Asheville TDA talks 'A Biltmore Christmas' ads, development funding and 2024 festivals
ASHEVILLE - If you watched the Hallmark's 'A Biltmore Christmas' during its Thanksgiving weekend debut, you likely also watched an advertisement from Explore Asheville.
The advertisements were one of many topics discussed during the Nov. 29 Buncombe County Tourism Development Authority meeting, which also covered operating budget amendments and discussions about tourism development funds, along with approving $100,000 toward local festivals.
President and CEO of Explore Asheville Vic Isley said while the parents and family of Explore Asheville employees may not understand what they do at the TDA, 'A Biltmore Christmas' brought Asheville front-and-center.
"I got a text from my sister-in-law and she was like: 'I just saw this movie and it's something about Explore Asheville,'" Isley said. "That's us!"
The TDA worked with the Hallmark Channel in a $500,000 destination promotion campaign on the film, including 30-second and 15-second advertising spots, which Isley called "more traditional advertising," along with a five-day takeover of the Hallmark Channel's webpage, 10 'trivia units' and other website modifications promoting the area.
The TDA estimated the advertising campaign, which runs from July through December, will deliver a total of over 36 million national TV and digital impressions.
2024 election cycle leads to $1.3 million marketing increase
During the meeting, a discussion of the 2024 election season broke out as TDA members approved a total $1.35 million operating fund amendment for three marketing channels — a 34% increase for the total funding for three TV and social media-related marketing funds.
An additional $960,000 will go to traditional broadcast advertisements, known as linear TV ads, $50,000 to additional social media advertising and $341,000 to connected media advertising — advertising that appears on Smart TV's or other digital displays, according to the meeting presentation.
The election served as the primary motivator for the increase, where a media contractor for Explore Asheville — tourism marketing agency MMGY Global — estimated a total of $10.3 billion in political advertising, which would make the election the most expensive ever, Explore Asheville Vice President of Marketing Dodie Stephens said.
Total funding for these channels increased from $3.8 million to $5.2 million in anticipation of the election.
"The aim here is to ensure that we shore up reach," said Dodie Stephens, vice president of marketing for Explore Asheville. "The landscape has been making national headlines in this unprecedented period of political advertising."
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The request brought board discussion of whether or not the increase in funding would be useful in a crowded advertising space — or alternative ways of advertising.
Board member Elizabeth Putnam wondered about how effective "this type of advertising in a politically charged environment" would be.
The answer? Maybe people will want to escape politics, Isley suggested.
"I can tell you that Asheville being primarily like 95% of our visitors are coming here for leisure purposes, they're coming here to escape. They're coming here to immerse themselves in a destination and culture and experiences here," Isley said.
Isley suggested that "you will see destinations like Asheville fare better than you will DC" during the election period, where corporate travel will "start to contract because they're waiting to see what happens."
Asheville's LIFT 'Christmas list'
Asheville City Council recently heard presentations on possible project applications for the Legacy Investment From Tourism, or LIFT, fund.
Now, it seems council members have made up their minds on the big requests.
An estimated $10 million in TDA funds are up for grabs as the fund aims to provide "financial investment through grants, loan guarantees, or pledges of debt service to tourism-related capital projects that will increase patronage of lodging facilities and benefit the community at large in Buncombe County," according to the TDA website.
All TDA development funds are derived from one-third of the lodging tax paid by visitors who stay overnight in Buncombe County in facilities including hotels, vacation rentals and bed-and-breakfasts.
The City of Asheville has made a "Christmas wish list" for some of the LIFT projects, Kilgore said during the meeting.
"We wanted to let y'all know that we have submitted an application for some of those different items that were discussed," said City Council member Sandra Kilgore, who sits as the city appointee to the TDA.
The city has applied for funding for the previously approved Coxe Avenue Green Street project, along with funds for HVAC repairs for the Thomas Wolfe Auditorium, Kilgore said. The auditorium had experienced a complete HVAC failure in July.
In October, the TDA approved another $6.1 million toward local, tourism-related developments using the TPDF fund, but had moved around previously approved money toward the Coxe Avenue Green Streets project — which the city had retracted their request for — to more immediately head toward McCormick Field capital improvements.
"In other words, we just wanted to let you know that's sort of our — what do you call it — Christmas list?" Kilgore said.
Other recent projects have also been the topic of conversation for LIFT funding — particularly, the 645-unit affordable housing development known as Ferry Road, which is being developed by Buncombe County.
While several members of City Council stated their support of the project receiving occupancy tax during a Nov. 14 presentation to the city, the project was not mentioned during the meeting by Kilgore or Terri Wells, the county appointed member to the TDA.
Applications for the LIFT fund close on Dec. 1.
TDA approves festival funds
During the meeting, the TDA also approved $100,000 toward local festivals for the 2024 fiscal year. Here are the receipients:
ASAP Farm Tour: $5,000
AVL Beer Week: $5,000
Asheville Celtic Fest: $5,000
3rd Lovely Asheville Annual Fall Festival: $5,000
Asheville Holiday Parade: $2,500
Downtown After 5: $5,000
Pritchard Park Summer Series: $2,500
Taste of Asheville: $5,000
Maker Faire Asheville: $1,500
Asheville Mardi Gras Parade & Queen’s Ball: $5,000
Big Ivy’s Independence Day Celebration: $2,500
{Re}HAPPENING 11: $3,500
Blue Ridge Pride Festival: $5,000
Festival of Lights at Lake Julian: $4,500
Asheville HoneyFest: $5,000
Connect Beyond Festival: $5,000
LEAF Downtown AVL: $5,000
Sow & Grow Fest: $1,500
Craft Fair of the Southern Highlands: $2,500
Groovin on Grovemont: $2,500
“Celebrating the History and Legacy of Juneteenth”: $5,000
Goombay: $5,000
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Will Hofmann is the Growth and Development Reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA Today Network. Got a tip? Email him at WHofmann@citizentimes.com.
This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: TDA discusses Asheville ads in 'A Biltmore Christmas,' 2024 budget
