Action Strategy
Goal: AIM = Amenity In-Migrants
Strategy AIM3 Guerilla Marketing Campaign Targeting Retirees
Background/Concept:
The research on interstate migration of retirees is quite clear. Retirees begin looking for new
locations several years prior to retirement. They rely on the word of family and friends first,
then written articles, and begin by visiting and researching the place. Odd connections
between retirement areas and cities are often created through this word-of-mouth, and a small
trickle of people coming from certain place grows as they talk with their friends. Fremont
County already has numerous part-year residents and annual visitors. Other places have
developed very low-cost ways of reaching out to potential new markets. This strategy involves
using the materials developed for Fremont Ambassadors to build a response package to send
to inquirers. Then small ads may be placed in media narrowly targeted to active, mobile
retirees. Ideally, a phone number or e-mail address is established where local seniors and
part-year residents can answer inquiries. At the same time, a direct mail effort can be
developed using mailing lists of people who have become acquainted with Fremont County in
the past, e.g. high school or Ricks College alumni lists, or resort or RV park customer lists
sorted by age. This strategy should be viewed as partially a tourism strategy as it will generate
visits prior to summer-long stays.
Potential Partners:
Chambers and tourism groups
Potential Resources:
Existing county and city profile brochures, tourism literature, real estate fliers
Parts of this strategy may be eligible for Idaho Travel Council funding
retirement guidebooks that rate places
Talk with Dick Gardner about his research and file of articles.
Concerns:
A marketing strategy should never be mounted without a clear idea of the target customer, how
best to reach them and campaign costs. A clear notion of how responses will be handled is
needed, preferably one that communicates the personal touch and hometown style of Fremont
County. And the campaign should not be launched without consensus that there is capacity to
handle new visitors and part-year retirees.
Ranking Score
Plausibility (To what degree will a success fix the problem? i.e. size of 6
community reward) Score 1-10
Feasibility (Can we access the resources to succeed? i.e. probability of 5
success) Score 1-10
Community Readiness (Score 1-5; 1=Not Ready, 5= Very Ready) 2
Total Score = Plausibility x Feasibility x Community Readiness 60
Action Steps
a. Build on marketing materials from Fremont Ambassadors to construct a Not Done
response package, again playing close attention to the research on
what retirees are seeking in a new location.
b. Work with Fremont Ambassador group about what marketing channels Not Done
represent the best and most affordable ways to reach target customers.
c. Explore the use of various mailing lists of people who are aproaching Not Done
retirement and have some familiarity with Fremont County, e.g HS or
BYUI alumni, resort or RV park repeat customer lists, friends of existing
part-year residents
d. Develop a way of responding, a phone number or more likely an e-nmail Not Done
address, that involves a number of Fremont seniors who are willing to e-
mail or even call people who want to learn more about the area. Keep
in mind that these seniors need to be educated, middele class, active
retirees who are peers of those inquiring. Fixed-income, less educated
seniors who have lived in Fremont all their lives are not peers in the
same way with the ability to compare between locations. This is not a
rap against local seniors, but the reality of being able to connect with the
newcomers.
e. Execute the guerilla marketing campaign. It's OK to try just one or a Not Done
couple modest efforts and observe the results on a trial-and-error basis.
This strategy has really worked in some very rural estern communities.