Awarded 2006 Incline Award and 2006 Lookout Award for Best-in-Show

Begun as the vision of then-Mayor Bob Corker, the 21st Century Waterfront Development was Chattanooga’s largest public/private undertaking in history. Between 2002 and 2005 the $120 million project included renovation of more than 129 acres in downtown Chattanooga and encompassed expansions of the Tennessee Aquarium, Hunter Museum of American Art and Creative Discovery Museum; pedestrian-friendly renovation of the north and south banks of the Tennessee River including parks, greenways and a pedestrian bridge; and creation of “The Passage,” a memorial to the Cherokees’ life, history and contribution to Chattanooga. All of this created tremendous opportunity for boosting Chattanooga’s tourism, but getting the local community excited and balancing publicity agendas of all parties involved was the challenge for Waterhouse Public Relations.

Objectives

To position Chattanooga as a tourist destination and tell the story of the 21st Century Waterfront as a whole to the general news media across the country with the goal of at least 1 million impressions by the end of the campaign.
To promote the individual attractions and the collective 21st Century Waterfront Development story with the goal of increased attendance to attractions.
To use local print and broadcast media to get residents excited and involved in the grand opening festivities with the goal of at least 500-750 people in attendance for the grand finale weekend.

Strategies

In order to reach the objectives by the end of the campaign, which ran from June 2004 until July 2005, Waterhouse PR laid out specific strategies for success:

1. Develop a system of communication with all members of the 21st Century media relations team to avoid duplication, missed deadlines and inaccurate messages.
2. Leverage existing team relationships with media throughout the country and pitch the Chattanooga/21st Century Waterfront message.
3. Coordinate with attractions and City officials to promote the grand opening ceremonies surrounding the 21st Century Waterfront projects.

Results

Through carefully developed media communications and consistent messaging, the projects from June 2004 to July 2005 garnered more than 3.5 million impressions from more than 80 publications, with more coming in still today. Major hits like USA Today, The Chicago Tribune and The New York Times made the media relations effort an overwhelming success. All told, an estimated 30,000 people visited the waterfront to enjoy the grand opening celebration, capped by a concert and fireworks on May 13 and 14, 2005. The attractions in downtown Chattanooga and indeed the downtown area as a whole experienced an increase in revenue in the summer, attracting people from as far away as Maine and California. Chattanooga is now recognized across the country as a popular tourism destination with a thriving and memorable downtown experience. Travel stories continue to be written as the story of Chattanooga as a destination permeates further into the media. With Chattanooga’s progressive attitude, more and better additions to downtown are sure to come.