When I was a kid, my parents took me to the mansions in Newport. The only one I really liked was the (now shuttered) Astors’ Beechwood mansion because the tours were led by actors dressed up in period clothing. They were funny and engaging and kept both kids and adults laughing. So I was a little disappointed when I took my daughter to Newport a few weeks ago and discovered that the Astor Extravaganza was no more.

The silver lining, however, was that the Vanderbilts appear to have caught on to the Astors’ entertainment strategy to some degree. Instead of using a guided tour of the famous Breakers mansion, they use audio tours – one for adults and one for families. It’s something they’ve been doing for a long time, but it was a pleasant surprise since I hadn’t been there in seven years. My six-year-old daughter loved the audio tour and learned a whole lot of history without even realizing she was learning. Prior to paying admission, I actually waffled about bringing her because I wasn’t sure I wanted to waste money if she would be bored. If I had seen an ad that told me about the family audio tours, it would have been a no-brainer.

With the Breakers approach, the Preservation Society of Newport County has figured out a way to tackle a problem that many historic and cultural attractions face today – addressing two different audiences. The experience offered at the Breakers now embraces families, and has thus opened up a new source of revenue.

We tell most clients to go after their core market only, but in the case of historical and cultural attractions, a two-audience approach is necessary – in regard to both the experiences they offer and the advertising they use to drive people there. What we’ve actually discovered in a recent survey is that 80% of people with no children in their household travel with children at one point or another. Grandparents, extended family – they are all looking for things to do with kids. All you have to do is make sure you have something to offer, and tell them about it.

Making your attraction accessible is key, but these two different groups respond to very different kinds of advertising messages. And we don’t recommend shoving it all into one ad or one medium. So when you sit down to figure out your strategy for 2016, take a huge step back and look at who you’ve been talking to and how you’ve been doing it. Are you the master of two target audiences or are you missing out on a huge flow of revenue just waiting to come through your gates?