The Valley Forge Tourism and Convention Board’s website saw record activity this summer. From Memorial Day to Labor Day, more than 250,000 visitors arrived at ValleyForge.org, a 100 percent increase over last summer.

“Foodies, gamers, delegates, and shoppers all found reasons to visit our collection of microsites this summer,” said Ed Harris, VFTCB’s Vice President of Marketing and Communications.

“Our team delivered a new way to explore our culinary scene, a platform to leverage an augmented reality app, a one-stop site for Democrats to navigate the convention, and the best way to discover our shopping paradise.”

The strategies behind these brands is gaining industry attention, evidenced by several awards the VFTCB team recently won:

• Two Awards of Excellence from Communications Concepts, as part of its Apex Awards competition. The VFTCB was honored for its 2016 Visitors Guide and for Montco 360, a virtual-reality website that enables potential visitors to explore local attractions, hotels, sports facilities, wedding venues, golf courses, and restaurants in interactive, all-encompassing views. The VFTCB was a leader in the use of 360 technology, partnering with Google Images to create the stunning and unique photography.
• Two Videographer Awards, from the Dallas-based Association of Marketing and Communication Professionals. An Award of Excellence – the program’s highest honor – was given to “Patriot Trails,” a video promoting the 11 sites of historical significance throughout Montgomery County. The VFTCB’s sports video “Never Stop Fighting” earned an Award of Distinction. From among 1,500 entries worldwide, only 13 percent are categorized as excellent, while 16 percent receive the nod for distinction.

“We are understandably proud of the third-party recognition of the quality of our work,” said Harris. “We are very lucky to have a deep well of talented professionals who create all our print and online content.

“The majority of our video assets are produced in-house. That’s incredibly rare for a relatively small, nonprofit agency. But we are extremely fortunate. We have the resources to put out work of the highest quality, as these awards show.”