Located 47 miles northwest of Chicago, Woodstock is a charming, historic community with a real town square, an historic Opera House and plenty of shopping, nightlife and culture.
a5 was hired by a newly formed public/private group called Promote Woodstock to develop a tourism promotion campaign. We conducted in-person and phone interviews, small group meetings and topic-oriented meetings with hundreds of members of the community.
In addition, we organized an advisory council, which met twice annually, and coordinated connections with the business, education, arts and culture, tourism and government segments of Woodstock. The campaign we developed, “Real Woodstock”, crafts a story around authentic experiences and has increased tourism, aiding economic development and building a stronger sense of pride and community.
The brand launched in 2016 in Woodstock and across the Midwest. It includes a web site, email, social media, video, radio and online advertising, posters, billboards and much more. In addition to promoting all that Woodstock had to offer, a5 developed several cultural products, including:
* Laughstock, a comedy festival that sold out the Woodstock Opera House.
* Rockstock, an outdoor concert series on the historic Woodstock Square.
* Concerts at the Woodstock Opera House and other venues featuring Grammy winning songwriter Jimmy Webb and actor/singer Jeff Daniels, among others.
In 2017, a5 and Real Woodstock won Best Branding Initiative from the Illinois Governor’s Conference on Travel and Tourism. In 2018, a5 and Real Woodstock won awards for “Best Tourism Marketing Campaign” and “Best Visitors Publication” from the Illinois Governor’s Conference on Tourism.