Watertown — Since fall 2021, more people are learning about historic Thompson Park thanks to a marketing campaign that generated more than 500,000 Google hits.
The marketing program aims to attract more people to city-owned parks. On Thursday, the Watertown Local Development Corporation, also known as the Watertown Trust, received a progress report on how the $80,000 grant helped spread the message about the park.
With $40,000 last year and this year’s funding, Watertown Trust officials believe their marketing program is getting the results they were hoping for.
Watertown Trust CEO Donald W. Rutherford said:
The folks at Zoo New York put together a marketing program. The city has never directed a marketing campaign to the park.
The first year of the marketing campaign focused on collecting data on how many times the park was clicked on social media. The park has also received 363,995 views on Instagram and has 499 followers on Facebook, reaching 64,000 since November 2021.
Larry Sorrel, executive director of the zoo, believes more people are going to the park as a result of a marketing program based on attendance at park and zoo events.
Christina Friel, a part-time zoo employee, oversees the park’s marketing program. She will continue her work collecting data and evidence of its effectiveness later in her $80,000 grant this year.
She will also seek other sources of funding to fund her part-time position as Park Marketing Coordinator.
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