Black Dog marketing review: Washington County renews contract framework, earmarks ARPA funds for 250th campaign
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Summary
Black Dog presented a 2024 year‑end tourism report showing audience growth, new owned video assets and earned media; the county approved a contract renewal framework and allocated ARPA funds for the county 250th anniversary promotion.
Black Dog, the county’s tourism marketing contractor, presented a year‑end report showing growth in owned media, email subscribers and website engagement. The county’s economic development/tourism committee reviewed the work, discussed a modest contract rate increase and approved a three‑year renewal framework with a separate ARPA allocation to support the county’s 250th anniversary campaign and event support.
Black Dog highlighted a strategic shift in 2024 toward creating owned media (photo/video assets, a “How It’s Made” business series and multi‑page visitor guides) rather than relying primarily on paid placements. The firm said that decision produced a measured rise in organic site traffic and greater long‑term assets the county can reuse. Key metrics included roughly 24,100 visitor‑guide requests over the year, about 3,000 new email subscribers and increased YouTube views for trail and itinerary videos (the contractor reported roughly 12,000 watch hours on its videos).
Black Dog won state and regional marketing awards in 2024 for the county’s trails and itineraries work. The vendor framed the 2025 plan around continued content creation, event support for the county’s 250th celebration and targeted outreach to short‑term‑rental (STR) audiences as the state’s STR registration and taxation changes take effect.
Committee members discussed a 20% rise in hourly rates the vendor proposed to reflect inflation and unchanged deliverables; the board noted the county’s internal staffing (an in‑house tourism coordinator) reduces some agency administrative overhead and keeps most deliverables unchanged. The committee approved moving a three‑year contract renewal and two waiver approvals (contract waivers as required for the procurement process) forward for final action, with ARPA funds to cover a defined 250th promotion line item that would also be used for event support, vendor payments and logistics through 2026.
The committee asked Black Dog to continue monthly reporting on ARPA‑funded deliverables and to coordinate more closely with the 250th planning committee. The board also discussed long‑term sustainability once ARPA funds end and noted occupancy/STR tax changes could provide ongoing revenue to support tourism promotion going forward.
