Future marketing efforts underway for city

A new “Insider Guide to Newton” was presented to the Newton Community Marketing Board during its September meeting on Thursday. A marketing tool for the city, the guide is proposed to be placed at hotels, rest stops and other designated areas.

It will be a 5x7 booklet with information about attractions in the city, amenities for tourist such as hotels and restaurants and a map to better assist guests during their time in Newton.

“I think it is excellent and having heard people complain coming out of hotels that there nothing to do in Newton and see nothing, this being placed in a lot of placing will really help,” board member Ken Barthelman said.

Edits and additional work is still underway with the booklet prior to it being released to the public.

Newton Community Marketing Manager Danielle Rogers gave a recap on the 2017 event based marketing the city participated in. Overall, she received positive feedback from advertisers and shared encouraging numbers on views of advertisements.

The most recent event advertised was the 25th Bowlful of Blues which took place in early September. Rogers said event organizer Elaine Mattingly shared that she thought there were many more people present at the start of the concerts than in years past rather than attending only the later shows.

Another event advertised for August was Thunder Nites bike night in downtown Newton. The organizers were appreciate of the coverage but discussed covering either the first or final event of the season, which typically have additional activities along with the bike night.

Advertisements ranged from print and radio ads to online and social media promotions and television spots on CW23 and its morning program. Rogers said many of the advertisers were already contacting her about future advertisements to showcase upcoming events.

After discussing previous marketing efforts, the board moved on to future advertising for the fall and winter months. A popular idea was to showcase the Newton Housing Initiative program and the new housing developments underway in the city along with the $10,000 cash bonus for purchasing a newly constructed house. The board also mentioned the lighting at the courthouse as a possible featured event.

Contact Jamee A. Pierson at 641-792-3121 ext. 6534 or jpierson@newtondailynews.com