College Park Launches Summer Ad Campaign to Attract Residents

Under the banner of "A Smart Place to Live," city officials are launching a summer advertising campaign designed to attract new residents to College Park.

The project will target Washington, D.C. commuters and the thousands of University of Maryland employees who currently live outside of the city, according to Economic Development Coordinator Michael Stiefvater.

To get through to would-be residents, the city is placing a series of ads in The Diamondback and Express, connecting with them online through Pandora Internet Radio and search marketing, and distributing trade show materials and outdoor signage.

Officials have also launched a dedicated website for potential homeowners.

The campaign highlights College Park's proximity to D.C. and UMD as well as "its highly educated community, its abundance of green space, its convenient public transportation options, and the affordability of its homes compared to those in surrounding areas," according to Stiefvater.

“Our expectation is that we’ll open a few eyes [and] introduce people to a side of the city they may not have known," Stiefvater said in a statement.

The initiative was developed in conjunction with idfive, a Baltimore-based advertising agency. The firm helped to develop a new tagline—"A Smart Place to Live"—and a new logo for the city's marketing efforts.

Stiefvater said city officials relied on input from City Council members, residents, business owners, and university administrators to shape the campaign.

View some of the materials used in the campaign in the gallery at right.