Reps Ask, Are Promotions
Too Cooperstown-Centric?
By DON MATHISEN • for AllOTSEGO.com
COOPERSTOWN – The Intergovernmental Affairs committee wants a shift in the way Otsego County is marketed.
“There has been a sense for a long while that the tourism branding is done around Cooperstown,” said Kathy Clark, R-Otego, chair of the Board of Representatives. “There are other things in the county that people come here for.”
The issue has come to the forefront because Destination Marketing Corp. of Otsego County is working on a re-branding initiative. The current slogan is, “Believe It Or Not, This Is Cooperstown.”
DMO, the non-profit that is in the third year of a county contract, will be generating a new logo and updated marketing materials.
The committee wants to move away from a Cooperstown and baseball-centric approach to promoting the county and include more Oneonta attractions and winter activities.
The county dedicates about $400,000 annually in bed tax money to Destination Marketing, a private organization focused on “heads in beds.”