decisions. better integrated destination marketing
DESCRIPTION
A presentation to the Wisconsin Association of Convention & Visitors Bureaus by Bob Hoot and Bill Kennedy on May 17, 2013. All CVBs have website, a social media presence and most produce a visitors guide. This presentation asks if the efforts are effective and applies some basic metrics and evaluations to the efforts. All the media channels must be utilizes to their advantage and coordinated for maximum impact.TRANSCRIPT
Decisions, Decisions, Decisions…
By Bob Hoot and Bill Kennedy
Your choice today.
Do nothing.
Take action.
The Wisconsin Experience
Wisconsin scores a 90 or better with 48% of visitors compared to:
Minnesota 45%
Illinois 37%
Michigan 37%
Wisconsin’s Stake
$10.4 billion in tourism
184,000 tourism-related jobs
Comparing States
State by State Comparison 2011- Economic Impact of Tourism
Michigan• $14.8 billion • 142,600 jobs
Illinois • $27.1 billion• 288,700 jobs
Minnesota • $10.3 billion• 135,300 jobs
Wisconsin• $9.5 billion• 109,400 jobs
Iowa• $6.2 billion• 65,000 jobs
We have got to do better.
The PlanImprove your presence in three most important media in trip planning
Visitors Guides
Word of Mouth/Social Media
The Web
Three Most Influential Media
Objectives
• Lure visitors
• Help plan trip
• Inform visitors once they arrive
3. Visitors Guides
Visitors Guides
38%38% of visitors cited Travel Guides as an important resource when obtaining information about an upcoming trip.
Visitors Guides
77% 77% said they enjoy the smell and touch of print. Printed guides as objects created an experience that digital cannot replicate.
Visitors Guides
80% An affinity printed guides with a baby boomer population that currently accounts for roughly 80% of domestic travel means there is an enduring value in offering printed travel guides.
Visitors Guides
Managing Your Guide
• Turn a Profit (or at least break even)• Advertising 40-50%. Editorial content 50-
60% = Profitability
• Advertising rate model must be correct
• Reverse Engineering o Advertising/Editorial Ratioo Proper Budgeto Designo Content
Visitors Guides
Content and Design
• Content must have value for the visitor• Value for the visitor = Advertiser value• Good design enhances value
o Reader entry pointso Large photoso Intriguing headlineso Photo cutlineso Sidebarso Bullet copy
Visitor’s Guides
Bad Example Good Example
Visitors Guide E-PubsE-Publication
Powerful use of Web application
Only 8-15% of print circulation. • New York Times digital
subscriptions out number their print subscriptions and Wall Street Journal and LA time are almost there too.
How to do better?
• Promote the guide through Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and print advertising.
• Must be on home pagewith direct link to e-pub
E-Publications
E-Publication Opportunities•Run additional editorial in your e-publication. With printing costs at a premium, this is an opportunity to publish information to niche audiences and non-essential listings.
•Update the e-publication quarterly or monthly. Keep the guide fresh. Promote this feature on your website and in the print guide.
Three Most Influential Media
2. Word of Mouth (61%) Every CVB has a Facebook presence, today’s “word-of-mouth”. We need
to find better ways to use it and develop a voice. Run more contests.
The Conversation EquationOriginal Content
Conversation
Reviews
The New WOM
Three Most Influential Media
1. The Web (93%) 93% of visitors say the web is the most
influential medium they use in doing travel research.
Pure Genius
• Great Creative• Great Strategy• Great Execution
So who is using the web well?
They are not only on the web, they are better on the web in areas of site integrity, navigation, and results.
Pure Execution
Pure MichiganScores
86on theirInternet
Marketing
Pure Execution
Most destinations have good looking websites, but...
A pretty website is not always an effective website.
Pure Michigan is MORE than just a pretty website.
Web Marketing Scores
CVB Score
Minocqua- Woodruff- Arbor Vitae 24
Manitowoc- Two Rivers
32
Sheboygan 32
Escape to Wisconsin 34
Prairie du Chien 39
Real Racine 41
Eagle River 41
Oconomowoc 42
Tomah 42
CVB Score
Platteville 42
Stevens Point Area 43
Elkhorn 43
West Bend 45
Sun Prairie 45
Janesville 46
Waukesha 46
Green Bay 49
Hayward 49
Waupaca 49
Here is a list of how a third party marketing program rates each of the sites of the Wisconsin CVB’s. 100 is optimal, Pure Michigan is
86, and target is 70.
Web Marketing Scores
CVB Score
Door County 85
Bayfield 79
Eau Claire 79
Elkhart Lake 78
Oshkosh 72
Middleton 69
Wisconsin Rapids Area
67
La Crosse Area 65
Ashland 63
CVB Score
Kenosha Area 63
Milwaukee 63
Marshfield 59
Wisconsin Dells 59
Beloit 53
Brookfield 52
Fond du Lac 52
Lake Geneva 52
Greater Madison 52
Fox Cities 50
Wausau/Central Wisconsin
50
Pure Execution
Pure Michiganhas 10 programming errors. It's not perfect but better than 35 Wisconsin CVB sites.
Error-Prone Wisconsin
341 > 10
CVB Errors
Elkhorn 341
West Bend 208
Stevens Point Area 205
Elkhart Lake 185
Beloit 174
Hayward 158
Milwaukee 139
Escape to Wisconsin 127
Wausau/ Central Wisconsin 121
CVB Errors
Fox Cities 120
Green Bay 107
Wisconsin Dells 95
Manitowoc- Two Rivers 80
Platteville 75
Door County 74
Fond du Lac 65
Greater Madison 64
Janesville 56
La Crosse Area 55
The World Wide Web consortium has established standards in Web programming. They score a site based on how many programming errors it contains. Some of the errors attributed here are minor, like a typo on a letter. Other could cause search engine to leave your site and hurt your rankings.
Better Programming
CVB Errors
Tomah 1
Middleton 5
Kenosha Area 9
Eau Claire 14
Marshfield 14
Real Racine 15
Waupaca 15
Bayfield 17
Wisconsin Rapids Area 19
Ashland 24
CVB Errors
Brookfield 25
Prairie du Chien 34
Waukesha 37
Eagle River 37
Minocqua- Woodruff- Arbor Vitae
39
Sheboygan 41
Oconomowoc 42
Oshkosh 45
Sun Prairie 47
Lake Geneva 53
Immobile Wisconsin
Only 7 CVB sites use responsive
Web design. 34 ignored it.
Responsive design is the easier way to leverage mobile.
Pure FailureOnly 13 Wisconsin CVB sites have something as simple as alt tags.
26 of the sites audited do not.
Alt tags are an opportunity for search engines to “read” a picture on your site. Done correctly an alt tag can help your site show up in search.
AnalyticsAre you measuring your online performance?
Many sites have analytics. It is in using and understanding the data that will allow you to efficiently allocate your resources to maximize your visitor counts. The key to successful marketing is embracing the data that will help you improve your efforts.
Paid Search
• 15 Running Paid Search Campaigns• 24 are doing NOTHING to generate
traffic to their websites
No website stands alone. Even if you have an error-free design and know everything about your traffic, every site will benefit from promotion. Whether it is from including your website on everything you produce or through search engine marketing, you can grow your traffic with a fully integrated approach. We can even help you write a JEM grant.
No site stands alone.
Your choice today.
Do nothing.
Take action.
How do you get started?
2. Get an audit for $99.
1. Make a decision to change. (No matter how painful.)
3. Grab your piece of the tourism pie. We can help you find out what’s right and what needs fixing on your marketing presence for a pittance.