With new officers and an eye on the future, the Bigfork Promotion Group is ready to showcase all that its village has to offer with billboards, postcards and potential grants for events.
As the recently elected president of the group’s board of directors, David Vale of the Pocketstone Cafe said the BPG would continue to build funding from members to finance promotional media for the village. The BPG consists of multiple Bigfork businesses that contribute money for promotions.
Members either pay a flat, $250 fee or collect an additional 1 percent on their sales, Vale said. The 1 percent charge is optional for customers, though BPG Vice President Ry Keller of Valley Maintenance said it has been largely successful.
“It’s an optional charge, but almost everyone is happy to contribute this token amount to help make Bigfork more visible to out-of-town visitors,” Keller said in a prepared statement.
The BPG, which changed its name from the Bigfork Tourist Promotion Assessment, is modeled after a similar program in Whitefish, Vale said. The Bigfork collective started a couple of years ago and is still learning the ropes, he added.
So far, there are 18 businesses involved with the BPG.
“We’d like to have a couple hundred but you need to start somewhere,” Vale said.
The group has an annual budget of roughly $24,000, he added.
The latest round of promotions included new displays for two billboards, one located on U.S. Highway 93 north of Missoula and the other on U.S. Highway 2 outside of Kalispell.
The billboards do not feature individuals or specific businesses, Vale said, but rather focus on the overall experience the village can offer. The recent installation near Missoula promotes Bigfork’s art galleries, while the Kalispell sign showcases the village’s restaurants.
“The general idea is these billboards promote Bigfork as a place where tourists and locals as well would want to come and take part in what we have,” Vale said.
By leasing the billboards on an annual basis, the BPG can give Bigfork a relatively permanent advertising presence in these locations, Vale said. The messages will change again in April, to feature activities and events occurring in the village, such as the Whitewater Festival and boating possibilities, Vale said.
Along with the highway advertising, the BPG also distributed 7,000 postcards free of charge to Bigfork’s merchants and nearby hotels and motels. Tourists and locals could pick them up and send them to family and friends, Vale said.
The postcards featured a Monte Sanford photo of the Eva Gates building in Bigfork decorated for Christmas. The idea was to promote the “magical nature of Bigfork in the winter,” Vale said.
Initially, the BPG released 2,500 postcards to local merchants, but they were snapped up quickly during the holiday season, Vale said. The next round saw 5,000 cards stacked in shops and lobbies throughout the valley.
“The merchants and the hotels were certainly happy to have them,” Vale said. “The general reaction was good.”
Springtime will bring another opportunity for postcards, and Vale said the BPG will likely have four designs to choose from. The group is still discussing the content, but Vale said they have considered touting events in Bigfork, such as the Fourth of July celebration or the Crown of the Continent Guitar Festival.
As the BPG continues to grow, so do its goals. Vale said the billboards and postcards are just part of its plan; the next step is to provide seed money or general support for events in the village.
“Our idea is that part of our money ought to go to groups and organizations that are creating events and that will cause people to want to come,” Vale said.
Last summer, the group helped support the Crown of the Continent guitar events. Vale said Bigfork has myriad activities that are already well known; finding new ideas to promote could only help the village.
“We can find more opportunities for events to fill (Bigfork) up,” Vale said.
For more information on the Bigfork Promotion Group and the grant application process, visit www.bigforkpromotiongroup.com.