Tourism by the truckload
Commercial vehicles to promo ‘Almost Heaven’
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MINERAL WELLS -- Gov. Jim Justice was in Mineral Wells Tuesday to announce a new tourism advertising pilot program with the assistance of the West Virginia Trucking Association.
The governor unveiled the program at the Matheny Motors Truck Center in Mineral Wells.
"I think we have the greatest state in the Union," he said. "We need to market ourselves and let people know it."
In a new partnership between the West Virginia Tourism Office and the West Virginia Trucking Association, truck companies will have West Virginia "Almost Heaven" ads put on large box trucks and semi-trucks across the state and the country.
The first truck with this new initiative will be one from Matheny Motors, a fourth-generation West Virginia company, that was officially unveiled on Tuesday.
"Starting today, roads in West Virginia and across the country will be filled with trucks that promote our state through beautiful imagery and encourage all those passing by to visit 'Almost Heaven,'" Justice said. "We are pushing our image and who we are.
"Tourism has exploded here. We are located in such a sweet spot, (within 600 miles of) two-thirds of the population of the country. People just don't know everything there is to do here."
West Virginia Tourism Commissioner Chelsea Ruby said the project has been in the works for a while.
"I am absolutely thrilled with the results," she said.
She said one of the governor's big priorities for the state is to increase tourism. The governor worked with her to pick out the images that will be displayed.
"He knows that tourism can be a huge economic driver for the state," Ruby said.
West Virginia was being outspent and outpromoted by all of the surrounding states in regard to tourism. In nationwide surveys, the number of people planning to travel to West Virginia remains very low because they don't think of West Virginia as a vacation destination, she said.
"Governor Justice has encouraged us to think big and think outside the box," Ruby said. "Thanks to this partnership, we are expanding our advertising and will now have moving billboards traveling the country that inspire travel to West Virginia.
"We have to promote West Virginia as a vacation destination."
The tourism department will also be increasing its traditional advertising strategy, digital, social media, public relations and community outreach, Ruby said.
"I will tell you one secret about my boss," Ruby said. "He just doesn't want to see an ordinary advertising campaign.
"He expects an extraordinary advertising campaign to roll out over the next couple of months."
One of the first steps is this partnership with trucking companies across the state to have a creative way to get that message out to people across the state and the East Coast.
"This is a non-traditional form of advertising," Ruby said. "It is going to reach thousands and thousands of people."
Daniel Hall, director of government affairs of the West Virginia Trucking Association, said there are many association members across the state.
Matheny Motors stepped up to do this new program and many other trucking companies are lined up to participate.
"We're proud to have our business roots in the Mountain State, and we can't wait to start telling more and more folks about all there is to see and do in West Virginia, all the while driving our daily route," Hall said. "Many are excited about this initiative.
"We have hundreds of members across the state and thousands of trucks. That is a great asset to use to promote West Virginia tourism. We stand ready to promote this campaign and to grow it."
The first truck in the pilot program will travel a continuous daily loop across West Virginia -- from Parkersburg to Beckley to Huntington and back -- targeting local commuters for in-state travel as well as drivers passing through the state for return visits, the tourism office reported. The images on the truck include ATVs, whitewater rafting and hunting, they added.
Tim Matheny, president of Matheny Motor Company and a board member with the West Virginia Trucking Association, said when a truck was asked for, he had one that could be used for the initial project.
The truck was built locally at Hino Motors.
"Being on I-64, I-77 and the West Virginia Turnpike every day, it is a walking billboard," Matheny said.
It can help the state and inspire people to want to come to West Virginia, he said.
"I thought it was a great idea," Matheny said, adding he will get more of their trucks involved.
"We had the first truck out for a couple of times testing it out," he said. "The tourism office has actually gotten some calls on it.
"That was just for a few days. It has really gotten people's attention."
(Dunlap can be contacted at bdunlap@ newsandsentinel.com)