Elkins, Buckhannon advertising co-op deemed a success
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ELKINS -- An advertising co-op near Washington D.C. promoting both Elkins and Buckhannon was a great success, the West Virginia Department of Tourism reported to Elkins City Council.
During Council’s most recent meeting, members watched a presentation from the Department of Tourism’s Cooperative Advertising Manager Destiny Workman. Also in attendance for the presentation were Buckhannon City Council members Randy Sanders and Jack Reger, as well as Upshur County Convention and Visitors Bureau Executive Director Cadence Ringer.
In July 2025, the City of Elkins and the City of Buckhannon entered into an out-of-state marketing campaign in partnership with the state Department of Tourism. The campaign featured advertisements promoting Elkins and Buckhannon at Tysons Corner Center, a 2.1 million square-foot shopping center in McClean, Virginia, which sits just outside of Washington, D.C. The on-site advertising used at Tyson’s Corner included digital ad panel networks, large format digital spectaculars, large sky banners, illuminated wall scapes and static backlit networks.
In her presentation, Workman laid out the main focuses of the co-operative program, which included print, broadcast, experimental, digital and out-of-home. She stated that the program itself has supplemented more than 160 private partners’ advertising investments by more than $39 million since its creation in 2017.
With the Tyson’s Corner marketing campaign, Workman said the goal was to “directly engage high-potential travel intenders within the affluent Northern Virginia and D.C. metro markets.” The campaign was set to position Elkins and Buckhannon as “premier basecamps for uncrowded outdoor adventure, authentic local charm and scenic beauty.” The overall objective was to incentivize those who saw the advertising to trade the urban hustle for “peaceful and rejuvenating Mountain State getaways.”
Workman said the Tyson’s Corner advertisement campaign’s “out-of-home” total impressions was 2,552,051. This was 58% more than the campaign’s initial goal. On the digital and social media side, the campaign saw 1.1 million impressions and 11.2 thousand “clicks.”
Workman expressed an interest in working with Elkins and Buckhannon again on another co-op advertising campaign. Elkins Mayor Jerry Marco asked Sanders and Reger if they believe Buckhannon would be interested in collaborating again, to which they both said they were “all for it.” Elkins City Council, Sanders, Reger and Workman discussed possible plans for future advertising, including continuing focus on the Tyson’s Corner area or possibly moving to the Pittsburgh area.
The next Elkins City Council meeting will be at 7 p.m. June 23.