By Lauren Otis, Staff Writer
A judge from New Orleans once visited Kathie Morolda’s Palmer Square art and framing shop, Cranbury Station Gallery, and purchased one of Ms. Morolda’s oil paintings.
”That was a big deal for me,” recalled Ms. Morolda.
When Hurricane Gustav forced the evacuation of New Orleans in late August, the judge, with his housekeeper and groundskeeper in tow, chose to pay Princeton and her gallery a return visit, Ms. Morolda said. “He spent the time in town shopping again,” she said.
Ms. Morolda told the story of the judge’s loyalty to the offerings of downtown Princeton at a Borough Merchants for Princeton meeting Sept. 16 as a source of inspiration for fellow attendees regarding the unique qualities Princeton has as a shopping and tourist destination. Those qualities should be emphasized and capitalized on, said Ms. Morolda, who is president of the borough merchants association.
With the late fall holiday season around the corner, several speakers at the session urged Princeton businesses and nonprofits to work together and with the Princeton Regional Convention & Visitors Bureau to improve their visibility.
With the benefit of a grant from the state, the convention and visitors bureau is implementing a marketing strategy centered around its Web site, said Adam Perle, vice president of the Princeton Regional Chamber of Commerce at the meeting. The convention and visitors bureau is a chamber program.
Mr. Perle said other marketing efforts included placards at the Princeton Junction and other train stations, print advertisements and brochures, and the forthcoming production of a video on the area.
The Web site and marketing efforts are being supported by a $106,000 “destination marketing grant” awarded to the convention and visitors bureau for 2008 by the state Division of Travel & Tourism, a division of the New Jersey Department of State, said Lori Rabon, general manager of the Nassau Inn and chairwoman of the organization.
The grant is for two years, and barring unforeseen developments the convention and visitors bureau can expect another $106,000 from the state to continue its marketing efforts in 2009, Ms. Rabon said. She said the organization would then be able to apply for another two-year grant cycle from the state for 2010 and 2011.
”It takes time to cooperate, but the benefits are huge. Our attendance has more than doubled,” Morven Museum & Garden Executive Director Martha Wolf told attendees to the meeting, in describing Morven’s experience partnering with other nonprofits and community members as part of its “Picturing Princeton 1783” exhibit and program this year celebrating the 225th anniversary of Princeton’s service as the nation’s capital.
”This is the way of the future,” Ms. Wolf said, in urging those attending the meeting to work together on joint marketing efforts. “We’ve really been reaching out and working with the business and nonprofit communities in promoting Morven and the community,” she said.
Morven intends to incorporate elements of the successful 1783 exhibit into its permanent programming, Ms. Wolf said. “We envision 1783 as a continuing theme of tourist experience in Princeton,” she said.
Ms. Wolf said there were other opportunities for area merchants to work with Morven, such as in conjunction with its holiday festival of trees.
Phyllis Oppenheimer, a tourism representative with the state Division of Travel & Tourism, lauded Princeton on its efforts in gaining one of the 11 destination marketing grants the state awarded.
Of the presentations of the 11 grant recipients, “Princeton was one of the top three,” Ms. Oppenheimer said. “You really are to be congratulated with the leadership you have with this destination,” she said.
”It is everyone’s effort that puts you on the map,” she added.
In March, the convention and visitors bureau relaunched a redesigned Web site at www.visitprinceton.org. It includes information about the Princeton area and resources for visitors, including links to many nonprofits and businesses in the area, Mr. Perle said.
”I urge you to check out your link on visitprinceton.org,” he told merchants at the Sept. 16 meeting, adding that “new search engine optimization methodology” has helped grow the site’s traffic to 1,800 unique visitors per month. “By the end of the year we expect to have 2,000 unique visitors per month,” Mr. Perle said.

