The village of Gurnee is claiming victory with its recent marketing blitz, a Web promotion project called Gurnee’s Got It!
During a recent wrap-up event for the project, local restaurants and bands provided food and entertainment for about 200 people. Lake Villa’s Kelly Ronan won a 2010 Nissan Versa, the grand prize that Web site viewers registered to win.
“I’m bustin’ out. I’m very excited about the whole campaign,” Mayor Kristina Kovarik said during a village board meeting on Monday. “I think it’s paying off in the form of increased sales tax.”
Early figures show notable increases – September 2010 was up to $1.34 million from $1.16 million during the same month in 2009, a 15.2 percent increase. October sales tax increased from $1.12 million in 2009 to $1.26 million in 2010, a 12.9 percent increase, according to the Illinois Department of Revenue.
The village agreed to pay $20,000 for the project, an amount matched by the Gurnee Park District and the Lake County Convention and Visitors Bureau, said Assistant Village Manager Patrick Muetz.
The Village Board budgeted $40,000 for Gurnee’s Got It! in fiscal year 2010-11 from the department contingency line item, which is usually used for unanticipated expenses, Muetz said.
So far, $21,500 has been expended on the project, he said.
Now, the Gurnee Chamber of Commerce will take control of the Web site, said Chamber Executive Director Craig Hathaway.
Initially, Hathaway said, Gurnee’s Got It! was set to be “a short-lived media blitz to bring attention to Gurnee, culminating with a car giveaway.”
“We thought this was something that should go on 365 days a year, as a sort of shop-local program,” Hathaway said.
During the blitz – which took place over about a 90-day period – the Gurnee’s Got It! Web site had more than 12,000 page views, 925 coupon downloads, and 1000 registrants for the car giveaway.
“We’re looking to raise those numbers dramatically throughout the year,” Hathaway said.
He said the program probably won’t change much now that the initial campaign is over. The Web site, www.gurnees-got-it.com, will remain the same, providing businesses with free advertising and a place to post coupons.
Although the site has been mainly retail-focused so far, Hathaway said the Chamber looks forward to expanding.
“We want people to know that if they need something, Gurnee’s got it, and we want to get those businesses on there,” he said.
The Chamber also plans to sell street banners on lampposts then use those funds to advertise the site and possibly give away cash prizes.
“Eventually, we want it to be so every time someone comes back to the site, they can sign up for something to win,” Hathaway said. “It will continue to be a major ad campaign for Gurnee.”
