Members of the city’s Economic Development Authority spent part of their Oct. 5 retreat discussing whether the authority should build its own social-media presence and run short influencer campaigns aimed at people who might live or work in the city, not only visitors. No vote was taken and no contract was awarded.
Secretary Eugeniy Mikityuk and board member David Fraser led the discussion under the retreat’s second theme: marketing, tourism, and public perception. Mikityuk proposed a standalone EDA social presence focused on working and living in Fredericksburg, the authority’s loan program, employers, and entrepreneurs. He said it would not copy the work already done by Visit Fredericksburg or Fredericksburg Main Street.
A second piece of the idea was a seasonal influencer campaign that would use two or three creators at a time, coordinated with Main Street and Visit Fredericksburg. The work would be paid per campaign so the authority would not be locked into a year-long commitment. Mikityuk described a visitor-center gift card or small freebie as one way to count actual arrivals instead of views. An Amtrak discount was mentioned as a longer-term idea, not a current plan.
Mikityuk said he had contacted four local marketing firms. One returned a proposal quickly. On the recording the contact was identified as Anne, associated with Michael Myers and the gallery on Caroline Street. A quote of about $750 for up to 22 posts was called too high. He said a more realistic range for five to 10 posts was about $300, and that every figure was negotiable and month-to-month. The other firms missed his deadline.
Chair Meredith Schatz split the request into two scopes: one for program marketing and one for a “day in the life” of living in Fredericksburg. She said larger employers might sponsor lived-experience posts and named Mary Washington Healthcare as an example of a possible sponsor, not as a signed partner. The board assigned the next step as sending an agreed scope and collecting comparable quotes.
Director of Economic Development and Tourism Josh Summits raised a staff-time concern. He estimated it would take 20 to 25 hours a month to sit for interviews and produce 10 to 12 posts across platforms, and he questioned whether a $750 figure would cover that work. He also noted that a winter campaign in his shop is planned about four months out.
Legal counsel Jackson Key raised a separate caution. He said the Industrial Development and Revenue Bond Act allows the authority to employ agents, attorneys, and accountants, and that promoting the authority’s own programs is one thing. Hiring influencers or running a tourism campaign, he said, may sit outside what the act itemizes. Key distinguished a pass-through arrangement, such as the $35,000 the authority previously supplied to a PR company, from the authority itself hiring the work. The board assigned him to complete the legal diligence. No hire was authorized.
Board member Amy Peregoy suggested an EDA website. Newsletter open rates already exist; Summits said he can pull them. The city also has a new part-time marketing person. Schatz flagged the need to align any work with the city’s 300th anniversary efforts. Mikityuk said his last contact with Beth was stale. City minutes identify Beth Black as chair of the 300th Blue Ribbon Steering Committee; the recording referred to her only as Beth.
Other ideas discussed during the retreat, including a culinary festival, weekend VRE service, and city-dock concepts, remained on the idea list and were not part of the marketing discussion.
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