› return to travel & economic development

America's 400th Anniversary: Commemorating the Anniversary of the Jamestown, Virginia Settlement

Planning for America's 400th Anniversary began in the mid 1990s, by a combined state and Federal commission dedicated to bringing the educational messages about Jamestown and Virginia to Americans nationwide. With a focus on building inclusive and memorable events, the architects successfully created an exciting platform to help Americans enjoy the commemoration while also reflecting on the ideals that built America: democracy, cultural diversity and free enterprise. When Ruder Finn partnered with Jamestown 2007 in this massive outreach effort, public awareness of Jamestown and America's 400th Anniversary was very low. Perception research yielded that 1 percent of respondents had any knowledge of Jamestown and America's 400th Anniversary.

 

 

OBJECTIVES

• Increase awareness of Jamestown and Virginia's pivotal role in the nation's development, particularly Jamestown's enduring legacies.
• Leverage the increased awareness of America's 400th Anniversary to drive visitation to Jamestown, the Historic Triangle and Virginia.
• Provide a high visibility platform for sponsors during this multi-year commemoration.

PROGRAM

• Jamestown 2007 and its partners looked to Ruder Finn to build a national PR platform to support and leverage the regional visibility they routinely get through advertising and promotions. The bulk of visitors come to Virginia from the Northeast and mid-Atlantic regions, and the Jamestown 2007 committee wanted to leverage the 400th anniversary milestone to draw visitors from broader demographics and geographic ranges. Messaging highlighted the scientific discoveries and scholarship that shaped the "new" Jamestown story.
• Additionally, significant effort was made to ensure that America's 400th Anniversary was the most inclusive Jamestown commemoration since they first began in 1807, with programs and events highlighting the accomplishments and perseverance of the Virginia Indian, European and African-American cultures. Ruder Finn's strategy included a robust media relations campaign, high profile spokespersons such as former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, international strategies to leverage and connect activities in the U.K. and U.S., radio and television tours with Native Americans, historians, archeologists and other subject matter experts, packaged articles, PSAs, and 10 high profile signature events.
• Events included a traveling museum aboard a replica of one of the ships that carried the original settlers; an international educational Webcast that reached more than 1 million students, and America's Anniversary Weekend, which included President and Mrs. Bush. Additionally, the strategy capitalized on the wealth of events and the dignitaries visiting Jamestown to commemorate America's 400th Anniversary, including Queen Elizabeth II.

RESULTS

• America's 400th Anniversary -- a Silver Anvil award winner this year - was by any measure a resounding success. Ruder Finn executed a series of highly successful media relations initiatives to condition the environment and build excitement for the 18-month anniversary commemoration.
• Results included more than 24,000 placements in top-tier media outlets reaching an estimated circulation of more than 12.6 billion people in the United States and in countries around the world and increasing awareness of Americas 400th Anniversary from 1 percent to 39 percent.
• Close to 50 percent of respondents cited print articles and broadcast spots as their information source - Visitation at Jamestown Settlement and the Yorktown Victory Center passed the one million mark in November 2007, a 44.7 percent increase over 2006, while Historic Jamestowne saw a 46 percent increase in visitation.
• Placement highlights included Associated Press, Parade, Forbes Magazine, USA Today, National Geographic, U.S. News & World Report, Time, Vogue, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Good Morning America (5 spots), Today Show (9 spots), CBS Sunday Morning (2 spots), World News with Charles Gibson (3 spots), World News Now (5 spots), CBS Evening News (3 spots), CNBC (4 spots), CNN (119 spots), CSPAN (46 spots), The Daily Show, Fox News Channel (53 spots), MSNBC (23 spots), NBC Nightly News (3 spots), The Tonight Show (2 spots), NPR (15 spots), PBS National (4 spots)
• International broadcast highlights include: Al Jazeera, ARD German Broadcasting, East Anglia News, British Broadcasting Corporation, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Canadian Television, Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation and Xinhua News Agency
• The www.americas400thanniversary.com Web site had almost a 600 percent increase in the number of visitors in May 2007 (431,514) over May 2006 (76,305)