Visit Hot Springs launches video series: ‘Check it Out’
When people plan a vacation they look for three primary things: Somewhere to sleep, somewhere to eat and somewhere to do something unforgettable, Visit Hot Springs Director of Marketing Bill Solleder said in a discussion about the third advertising video series being launched today called “Check it Out.”
The monthly video series will run throughout 2021 and will feature local attractions and activities. It will be added to existing series’ “Feast Mode,” which features local eateries, and “Checkin’ Inn,” which features local rentals. All series were created in partnership with local marketing agency SixtyOne Celsius.
“When we came up with Check it Out I was just thinking about how people plan vacations, so of course they’re look
ing for places to sleep, things to eat and of course things to do,” Solleder said. “So ‘Check it Out,’ I think, sort of rounds out the whole itinerary when people are planning vacations. They can check out our YouTube channel or our website and get a real video feel for what we have to offer.
“And I think what we have to offer is a great mix of things for the younger ones and for the older ones. Stuff that’s inside, and very accessible, and stuff that’s outside that’s very adventurous. Hot Springs has a wide pallet of things to do for all types of travelers, and it’s those things that we want to show off.”
The debut video for “Check it Out” will feature Mid-America Science Museum.
“They are one of the, what I would call, top attractions in Hot Springs, so it was an easy choice,” Solleder said. “When you think about the other attractions and when we were shooting, Magic Springs, of course, were closed and it was too cold; Oaklawn, the horses aren’t running, so we’re not going to feature Oaklawn just yet; and then Garvan Gardens, of course, is always on our top list of attractions, but we’ve saved their future episode for when the tulips are blooming.”
The series will be hosted by Hot Springs locals Havilah Rodgers and Dan Cooksey.
“With the idea of social media influencers being more and more important for how people make their decisions on where they want to travel to, we wanted to do something real, so it doesn’t get any more real than having two local Hot Springs residents take you around town,” Solleder said.
Visit Hot Springs has committed to 12 episodes in the “Check it Out” series, he said, which will allow them to “dig deeper” past the “main” five or six attractions the city has to offer.
“We do have an idea of who we’re covering this year, and that would include — like we’ve already shot the second episode, which was Hot Springs Mountain Tower, and then now we’re looking at the third and fourth episode,” Solleder said. “Most likely the next one will be an inside attraction because of the weather, so we’re looking at the Gangster Museum, the bath houses; Oaklawn is on the upcoming list.
“We’ll do things that might not be attraction-based, but activity-based. So possibly mountain biking will come up or things like kayaking, that sort of thing.”
Solleder said he is always open to feedback from the community, and ideas for future “Check it Out” videos can be emailed to him at bsolleder@hotsprings.org.
He said he also encourages people to share the advertising videos on their social media pages.
“One thing about Visit Hot Springs and a lot of our efforts is we push our advertising and promotion to people outside of the city,” he said. “So often the residents of Hot Springs don’t get to see it unless they’re seeing our social channels, but I just wanted to say when they do see it that all of the residents of Hot Springs can do us all a favor and just share the content. The more we share the content the more visitors we get to host in our town, and that means the more successful our town is.”