Creators of a new marketing campaign hope to bring more people to Covington during the bridge closures.
The campaign, which is called Uncover Covington, is the latest in a set of efforts to ensure the city can weather the closures of access points due to infrastructure projects.
“The solution, after all of our research, after all of the feedback we got from the stakeholders, was Uncover Covington,” said Jenna Marino, co-founder of the marketing firm AGNT (pronounced like the word ‘agent’).
“It’s a place to be discovered,” Marino continued. “We’re not defensive. We’re not saying everything will just be okay. We are proud of Covington, and we just need to make sure that the word gets out.”
AGNT was contracted by the city to help it develop a concrete plan to keep people coming to the city in spite of highway closures related to the Brent Spence project and the demolition of the 4th Street Bridge. The city had already begun its Bridging the Gap initiative to keep people informed about the progress of the infrastructure projects, but Uncover Covington is more narrowly focused on keeping both local people and people in the tri-state area generally interested in visiting Covington and patronizing its businesses.
“It is important to reiterate that Covington remains accessible,” Mayor Ron Washington said at a board of commissioners meeting last month.
Marino said the goal of the campaign was to market Covington as a “destination area.” A representative from the city confirmed that social media postings related to the campaign should begin soon.
One of the keys to accomplishing the marketing plan, Marino said, was having a centralized way of marketing cultural and recreational events in the city. Uncover Covington’s website is already up and advertising events coming up later this month.
The team is working to develop different trail or walking experiences throughout the city, modeled after the Northern Kentucky Bourbon Trail but more “family-friendly.” These trail experiences could include visits to key landmarks and public art spaces throughout the city.
Marino said that about 20 businesses had signed up to participate in the campaign. Participating businesses get branding kits with stickers, marketing posters and other materials, as well as coasters with a QR code that takes patrons to the events page. Additionally, patrons to the businesses who find a relevant coaster or QR code can scan it and get access to a secret, off-menu or unadvertised item, incentivizing people to visit different businesses. Business kits also give access to ready-to-post social media templates.
“We’re talking about hidden gems of Covington, and this is kind of that add-on of what people can find,” Marino said.
Marino said her team will be meeting soon with meetNKY, the local tourism bureau, to discuss how to expand the campaign’s impact in the region more broadly.
Any Covington business in any neighborhood is eligible to be part of the campaign. Interested businesses can visit uncovercovington.com to submit events for posting on the calendar or to sign up for a Uncover Covington business kit. Residents can also sign up to get regular newsletters about events happening around the city.