Massachusetts 250 (MA250) is a statewide initiative and grant program to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution and the pivotal battles across the state leading to America’s independence. The initiative aims to support education about the Revolution, strengthen civic identity and pride, and promote Massachusetts as an exciting and historical tourist destination.
the challenge
In preparation for MA250, a diverse range of Massachusetts travel and tourism organizations aimed to develop marketing campaigns designed to attract visitors to local celebrations and historical landmarks, while highlighting the state’s deep revolutionary history. Among these organizations were Tour Lexington, North of Boston, Visit Concord, Discover Gloucester, Essex National Heritage, and Greater Merrimack Valley. Given Sperling’s prominent role in Massachusetts travel and tourism marketing, these organizations turned to us for assistance in developing engaging campaigns centered around MA250.
our solution
We led a series of integrated campaigns in partnership with these travel and tourism organizations. Each campaign combined creative storytelling and digital content strategy to promote local events, while supporting the broader goals of the MA250 initiative to raise awareness of the region’s rich history and drive tourism across the state.
Video content was instrumental to engaging audiences across digital and broadcast platforms. We produced Tour Lexington’s 30-second TV spot for Boston 25 News, highlighting the town’s annual reenactment of the Battle of Lexington and Paul Revere’s Ride. For North of Boston, we created an energetic video campaign featuring Revolutionary figure “Rebel Rob” as he toured key landmarks and quizzed people on the street with historical trivia. We partnered with Essex National Heritage to produce videos and display advertising that helped promote the 250th anniversary of the Battle of Bunker Hill and drive regional participation in the reenactment.
Another key strategy in our campaigns was designing user-friendly website pages that featured MA250-related events and resources. We developed custom landing pages for Tour Lexington, North of Boston, Discover Gloucester, Visit Concord, and Greater Merrimack Valley. These included interactive maps, countdowns, and curated event listings, helping tourists plan their visit while discovering Massachusetts’ vital role in the Revolutionary War.
We also collaborated with additional tourism partners to help them achieve their own unique goals of commemorating MA250. See Plymouth gained national attention with our full-page ad in Smithsonian Magazine, honoring Revolutionary icon and writer Mercy Otis Warren. For Keolis’ Mass By Train website, we produced informational content to promote the Commuter Rail as a convenient way to travel to MA250 events.
the results
Sperling’s targeted marketing strategies significantly boosted tourism site traffic, increased event engagement, and enhanced awareness of key historical destinations for all participating clients.
120 +
highlighted
events, landmarks, and historical figures across a range of digital platforms – driving significant public awareness and participation in 250th events
6.8 x
more traffic
to the Visit Concord MA250 landing page in April compared to the website’s main homepage
190,000 +
impressions
so far for the Battle of Bunker Hill display and video campaign, with over 12,200 audience engagement actions on Facebook alone (and counting)
45.5 %
increase
in total site users for the North of Boston website in March compared to February
152.8 %
increase
in engaged sessions on the Bunker Hill 250 landing page website from March to April versus January to February