Situation
Heading into America’s 250th anniversary celebrations this summer, competition is fierce among destinations on the East Coast to draw visitors. With strong historic ties to the birth of the Revolutionary War, the Historic Triangle of Williamsburg, Yorktown and Jamestown needed to stand out among other big destinations, including Philadelphia and Washington, D.C.
We needed to give Visit Williamsburg something it could own completely that would generate earned media and introduce the city to new audiences and younger generations. The idea for The Great American Birthday Quilt Project rose to the top as the signature PR campaign that could accomplish those goals and be accessible to everyone. Using quilt blocks created by Americans of all ages from every state, a 250-foot-long quilt would be created and displayed in Williamsburg for all visitors to enjoy. Each block would represent what the creator loves most about their country.
To get started, Visit Williamsburg teamed up with Steve Prince, the distinguished artist in residence from the Muscarelle Museum of Art in Williamsburg, who, as it turned out, was in the process of creating his own quilting project. Steve loved the idea and ultimately became the face of The Great American Birthday Quilt Project, holding quilting workshops throughout the Historic Triangle where he assisted attendees in making their own quilt blocks.
For the PR side of the campaign, we used press releases, pitches, a press trip and two consumer activations in the D.C. and Philadelphia areas – both key drive markets – to generate awareness of the project and create media buzz. At the D.C.-area activation, people made over 200 quilt blocks at a popular shopping area. The 10-day Philadelphia Flower Show booth was a huge hit, and featured a quilt made of flowers, fife and drum performances, and brand ambassadors who talked to people about the destination and the upcoming quilt reveal event.
Using an MMGY-built community engagement strategy, Visit Williamsburg and Mr. Prince spread awareness of the project to encourage submissions and proactively reached out to William & Mary students, scout troops, schools, quilting groups, veterans’ groups and others. The response to the outreach and the project far surpassed expectations, with over 2,500 quilt blocks donated that came together to form a quilt 5 feet wide and 500 feet long. Unveiled to several hundred spectators, including two of Betsy Ross’ descendants, the entire quilt was rolled out to much fanfare on April 11 in Colonial Williamsburg’s Merchants Square.
