Welcome to experiential marketing, Williamsburg. It’s about time, considering the concept has been around for over seven years! I guess it takes an $8 million budget (more than I Love NY) and a HUGE ad agency (not located in Virgina mind you) to discover that people want to embrace brands and make an emotional connection.

“With ‘Be part of the story,’ it’s clear there is an active role for the visitor,” Mr. Campbell says. Their old tag line “History is just the beginning,” came across as “apologetic.” I would also sympathize with them as they have had difficulty getting people to make a repeat visit.

The campaign directs people to their website (which is well designed, but not optimized for search engines BTW).  It also includes the obligatory social elements (blog, iPhone app, Facebook etc..). The TV spot has great production value, but as I’ve said mant time before, where is the call to action? I also hope they can get a lot more views on the YouTube posting, which has only 205 views to date.