NATCHEZ — The Natchez Convention and Visitors Bureau will pay a top public relations firm approximately $100,000 in the next year to market Natchez and its tricentennial celebration.

The CVB engaged Lou Hammond & Associates (LHA) in July in a yearlong contract in which the CVB will pay LHA $8,000 monthly for its services.

The funds for the contract will come from the CVB’s approximately $400,000 annual $2 “heads on beds” tax fund, CVB Director Kevin Kirby said.

The $2 hotel and bed-and-breakfast occupancy tax, which was passed in 2008, provides the Natchez CVB with money to be used only for marketing Natchez.

Kirby said he believes the money will be well spent and considers it an investment in the tricentennial and the future of Natchez tourism.

“Public relations leverages and magnifies the value of your investment,” Kirby said. “Your return is much greater than your investment if public relations is handled the right way.”

In 2013, prior to Kirby joining the city, the CVB hired tourism-marketing consultant Jennifer Barbee to help fundraise and market for the tricentennial. The CVB provided $180,000 in seed money to Barbee plus another $64,000 for website work. Barbee terminated her contract with the city after her fundraising efforts fell well below her initial projections.

The CVB’s contract with LHA, Kirby said, did not involve upfront costs and has provisions that allow the CVB to terminate the contract if it is not satisfied with LHA’s work.

Kirby said he is certain that will not be the case and believes LHA’s experience and reputation will ensure positive results for Natchez.

“Lou Hammond is a formidable player in the (public relations) industry,” Kirby said.

The game plan, Kirby said, is teamwork between the CVB and tricentennial staff and LHA, with constant contact and monitoring of results.

“We know the tricentennial is knocking on our door and with the unique selling proposition of the 300th, (LHA) can help take our voice and make it louder and share it with a greater audience,” Kirby said.

LHA President Terry Gallagher and other LHA representatives spent time in Natchez earlier this month familiarizing themselves with Natchez and meeting tourism officials.

Gallagher said if LHA did not think Natchez was a destination the firm could sell, it would not have chosen Natchez as a partner.

“We’re blessed in that we can work with places that we really want to work with,” he said. “Natchez is really a viable destination.”

With a client list that includes Charleston, S.C.; Fort Worth, Texas; Santa Fe, N.M.; and others, Gallagher said LHA has an established relationship with the media that will benefit Natchez.

“With almost 40 clients, the media knows us, and they know to use us as a source,” he said.

Gallagher said Natchez boasts many attributes — destination wedding offerings, culinary and music scenes, outdoor recreation and a rich history — that make it an attractive destination to several audiences.

The real measure of the return on the CVB’s investment with LHA will come by looking at the number of visitors to Natchez, Kirby said.

“We have about 660,000 visitors (annually),” he said. “I am shooting for 1 million.”