Region Becomes Waterpark Capital of East Coast

POCONO MOUNTAINS, Pa., July 30, 2015 – This summer, the Pocono Mountains Visitors Bureau (PMVB) teamed up with three of the destination’s largest attractions for a six-week cooperative advertising campaign. Camelback Lodge and Aquatopia, Great Wolf Lodge, and Kalahari Resorts and Conventions, three indoor waterpark resorts in the Pocono Mountains, teamed up with the PMVB to create a campaign that would help brand the destination as “the waterpark capital of the east coast.” 

Great Wolf Lodge, the veteran of the group, has been a staple in the Pocono Mountains for nearly a decade. When it opened, the completely enclosed 78,000-square-foot waterpark and 400-room hotel was something completely different to the region. That changed this year. In April, Camelback Lodge, a 453-suite hotel attached to Aquatopia, a 125,000-square-foot indoor waterpark, opened. Kalahari Resorts and Conventions, a 100,000-square-foot indoor waterpark and 457-room African-themed hotel, opened in July.

The three should-be competitors saw the opportunity to pool their resources for a $1.35 million media buy. “The three resorts are 90 miles from New York City, the largest and most expensive market in the country,” said Brian Bossuyt, marketing director for the PMVB. “When considering how many potential visitors they can reach, they realized it was smarter to act together as a destination rather than alone as rivals.”

Each property contributed $250,000 and the PMVB handled the rest, seeing this as an opportunity to reinforce its four-season, family-friendly brand. Two Pocono Waterpark Resorts commercials were shown on the major broadcast networks WABC, WNBC,WCBS, WNYW, WPIX, WLNY and News 12 as well as Cablevision channels including, HGTV, E!, Lifetime, Food Network, Bravo and OWN in the metropolitan New York market. The buy included a total of 1,312 spots. The commercials directed viewers to a micro site built to complement the campaign.

With just a week left in the campaign, the micro site has seen over 3,000 direct page views, and PoconoMountains.com has seen an unprecedented increase. For the dates June 1 – July 23, there has been a year-over-year increase of 132% in traffic, and organic search traffic is up 83% when “waterpark” was used in the search as a keyword. Analytics show the dates and times of these searches correlated with the dates and times the commercials aired. As an added bonus, revenue for other Pocono Mountains hotels for the month of June was up 19% compared to June 2014 according to Smith Travel Research, further proving the destination, as a whole, has and will continue to benefit from the new resorts and corresponding campaign.

About the Pocono Mountains
With 2,400 square miles encompassing Pennsylvania’s Carbon, Monroe, Pike and Wayne counties, the Pocono Mountains region is home to rolling mountain terrain, breathtakingly beautiful waterfalls, thriving woodlands and 170 miles of winding rivers. Winters offer guests the opportunity to ski, snowboard, snow tube and even snowshoe their way through snowy wonderlands encompassing over 150 ski trails, while summers also cater to the active traveler allowing exploration of 261 miles of hiking and biking trails, over 30 golf courses, whitewater rafting, boating, fishing and open access to nine state and two national parks.

Any time of year is a good time to visit the Pocono Mountains, located within driving distance of most major East Coast cities. This region teeming with history offers year-round cultural tours and art exhibitions, abundant antiquing and brand-name shopping and a full calendar of festivals showcasing the heritage, music and food of the Pocono Mountains.

Even the most discerning traveler will find comfortable accommodations in the Pocono Mountains, which offers an eclectic mix of resorts, distinctive properties and quaint, country inns and bed and breakfasts.

Pocono Mountains visitor information is available online at PoconoMountains.com or by phone at 800-POCONOS (800-762-6667). Follow PoconoTourism on Facebook and Twitter  to stay current with up-to-date information. Established in 1934, the Pocono Mountains Visitors Bureau is a private, non-profit, membership organization. The Pocono Mountains Visitors Bureau is the official destination marketing organization for the four counties of Carbon, Monroe, Pike and Wayne in northeastern Pennsylvania.  

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