The City of Roanoke’s Department of Parks and Recreation was awarded a Gold Summit Award from the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) Blue Ridge Chapter yesterday for its Play Roanoke website. 434 Marketing designed and developed the custom, ADA-compliant website, which launched on March 24, 2017.
The website’s primary purpose was the educate and engage community members and visitors to the Roanoke region about local public lands and recreational opportunities. 434 was tasked with developing a custom website that would help the department achieve three goals: boost inbound traffic and awareness, convert visitors into monthly newsletter subscribers, and sell registrations for the 2,000 activities that the department hosts annually.
Within six months of launching the new website, the City of Roanoke observed a 30% uptick in community recreation program registrations. The website also generated an average of 100 new leads per month and a substantial increase in inbound traffic.
The PRSA Summit Awards recognize top-tier public relations, marketing, and advertising strategies and tactics nationwide. Award submissions are reviewed by an external group of public relations professionals, and are thoroughly vetted.
The City of Roanoke Department of Parks and Recreation manages 14,000 acres of public land, including 65 parks and plazas, seven recreation centers, seven greenways, two swimming pools, and more than 90 miles of trails.
434 Marketing is an award-winning digital marketing agency that specializes in developing websites and content marketing strategies that drive lead conversions, engage and cultivate prospects, and stimulate revenue growth.
PRSA’s Blue Ridge Chapter has served Central and western Virginia since 1992, providing the region with professional development, networking, and educational opportunities.
