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Date	ArticleType
10/20/2009
Myrtle Beach Boardwalk Groundbreaking Celebration Garners Over a Half Million Dollars Worth of Free Publicity
Boardwalk story proves to be a major out of market positive news angle for Myrtle Beach tourism October 20, 2009 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Media contact: Kimberly Miles Public Relations Manager (843) 916-7218 Kimberly.Miles@VisitMyrtleBeach.com Nancy Gray, APR Media Communications Manager (843) 916-7235 Nancy.Gray@VisitMyrtleBeach.com MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. – The public relations team for the Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce has estimated the news coverage surrounding the Boardwalk Groundbreaking Celebration garnered an estimated $553,967 in print and online advertising equivalency. This calculation was determined by the Chamber’s media monitoring and measurement service BurrellesLuce who measures ad value equivalency for public relations professionals worldwide. The boardwalk event story also generated 57,321,571 total impressions in print and online media outlets. The Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce and City of Myrtle Beach held the free Boardwalk Groundbreaking Celebration event on September 25 and 26 on Ocean Boulevard from Mr. Joe White Avenue to 8th Avenue North. The total net cost to produce this event was $19,000. The large amount of media coverage was generated as a result of an aggressive public relations effort by the Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce to garner out of market publicity for the boardwalk and the Myrtle Beach area. Prior to the event, the team generated 18 placements including coverage in top regional outlets such as the Charlotte Observer, Charleston Post & Courier and About.com’s Southeastern US for Visitors blog. The image of the colored sand art rendering of the boardwalk was distributed via Business Wire following the event and received a large amount of online pickup including syndication from the Associated Press. The Associated Press pickup led to a posting on the USAToday.com travel page. In total, 48 online news outlets posted the photo with caption. “The recent publicity surrounding the new Myrtle Beach boardwalk demonstrates that the project will provide a major story angle for us as we work to garner additional coverage for the Myrtle Beach area through summer 2010,” says Brad Laney, Vice President of the Travel and Lifestyle Practice for MBooth and Associates, the Myrtle Beach Area Chamber’s Public Relations Firm. “The project has been viewed by the media as an important enhancement to the destination’s appeal and an integral part of the revitalization of the downtown Myrtle Beach area.” “On behalf of the Downtown Redevelopment Corporation, we’ve been blown away by the amount of national exposure the boardwalk has already received,” says Dave Sebok, Executive Director of the Downtown Redevelopment Cooperation. “I’ve received several inquiries from around the country in regards to new business opportunities in the downtown area. I’ve also received calls for interviews on the boardwalk from out of area news outlets such as FOX News in New York. ” Pace Communications has announced the boardwalk will be featured in US Airways Magazine’s December 2009 issue as part of a destination profile on Myrtle Beach. The Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce plans to continue its proactive public relations outreach on the new boardwalk as well as positive new developments along the Grand Strand. Since 1938 the Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce has stood as the unified voice of the Grand Strand's business community. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has awarded the MBACC its five-star accreditation, one of only several chambers in South Carolina to earn this distinction. The MBACC serves Myrtle Beach, North Myrtle Beach, Surfside Beach, Little River, Atlantic Beach, Garden City Beach, Loris, Conway, Aynor, Murrells Inlet, Litchfield Beach and Pawleys Island. For more information, visit MyrtleBeachAreaChamber.com. # # #