Bucks County Covered Bridges Festival
The First Annual Bucks County Covered Bridge Festival
The Bucks County Covered Bridges Festival was founded and organized by Wayne Seifert, a covered bridge enthusiast, who wanted to celebrate the historic covered bridges which make Bucks County unique. Pennsylvania has more covered bridges than any state and yet each year, the bridges that provide a vital link to the state’s rich history, fall victim to disrepair, neglect, vandalism and arson.
Wayne Seifert approached Furia Rubel to launch a strategic media outreach and awareness campaign that would publicize the first annual festival in Tinicum Park as well as increase awareness about covered bridge preservation among local lawmakers and Bucks County residents.
The Furia Rubel team welcomed the opportunity and initiated strategic public relations outreach to generate a buzz for the Festival. A wide variety of media coverage was garnered by the public relations specialists on a range of issues. A press conference was planned and implemented regarding the need for fire suppression systems in many of the local covered bridges in order to preserve the landmarks. The well-attended press conference came at a key time, a few days after an arson attempt was made upon a local covered bridge landmark. Broadcast coverage of the conference included ABC 6, CBS 3, Fox 29, WFMZ 69, The Morning Call, The Intelligencer, the Bucks County Herald and the Bucks County Trend.
As part of the awareness campaign, banner ads were placed on Buckscountyalive.com and its six premier affiliate websites reaching more than 24,000 unique visitors per week. In addition, the Bucks County Covered Bridge Festival strategically partnered with the Bucks County Conference & Visitors Bureau eliciting the support of local inns and B&Bs to offer an exclusive weekend package to Bucks County tourists surrounding the event. Media sponsors of the event included Parents Express Magazine, MetroKids Magazine, Bucks County Women’s Journal and Bucks-Lehigh Magazine.
Other featured media coverage was highlighted on NBC 10’s 10! Show, ABC 6’s Don Polec’s World, CN-8 Comcast Newsmakers, KYW Newsradio, 98.1 WOGL Philadelphia Agenda, B101, USA Today, Newsday, US Airways Magazine, The Philadelphia Inquirer, the Bucks County Courier Times and the Philadelphia Daily News among many others. Overall, media coverage had a total value of more than $65,000 and Furia Rubel’s successful media outreach efforts reached more than 200 million households nationwide.
The Bucks County Covered Bridges Festival was successful in raising awareness regarding the need to preserve the historic covered bridges of Bucks County and provided a weekend full of live music, performances, food, fun and activities for the entire family. The Festival awareness campaign also flourished in positioning Wayne Seifert as a Bucks County covered bridge expert who continues to serve as a vital media resource.
