OCEAN CITY – Resort officials this week received a first look at a marketing plan that targets workforce recruitment.
On Monday, representatives with BVK, the town’s advertising agency, presented members of the Ocean City Tourism Commission with ideas for a new workforce recruitment initiative. Tourism and Business Development Director Tom Perlozzo said the marketing strategy would address staffing needs as the resort continues to grow.
“We took a look at our marketing and advertising, and we heard everything from the private sector associated with workforce, both externally and internally,” he said. “We thought it might be a good opportunity for the experts to tell us what they’ve done in other jurisdictions and for us to consider the potential for a workforce recruitment marketing and advertising plan.”
Perlozzo told commission members this week workforce issues have plagued the resort for decades. He said those issues would only grow as the town builds its shoulder seasons and special events.
“The problem’s always been here about workforce. It’s never gone away and it’s going to continue to rise,” he said. “And as we get bigger and bigger as a town, with the events and the shoulder seasons, etcetera, we need a good workforce in place.”
To that end, BVK representatives came before the commission this week with strategies that would promote Ocean City as a place to not only visit, but to work and live. Victoria Simmons, senior vice president at BVK, said that marketing plan would go hand in hand with the town’s new Somewhere to Smile About campaign.
“This idea of leveraging the lifestyle brand of tourism marketing is becoming more and more popular. That’s essentially what we wanted to talk to you guys about today,” she said. “As we have launched the Somewhere to Smile About brand, what would it look like for you as a community to leverage all of that equity in that brand where people do want to have a more balanced work-life experience to live in a community that feels a little more lighthearted and carefree?”
Simmons noted her agency has worked with the states of Wyoming and Maine to promote both tourism and workforce development.
She said BVK would do the same with Ocean City through the deployment of a digital campaign.
“It’s the communities where people want to live, work and visit that has become critically important in travel, particularly coming out of COVID,” she said.
Councilman Will Savage, commission member, questioned if the recruitment plan would target international students.
“Is there any component or international advertising for specifically the J-1 students?” he said. “In recent years, we have had a huge decline in J-1 students coming over, and they typically fill the less-desirable jobs that we can’t fill with the local or regional workforce.”
Simmons noted the campaign would focus on domestic advertising. One commission member, however, said that there was no shortage of J-1 students wanting to work in Ocean City.
“The sponsor organizations say there’s no lack of students that want to come,” she said. “It’s just where they can live. They want to be here.”
BVK representatives this week also presented the tourism commission with the results of a “Catch A Ride” brand activation event held on Memorial Day weekend. Lauren Murray, director of brand experience for BVK, said the campaign generated nearly 280 million impressions and 60,000 engagements.
“Those two numbers, the impressions and the engagements, give us a real good guide to say this program was successful,” she said.
