Eagles' Super Bowl Win Boosts Ocean City Tourism

Call it the “Super Bowl effect.”

Philadelphia is not the only city to benefit from the Eagles’ 40-22 Super Bowl thrashing of the Kansas City Chiefs.

The excitement surrounding Philly’s march through the NFL playoffs and Super Bowl victory generated a great deal of attention – and business – for Ocean City, too, a top official says.

An Ocean City tourism billboard located on the Walt Whitman Bridge in Philadelphia drew even more interest during the Eagles’ playoff and Super Bowl run.

“The Eagles did well, so we did well,” said Michele Gillian, executive director of the Ocean City Regional Chamber of Commerce.

During a meeting Thursday of the Ocean City Tourism Development Commission, Gillian noted that the billboard helped to generate extra business for the city at the same time the Eagles were winning.

In an interview afterward, Gillian said Ocean City’s restaurants and hotels were among the businesses to benefit from the billboard and the Eagles’ Super Bowl mania.

“It’s a great effect,” she said.

    Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Jalyx Hunt (58) and linebacker Josh Sweat (19) tackle Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15) during the first half of Super Bowl LIX at Caesars Superdome. (Credit: Bill Streicher-Images)
  

The summer-themed billboard is scheduled to stay up on the Walt Whitman Bridge until early May. It shows a little girl dressed in sunglasses, floppy hat and orange Ocean City sweatshirt standing on the beach while flashing a victory sign.

Was the little girl’s victory sign a prediction of the Eagles’ Super Bowl romp?

The billboard advertises the oceancityvacation.com website and 1-800-BEACHNJ tourism number. Visits and calls to the website and tourism number resulted in more reservations for the city’s restaurants and hotels – apparently boosted by the euphoria over the Eagles’ winning ways, Gillian indicated.

The billboard is part of Ocean City’s nearly $700,000 summer marketing campaign to encourage visitors to book their vacation stays at “America’s Greatest Family Resort,” as the city calls itself.

Gillian, who is also a member of the Tourism Development Commission, said most of the marketing campaign has been rolled out already. It includes a big social media component as well as video advertising on streaming services such as Netflix, Peacock, Hulu and YouTubeTV, among others.

“We’re aggressively heading in that direction,” Wes Kazmarck, a member of the Tourism Development Commission, said of the city’s bigger emphasis on streaming services to reach vacationers.

   Ocean City's beaches are crowded during the summer tourism season.   

Ocean City also advertises on traditional broadcast TV, especially in its core tourism feeder markets of Philadelphia and central and western Pennsylvania.

“Philly is our bread and butter, but we’re definitely not ignoring the Pittsburgh and Harrisburg area,” said Kazmarck, who also serves as president of Ocean City’s Boardwalk Merchants Association.

Rob Carnathan, senior vice president of Universal Media, a consulting firm that oversees the Tourism Development Commission’s video advertising campaign, said streaming services allow the city to target its advertising more effectively than traditional broadcast TV.

At the same time, Carnathan urged the commission not to completely pull back its advertising from broadcast TV. He noted it is still an important way to reach vacationers, especially older ones who continue to watch broadcast TV more than streaming services.

“I would caution you about getting completely out of broadcasting,” he said in a presentation during the meeting.

Gillian told Carnathan that the commission would discuss it further and get back to him on its preferences for advertising on streaming services and broadcast TV.

“We can concentrate on different areas that we feel are more productive for us,” Gillian said.

    Rob Carnathan, senior vice president of the Universal Media consulting firm, gives a presentation to the Ocean City Tourism Development Commission.