocean side, to find a variety of dynamic perspectives. The campaign features five executions of the concept, each with a different photograph and body copy. Scaggs presented the different versions as both half-page print ads and as a variety of web ads.
“I like the photography because it has so many different places represented,” said Shawn Braden, Wilmington and Beaches Convention and Visitors Bureau vice president of marketing.
“It looks like a unique beach,” committee member Sue Bulluck agreed.
Committee members also debated the bureau’s public relations response to the recent shark attacks.
After the attacks, national media broadcast from Wrightsville Beach locations, despite no attacks occurring at the island. The coverage led to concerns and questions from other media and tourists, and in response the bureau sent out a list of talking points hotel and rental cottage staff could use to tell people how to stay safe at the beach.
Committee chair Pres Davenport said instead of talking points about how to escape dangerous situations, he would have preferred one simple statement touting the positive aspects of the beach. The convention bureau’s Connie Nelson, who attended Tuesday’s marketing committee meeting, said there is a delicate balance in crisis communications between acknowledging the severity of a situation, while still trying to alleviate irrational fears and showing empathy to the victims.
Committee members agreed to form a subcommittee with representatives from the Wrightsville Beach Chamber of Commerce, the convention bureau and the town to proactively put in place an official response to a variety of crises the beaches could encounter.
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