NJ Spotlight – As Atlantic City’s “Do AC” campaign enters its second year, the Atlantic City Alliance, a casino-funded marketing group, is refocusing its message, promoting specific events it hopes will pull in more tourists rather than emphasizing AC as a clean and safe place to visit.
Atlantic City, meanwhile, is still struggling to find its feet. Entertainment and food revenue leveled off in 2013, according to the ACA’s 2014 report, after increasing for the previous four years. Casinos continued to lose money, although at a slower rate.
And 2013 revenue was flat, or at least posted a very modest gain, which Liza Cartmell, president of the ACA, blamed partly on Hurricane Sandy. Cleanup from the storm, which hit the city at the end of 2012, lasted well into 2013. A bitterly cold, snowy winter also kept potential visitors at home. “It’s been a tough year for the region,” Cartmell said, and for Atlantic City.
The ACA spent $20 million dollars on its 2013 “Do AC” campaign and will spend another $20 million this year, trying to sell tourists — especially a younger crowd — on the idea that there’s more to Atlantic City than gambling. Like what?
The campaign will bring well-known DJs to the city’s clubs, and put together foodie events, like the Boardwalk Wine Promenade. Given the audience that it’s trying to appeal to, it’s not surprising that the tweaked “Do AC” campaign features more online and social medial events, such as the one that allows users on Facebook and Twitter select the music for the city’s annual 4th of July fireworks show, and a redesigned Web site optimized for mobile devices that lists events more prominently on the homepage.
Last year, the ACA spent 86 percent of its $20 million budget on branding and only 8 percent on events.
