Corvallis Tourism Marketing Plan
2008-2009 Final
Corvallis, The Pacific Northwest’s Most Beautiful College Town
Produced by: Corvallis Tourism 553 NW Harrison Blvd Corvallis OR 97330 (541) 757-1544 800-334-8118
Page
Corvallis Tourism Marketing Plan
2008-2009
Mission
To promote the lifestyle and economy of Corvallis through tourism.”
Corvallis Tourism
Table of Contents
Dedication
The staff, board and membership of Corvallis Tourism are dedicated to growing the tourism industry in Corvallis and Benton County. We are dedicated to increasing the $79 million spent by visitors in Benton County each year and the over $1 million collected in transient occupancy tax each year that benefits our City.
Letter from Corvallis Tourism Board President Letter from Corvallis Tourism CEO Situation Analysis Goals, Objectives & Strategies Statistical Marketing Objectives Group Sales Domestic Leisure Travel 2 3 4 7 8 9 13 18 19 24 25 26 27 33
Vision
“We will operate Corvallis Tourism to the highest and best industry practices and as a result produce a vibrant cohesive tourism industry, operating at the best market share the economy can allow. “
Advertising Communications Strategy Visitor Services Budget Administrative Ratios Appendix A: Tourism Think Tank Notes Appendix B: Value Statement Calculation
553 NW Harrison Blvd., Corvallis OR 97330 (541) 757-1544 www.visitcorvallis.com GPS coordinates: 38 degrees 11.89 N. 119 degrees 53.32 W.
Page 1
Corvallis Tourism Marketing Plan
Dear Members,
Corvallis Tourism is pleased to present its 2008-2009 Marketing Plan. We believe that the economic climate during this fiscal year is going to be difficult for tourism and we will likely see a decrease in room demand of about 2% as compared to last fiscal year. However, if gas prices fall and business travel picks up this scenario could turn around quickly. To help maximize the return on the City’s investment in tourism marketing, we intend to pull the geographical scope of our marketing closer to Oregon. We will also move some of our leisure travel advertising onto Google, employing both their adwords and their content networks, utilizing their geographical targeting programs to make sure our ads provide the highest returns. Best wishes for a happy and successful 2008-2009. Sincerely, Kathleen Petrucela, 2008-2009 Corvallis Tourism Board President
Page 2
Corvallis Tourism Marketing Plan
Dear Members,
Tourism marketing has evolved faster over the last five years than at any time in my 30 year history in the industry. Corvallis Tourism has made every effort to stay on top of the wave by introducing new marketing techniques. These include: Consumer generated content Social networking Moving from a central Web site to an expanded web presence Increasing exposure to old and new media With all these new avenues to reach consumers, old methods of gauging success or failure are not working. To some CVBs, this means not changing and clinging to their old methods of reporting success. At Corvallis Tourism we are changing rapidly and trying to find new and more accurate ways of quantifying our results. We ask that the board and membership have patience with us as we learn new ways of quantifying and qualifying our metrics for success. Sincerely, John Hope-Johnstone CEO, Corvallis Tourism
Page 3
Situation Analysis
Slow Growth in National Travel Spending Projected for 2008-2009. (TIA)
According to the Travel Industry Association (TIA), total domestic person trips will decrease in 2008-2009 by 23 million trips as compared to 2007. Travel spending for domestic travel will grow slightly to $237 billion driven mainly by increases in the travel price index.
Flat Tourism Outlook for Corvallis Projected for 2008-2009: (Corvallis Tourism)
Because of the mix of Corvallis business, Corvallis tends to follow national trends quite predictably. Presidential elections at the end of 2008 usually help with State and Governmental travel in the first two quarters of 2009. Business travel growth is expected to fall slightly in Corvallis in 2008-2009 following the national trend. Growth in leisure drive travel, the main mode of travel into Corvallis, will slow in 2008-2009 as people shorten their drive distance as a result of high gas prices. The main change in this trend could come if gas prices fall back below $3.50 as a pent-up demand for travel would boost 2009 travel.
Page 4
Situation Analysis
According to the Conference Board, the Consumer Confidence Index, which is often a precursor for both business and leisure travel trends, has been falling over the last nine months. Those claiming business conditions are "bad" increased to 32.5 percent from 29.7 percent, while those claiming business conditions are "good" declined to 11.5 percent from 13.0 percent last month. Consumers' appraisal of the job market was also more pessimistic. Those saying jobs are "hard to get" increased to 30.5 percent from 28.3 percent in May. Those claiming jobs are "plentiful" declined to 14.1 percent.
Situation Analysis Summary: Economic Worries Require New Marketing Actions
Corvallis Tourism and other tourism organizations are making course corrections to their marketing plans. Fortunately (so far) vacationers and travelers are not willing to totally give up their travel plans. As Peter Yesawich of the Y. Partnership recently reported: "They are trading down, but they are not trading out". Evidence of data suggests that travelers are continuing to travel, but that they are perhaps more inclined to book vacation and getaway type package deals and are searching for more online deals and discounts to save money. They are not traveling as far and are staying slightly closer to home. The Business Travel Coalition (BTC) recently put out a lengthy report on the seriousness of the situation: “With airlines gravely threatened, so is our economic well-being in the United States.” The group makes the point that airlines are the primary source for inter-city transportation and are critical to national and local economic development, the flow of human capital, the movement of just-in-time parts for manufacturing and the transport of perishable food and other items upon which the economy depends.
Page 5
Situation Analysis
The travel economy is like a row of dominoes. With the fall of one domino, others would also tumble. Here are some other impacts of airline failures: The loss of income taxes paid by employees coupled with the loss of airline taxes would further complicate governments already struggling with declining revenues. The Federal Government would be facing more monetary demands from unemployment compensation funds. Domestic tour operators would be hurt by declining volumes of group trips. The $165 billion meetings market could seriously shrink if larger numbers of meeting-goers decide not fly to their destination. Hotels could lose millions of dollars in cancelled bookings. Business travel could be severely disrupted with slowdowns particularly in airline hubs and major cites. The current airline crisis is only the tip of the iceberg for looming travel troubles throughout the industry, according to travel observers: “As the airline fuel crisis intensifies, the risk of major job losses in all travel and tourism sectors and in other airline-dependent industries increase as well,” said Jean McDonnell-Covelli, president of The Travel Team Inc. (June 2008.)
Page 6
Goals, Objectives & Strategies
Overall Marketing Goal
With projected flat growth in 2008-2009 brought about by high gas prices and a slowing economy, Corvallis Tourism’s goal is to accept fewer conversions from each market segment, (because of the economy), but to counteract this by approaching a wider number of markets.
Overall Marketing Objective
This fiscal year, operating with Transient Occupancy Tax revenues from the City of Corvallis of $337,950, Corvallis Tourism will generate an estimated $9,682,975 in new, out-of-town dollars from leisure visitors and future conferences booked. Therefore, for every one dollar invested in tourism by the City, the DMO will produce an additional $28.65 in visitor spending. (Compared to $24 in 20072008).
New Marketing Strategies
1. Due to our projection for a slow travel market for Corvallis in 2008-2009, we will concentrate on increasing the number of market segments rather than increasing the volume from the present marketing segments. Because of higher gas prices we will also concentrate our marketing closer to home (Northern California, Southern Washington and Oregon). In group sales we will place more emphasis on the Social, Military, Ethnic, Religious and Fraternal (SMERF) markets, along with corporate meetings and sports. These markets, while smaller, have a shorter booking window, allowing us to help bring more people to Corvallis during economically challenging times. This does not mean however, that we will disappear from the larger conference marketplace. We will increase our conversion ratio for “definite” bookings, by following group sales leads all the way through to completion. In leisure travel we will add to our “Tailored Lifestyle Marketing Program” two new market segments: Cultural, and Bicycle Touring. We would expect to get fewer bookings from each segment but make up for it by having more segments. We will market to these new segments using both search and content networks along with print advertising. We have noticed a long term trend of increased “views” of our media page and also increased calls from travel writers. Capitalizing on this trend, we will increase Corvallis’ media exposure in all markets by adding a full time position for Public Relations.
Page 7
2.
3. 4.
5.
Statistical Marketing Objectives
00-01
Ad Brochure Request* (Inquiries) On-line Ad Responses (Users) Google Campaign (Clicks) E-Brochure Responses (Downloads) Web Conversion Actions (Various actions) Definite Groups Booked (#) Definite Group Room Nights E-Reservations (Lodging by Travel Hero) E-Commerce Transaction ($) Transient Occupancy Tax (000)
01-02 12416
02-03 13551
03-04 10376
04-05 13504
05-06 18372
06-07 19040
07-08 24684 16000
08-09** 15000 14000
13850
1,972
6121
5,000
7000 15,000
31 10560 675 700 626 $2 $.7 $.7 $.8 750 $10 $.9
19 6806 877 $150 $1
28 14000 1066 $1,700 $1.1
2 780 823 $8,500 $1.1
20 7000 1000 $9,000 $1.1
* Including Relocation Packets
** Projected
Page 8
Group Sales Situation Analysis
Group Sales Situation Analysis
According to the Meetings & Conventions Magazine Survey, both the number of meetings and the number of attendees were up in 2007 compared with 2005, yet the total expenditures declined about 4%, showing shorter length of stay. Corporate meetings accounted for $30.2 bln., down 5% from 2005, and association meetings fell 9%. Full trade shows rose 3% in 2007. Attendees rose about 5% in total for all meetings indicating shorter meetings and closer to home. Women still dominate the meeting planning business making up more than 70% of all planners.
More planners are using video and web conferencing but these events do not necessarily replace face-to-face meetings. On the corporate side 40% conduct web conferencing meetings, up from 32% in 2005. Corporate meetings: The main types of corporate meetings are: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Sales/marketing Management Training Technical New products Incentive (motivation) Stockholder In 2005, 43% of meeting planners submitted an online RFP. By 2007, 47% had used an on-line RFP. What meeting planners look for when completing an on-line RFP are the following: (Meetings & Conventions Magazine Survey) 1. Floor Plans 46% 2. Meeting Space Specs 44% 3. Photographs 35% 4. Maps/Directions/Distances 32% 5. Destination Information 30% 6. Virtual Tours 21% 7. Special dates/rates 15% 8. Video 12%
76% of meeting planners use a Convention & Visitor Bureau site to gather information.
Associations:
October (18%) is the most popular month for Association meetings (making it difficult for selling into the OSU Conference Complex during football season). November comes second (12%) followed by April (12%) and September (10%). 56% of the associations prefer using hotels with meeting space included, while 32% used convention centers. The average decision time is 20.9 months and 39.1 months overall from the start of the planning process until the event is held. Average hotel room rate for a convention is $172. The average age of a Association Meeting Planner is 49.7 years. 75% are female and they have been in the business 13.1 years. They spend 60% of their work time planning meetings.
Page 9
Group Sales Objectives
Group Sales Objectives
Key Objectives: To obtain 200 leads producing 20 or more definite group event bookings totaling 7,000 definite contracted room nights.
2005-2006 Other Objectives: 1: Corvallis Tourism will obtain 10 client site inspections for the fiscal year Corvallis Tourism will generate 3 personalized meeting planner e-newsletters Attend 2 meeting planner trade shows ($2,000/Sales trips) Sales team will complete 4 sales missions to Salem and Portland ($200 per sales trip) Corvallis Tourism will advertise full page in the MPI and SGMP membership directories Corvallis Tourism will organize two meeting planner focus groups in Salem Corvallis Tourism will isolate 30 key meeting clients to solicit and win over during the year as part of the 200 Association: Corporate: Government: SMERF: Sports: 41% 6% 6% 22% 25%
2006-2007 28% 7% 9% 29% 26%
2007-2008 44% 2% 18% 7% 29%
2008-2009* 29% 4% 18% 24% 25%
2:
3:
4:
5:
6:
* Projected
7:
Page 10
Group Sales Tactics
Group Sales Tactics:
Corvallis Tourism group sales will emphasize the social, military, ethnic, religious and fraternal group markets (SMERF) which have a shorter booking window. While emphasizing them over this fiscal year (because of the recession), we will not abandon the conference market which has a longer booking window but simply place more emphasize this year on the shorter booking SMERF market Corvallis Tourism will increase marketing spend in the overall promotion of Corvallis as a great meeting destination. This will include continuing full page advertising in MPI and SGMP directories. ($3,740/Advertising) We will redesign the Corvallis meeting brochure to emphasize the city as a great meeting destination and to complement, but not duplicate, the meeting brochures already being produced by our partners. ($3,000/Printing) Corvallis Tourism will create a conference template page using content management software whereby meeting planners can create their own Corvallis meeting page using a series of predetermined photos and modules that can be customized to create their own conference page, ($500/Web site design) We will create an on-line Meeting Managers Toolbox, where users can download photos and information for use in their own printed collateral material. ($200/Web design) Working with our partners, Corvallis Tourism will take its own group leads through to completion thereby making it responsible for the quality of its own leads and its own conversion ratio. In the conference market, Corvallis Tourism will act as a support organization to OSU conference services offering tours, docents, step-on-guides, registration aid and concierge tables. Corvallis Tourism will not change or alter any bid proposals received from its members but will add letters from the Mayor and other dignitaries and other city information pertinent to selling Corvallis to the group. Corvallis Tourism will report to members on a monthly basis how each of Corvallis Tourism’s bids are progressing and when a decision is likely to be reached. Lodging will continue to use the e-bid system and may contact the meeting planner directly unless the meeting planner has requested otherwise.
Page 11
Group Sales: Sports Commission
Mission
To further increase the number of landmark sporting events held in Corvallis annually, thus increasing the economic impact to the community.
Objective
To obtain 27 sports leads during the 2008-2009 fiscal year and convert to two “definite” sports bookings. (To be included in overall group sales objectives).
Strategies and Tactics
The Corvallis Sports Fund (CSF) will be created as a nonprofit 501(c)6 to promote amateur athletics and fitnessrelated programs. Funds from the Corvallis Sports Fund will go directly toward attracting amateur sporting events that bring economic development to the region and promote a healthy lifestyle for Benton County residents. Sports equipment and sporting goods store sponsors will be asked to get involved in generating sports business for the region and to become a Sports Champion. Contribution levels are $500 or $1,000. Each includes networking opportunities at the various sports venues throughout the year. Complete a sales blitz of all the coaches at OSU. Sales calls to amateur sports organizations to solicit sporting events. Find an organization to run a “Peak-to-Corvallis Relay” – cross-country skiing, running, and bicycling during the Winter or bicycling and running during the Spring, Summer, or Fall.
Page 12
Domestic Leisure Travel
Objectives
To generate 15,000 requests for the Corvallis destination guide 14,000 unique URL ad responses 5,000 Google Campaign Clicks 7,000 downloads of our on-line e-brochure To achieve 15,000 Web conversion actions Generate 1,000 reservations through Travel Hero and our own reservation system. To generate, $9,000 in e-commerce transactions for festival tickets through our festival Web section.
Tailored Lifestyle Marketing
Tailored lifestyle marketing aims at the traveler’s lifestyle activities rather than promoting the things to “see.” We began this program during the 2006-2007 fiscal year with “birding.” We advertised in Audubon magazine with a specific URL www.oregonbirding.org, pointed towards a special birding landing page on our Web site. During 2007-2008 fiscal year we added “culinary” (restaurants and wine) by adding restaurant reviews on our Web site and YouTube interviews of Chefs and restaurant owners along with promoting wine tourism in co-op with the Willamette Valley Visitors Association and Google pay per click advertising. For 2008-2009 we will continue to promote bird watching and culinary adventures and add bicycling tours and cultural tourism campaigns using location targeted Google pay per click campaigns, Public Relations and a print media campaign. ($31,590/Advertising)
Page 13
Domestic Leisure Travel Tactics
Bicycling
In 2008-2009 we will add a bicycle touring campaign by creating a small wine bicycle touring site using the URL: www.oregonbiketours.org. and advertising in bicycle tour magazines. We will ask the Mid Valley Bicycle Club to assist in this project.
Birding
Corvallis Tourism and the Corvallis Audubon Society are partnering on a new birding brochure of the area. ($475/Printing) The Willamette Valley Visitors Association is compiling information regarding the Willamette Valley Birding Trail that we will be including in the new Corvallis Tourism Web site. The Corvallis Audubon Society has an active field trip program, advertised on the Society’s Web site. Information about the Society’s field trip program and local birding opportunities will be included on Corvallis Tourism’s Web site. Bicycling/birding field trips will be prominently featured. Corvallis Tourism will provide a limited number of binoculars and local birding guides for low rental fees to visiting birding groups. ($100/supplies) We will continue our advertising campaign in Audubon magazine using the URL: www.oregonbirding.org ($3,500/Advertising)
Culinary and Wine Tourism
In 2008-2009, we intend to launch “Corvallis Restaurant Week” during late January or early February by asking Corvallis restaurants to offer a set menu at set prices for lunch and dinner and promote the event on-line and in the Gazette Times. Continue to film video interviews with our restaurateurs and place them on YouTube and our www.visitcorvallis.com site and other video platforms. Work with culinary media to increase coverage of our restaurant scene. Promote Wine Tourism through the Willamette Valley Visitors Association and Google Content Management advertising.
Arts-Culture
Create Cultural and Heritage Itineraries: Working with the Art Center, Corvallis Tourism will create on its new Web site an interactive section called “The Scene.” It will pull from the local events data base and appear in various parts of the Web site. There will also be a consumer generated content section for people to comment on the art shows and entertainment in town. Promote the Narrated Historical Walking Tour to visitors and local residents. Working with Preservation Works during the summer of 2008, we will lease the City’s trolley on Saturday afternoons for a Historical Homes tour. ($1,400/Trolley Tour) We will work with the Historical Preservation Society and continue to publish the historical homes tour brochures for Franklin Square, Avery-Helm and College Hill West. ($573/Marketing/ Printing/Avery Helms)
Page 14
Domestic Leisure Travel Tactics
Manage Cultural Events Calendar: Maintain the on-line cultural events calendar at www.visitcorvallis.com, an active database of local events in the Corvallis and Benton County area. This calendar draws significant traffic to the www.visitcorvallis.com Web site and the database is also used to create travel planning itineraries for conventions, groups, travel professionals and leisure travelers. Support Weekly “Fast Fax” Program: Work with the arts community and others to provide the weekly sponsored “Fast Fax” program of cultural event information distributed to all Corvallis lodging front desk and other interested industry professionals. We will continue our campaign to put “a face” on the culture of our city by having local experts author our destination guide, articles on the Web site and blogs. On-line Corvallis Gift Shop Corvallis Tourism’s new Web site will contain a small gift shop for Corvallis memorabilia including: t-shirts, caps, shopping bags, lapel pins, the Corvallis feature length movie, the Spirit of Corvallis book and other items. ($1,200/Internet design) E-Brochure Corvallis Tourism will create its second on-line e-brochure complementing the printed Destination Guide, links to the e-brochure to be found on our Web site and other sites. We hope to obtain over 7,000 downloads for the on-line guide and we will reduce the number of actual printed copies by 7,000. Destination Guide Corvallis Tourism will print 43,000 copies of the destination guide, changing the concept to more of a magazine format and changing the title to “Corvallis Style” with a higher “fashion” look, again using the concept of articles written by third parties with photos of the authors that was introduced during 20072008. New Media Blogging: Corvallis Tourism Public Relations Department will create social buzz about the culture and the festivals of Corvallis and invite travel writers and bloggers to attend our major festivals and cultural events. We will increase V-blogs and aggregate them through Tube Mogul Corvallis Tourism will launch it’s new consumer generated comment site in 2008-2009 entitled: www.goseecorvallis.com. This site will be used to promote all the tailored lifestyle programs and expand Corvallis Web presence. The Internet has reached a level of maturity where growth is not as rampant as before. To reach growth in the number of “eyes” reading about Corvallis we need to continue to expand our Internet presence. (See page 16) Page 15
Domestic Leisure Internet Presence
My Space Trip Advisor (Consumer content) Life in Corvallis (Blog) OregonBikeTours.org
The WWW has become a mature marketing tool, and growth is now found by expanding “Internet Presence”. This graph shows the various blogs, sitelets and sub domains that Corvallis Tourism is using to expand its Internet Presence:
Business is Good Here.com
Real Travel (Blog)
You Tube (Videos)
VisitCorvallis.com
OregonBirding.org (Unique URL) Travel 2.0 (Blog)
Phanfare (Photo site)
OregonWineCountry.org (Regional site)
GoSeeCorvallis.com (Consumer generated site)
GoSeeOregon.com (Consumer senerated site)
Page 16
Domestic Leisure Travel Tactics
Key Internet Tactics
Launch the totally new Corvallis Tourism Web site in September of 2008. The site will be content management and database driven, relate to Travel Oregon’s site and include consumer generated content. ($2,500/Internet) ($4,000 spent out of last year’s budget) Launch GoSeeCorvallis.com as a consumer generated site. ($2,400/Internet) We will launch Oregonbiketours.org in the mid winter to complement our bicycling tour campaign. ($1,200/Hosting) Contract with five hosts to write five stories each for the year and produce videos for the Web site (and e-newsletter). Have hosts also respond to online blogs. Post each e-newsletter on Web site, (new content good for search engine optimization (SEO)). We will engage in Google adword campaigns for: Birding, Bicycling, Culinary and Cultural tailored lifestyle campaigns. ($8,000/advertising) We will expand Corvallis’ social networking into new territories. This new effort will include sites such as: Xuqa Friendster Travel Rants Travel Blogs OR Blogs. Trip Advisor Tubemogul (to aggregate all new videos) To support our tailored lifestyle campaigns, we will work to make our presence on the following sites grow and reflect what we in Corvallis have to offer as well as cross referencing links with www.visitcorvallis.com. Birding: 10,000 Birds - http://10000birds.com/ Cycling: Bike Blogs - http://www.bikeblogs.com/ Bike Blog Collection - http://www.bikeblogcollection.com/ Culinary: Food & Wine - http://www.foodandwine.com/ Green: Best Green Blogs - http://www.bestgreenblogs.com/
Page 17
Advertising
Advertising Objectives:
Print advertising campaigns: CT will generate 15,000 print media and 7,000 e-brochure leisure inquiries by continuing to promote the culinary theme “Close to the Vine” and we will integrate the concept of slow travel with great farm to table food and wine (locavore). The leisure advertising campaign totals $31,590. This will include a co-op campaign with the festivals and KEZI-TV of $5,000 ($3,000 our cost) and $8,000 for Internet advertising campaigns. This should generate 37,000 leisure impressions. We will also add a bicycling campaign and a birding print media campaign Corvallis Tourism will also spend $3,740 to support the group conference sales efforts in Meetings Professionals International and Oregon Society of Meeting Professionals membership directories Electronic media campaign: Festival Co-op TV Campaign: Corvallis Tourism will join with KEZI-TV and our Festivals to enter into a $5,000 co-op campaign to run 90 spots the week prior to each major festival. Corvallis Tourism will also act as each festival’s PR arm and send out press releases. In certain cases we will act as an on-line ticket agency. ($5,000/advertising) Internet advertising campaigns: Corvallis Tourism will generate 5,000 clicks through its Google adword campaigns to support: Cultural activities, festivals, bicycling, birding and culinary programs
2008-2009 Advertising Campaign
July Gazette Times Google Campaigns KEZI TV MPI Directory SGMP Directory Madden Pre-Print Production US West Dex Audubon Bicycling Magazine Good Housekeeping Opportunity Totals 14 14 14 14 700 14 14 14 14 3,500 2,500 4,500 3,200 14 14 14 14 1590 3027 666 666 Aug Sept 500 666 5000 2150 Oct 500 666 666 666 666 666 666 666 666 666 Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Total 1000 7992 5000 2150 1590 3027 700 168 3500 2500 4500 3200 35327 Page 18
Communications Strategy
Strategy
Corvallis Tourism has devised a communications strategy to influence four “publics” that we feel are vital to our continued success: 1. 2. 3. 4. Press/media relations Board and membership relations Community relations Consumer relations
Communications
Include all written, spoken, and electronic interaction with Corvallis Tourism’s audiences. Our communication plan encompasses objectives, goals, and tools for all communications, including but not limited to: Periodic print publications On-line communications Meeting and conference materials Media relations and public relations materials Marketing and sales tools Legal and legislative documents Incoming communications, including reception procedures and voice mail content Committee and board communiqués Corporate identity materials, including letterhead, logo, and envelopes; Surveys Certificates and awards Annual reports Signage Speeches
Page 19
Communications Strategy
Objectives
Corvallis Tourism’s press/media and consumer communications objective is the expression of Corvallis as an amazing and unique College town with a fun, quirky culture that is definitely worth visiting. Community, Board and Membership communication’s objective is the expression of Corvallis Tourism as a good community member and an economic engine for the community.
Ways in which Corvallis Tourism’s Communication’s objectives will be
Corvallis Tourism’s Public Relations department will isolate key influencers in each of the “publics” defined in this strategy. Once isolated they will be placed in a Cooler Email data base so that communication can be personalized to each influencer. Some of the other tools we will use to communicate with these “publics” are: Press/media relations: Media page on the Web site Press Releases Phanfare Photo repository Awards that Corvallis receives from the press Editorial calendars PRSA training for the public relations manager Meetings media releases
Page 20
Communications Strategy
Community, Board and Membership relations
Cooler Email quarterly e-newsletters (personalized) Tourism Think Tank occurring every other year to involve the community Tourism Awards Luncheon occurring every other year to thank the community Increasing political capital through good communications Returning all calls within 24 hours Returning all emails (pertinent) within 24 hours Answering the phones within the third ring All key CT personnel will be involved in a civic organization Annual Report Annual Marketing Plan Speaking engagements
Consumer Relations
Responding to all inquiries quickly Mailing all destination guides within 5 days Responding to all complaints and making sure we close the loop on all issues Communicating in a caring manner Quarterly e-newsletters and special festival and holiday editions to the subscribers list (opt out available) Blog entries for special interest communities V-log on YouTube for special interest groups in the community Work with OSU Conference Services to facilitate groups coming to Corvallis Work with Parks and Recreation and the Sports Commission to facilitate sports groups coming to Corvallis
Page 21
Communications Strategy
Corvallis Tourism will conduct a research-communication audit
We will evaluate our current communications effectiveness during this fiscal year. What every staff person is doing in the way of communication What each communication activity is designed to achieve, and how effective each activity is To get the answers we need we will hire a specialist to: brainstorm with communication staff ($500/research) Talk to other partners Interview the CEO Interview the board Survey the membership Host focus groups
Results
Armed with information from our audit, the results we want to achieve are: Excellent service to members Staff loyalty Centralization of the communication effort Increased employee teamwork Improved community exposure
Gauging the results of Communications & PR plan
Print Media: We will gauge the legacy media results using “circulation” of the publication averaged over a period of time providing a “possible impression” count. Electronic Media: We will gauge the PR results of electronic media using “audience reach”. Social Networking: We will calculate the PR effect of social networking through the number of: Members, users, impressions and clicks. Media Trade Shows: Number of appointments Media Page: Number of media/PR calls Media Familiarization Trips: Number of media participating Press Releases: Number of press releases issued Media Page on Web site: Number of media inquiries E-Newsletters: Number of e-newsletters produced and partners involved Page 22
Communications Strategy
Over the past three years we have noticed a steady increase of clicks to our media page and calls to the office from media who have used the page. For this reason, we have created a full time position for a Public Relations Manager. This position will be responsible for on-line social networking and content management, print media relations and our media relations page and media relations for group and conference sales.
The Public Relations Manager will work with the following “publics”: 1: Press relations, 2: Community relations, 3: Consumer relations. 4: Board and Membership relations. We will expand the media page on the Web site and continually change the content and create an e-newsletter campaign to inform media about the page. We will create microsites for video content and expand the Phanfare photo gallery. We will create a series of hooks and article ideas for travel media. We will track travel editorial calendars for key travel publications and from that develop a series of article ideas for travel media, and work with membership to get travel media to come to Corvallis and Benton County. The Public Relations department will also work closely with the Sales department to promote the concept of holding meetings in Corvallis through articles in meetings magazines and also personalized e-mails to meeting planners. Public Relations will work with Travel Oregon’s media department to make sure Corvallis is represented in TV, print media, etc. that they are working on and that media tours include Corvallis. In the area of community relations the PR department will set up five speaking engagements for the CEO regarding tourism in Corvallis. The PR department will assist in putting on the Tourism Awards Luncheon in May of 2009. ($800/Community Relations) The department will send out quarterly e-newsletters to the subscription list and will work with Sohn Design Studios to re-design the enewsletter giving it a branded look with the Destination Guide and the Web site. We will send out quarterly e-newsletters to the membership, board, City Council & County Commissioners. (Same letter) Media publicity in support for all our tailored lifestyle campaigns
Page 23
Visitor Services
Visitor Information Services responds to over 11,000 visitors to the Visitor Center each year and responds to more than 22,000 destination guide inquiries. In addition, Visitor Information Services disseminates the advertising inquiries as leads to membership for additional follow-up. The following are other Visitor Services Department activities: Ask visitors to create consumer generated reviews about their Corvallis experience on the GoseeCorvallis.com Web site. Visitor Information Services sends out a weekly “Fast Fax” to all lodging properties so that they will know what is coming up the following week and be able to better serve their guests. We hope to have this advertising supported in 2008-2009. Visitor Information Services also maintains four satellite visitor info stations at HP, CH2M HILL, the Shell station on I-5 and the Albany Amtrak Station. Each Monday, Visitor Information Services updates the lodging availability report in order to respond to lodging inquiries from visitors. Annually, Visitor Information Services sends out over 700 relocation boxes to people considering moving to Corvallis. Corvallis Tourism is including Town & Country’s new DVD at a charge of $1 a box to Town & Country. Visitor Information Services prints 400 Table Tent Cards quarterly with upcoming events every two months and has them distributed to restaurants around Corvallis. These are advertising supported by Jim Kuhlman State Farm Insurance Visitor Information Services maintains an online calendar of events database on www.visitcorvallis.com. The Visitor Center will continue to offer email and WI-FI access for visitors with laptops, along with a PC for their use and summer outdoor patio furniture. This fiscal year we will change from our touch screen visitor profile survey to the new PDX/OACVB Survey. The Visitor Center will randomly pick visitors to take a test to see how intuitive is the new www.visitcorvallis.com Web site. (Free T-shirt reward) The Visitor Center will arrange to give free dessert coupons from participating restaurants to qualified visitors. Free post card and mailing for people filling it in at the Visitor Center. Visitor Center Volunteers will become Q Care Certified (Quality Visitor Experience Certification) and will complete our on-line training program. We will expand Destination Guide distribution throughout the state by five new outlets. We will continue to circulate “Corvallis Luggage Tags” to local frequent travelers. ($500/souvenirs)
Page 24
Budget
2008-2009 Budget
Jul '08-Jun'09 Income Beginning Fund Balance City of Corvallis Co-op Promotions Income Commissions Corvallis Travel Store Information packets Interest Income Membership Mini-Theatre Sponsorships Relo Leads Service Relo Packets Souvenir Income Ticket Sales Web Ads WVVA Total Income 3,000.00 337,956.00 4,590.00 3984.00 1,200.00 1,413.00 96.00 11,228.00 1,000.00 1,000.00 1,320.00 600.00 8,684.00 5,000.00 700.00 380,451.00 Personnel Reconciliation Discrepancies Total Expense Net Income 208,425.00 0.00 379,871.00 580.00
Page 25
Expense Administration Conferences/Education Marketing/Advertising Marketing/Community Relations Marketing/Dues Marketing/Entertainment Marketing/Fees Marketing/Internet Marketing/Post.Ship Marketing/Printing Marketing/Promotions Marketing/Public Relations Marketing/Research Marketing/Sales Trips Marketing/Telephone Marketing/Visitor Services 53,261.00 3,666.00 37,327.00 600.00 2,575.00 2,300.00 3,000.00 19594.00 23,012.00 5,455.00 1,400.00 2000.00 2,252.00 4,507.00 2,000.00 8,494.00
Administrative Ratios
Based on a percentage of income
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009*
Administration
17%
17%
14%
14%
18%
16%
16%
19%
17%
13%
Personnel
44%
48%
45%
48%
52%
51%
51%
48%
51%
54%
Marketing
37%
35%
41%
38%
30%
33%
33%
33%
32%
33%
* Projected
Page 26
Appendix B: Value Statement Calculation
Calculation Value Statement
The calculation of value statement is the most conservative statement of return on investment that can be made and utilizes only those travel expenditures that can be traced directly back to Corvallis Tourism. Leisure travel calculations are based on our four advertising conversion studies. For the fiscal year 2008-2009 we expect to obtain 15,000 direct advertising inquiries and 7,000 e-brochure responses totaling, 22,000 inquiries. (We wish to point out that due to the rapid change in marketing tools we do not have conversion study figures for e-brochure responses). At a 51.5% conversion rate, these 22,000 inquiries will produce 11,330 visits of 2.5 days with 2.7 people. This tabulates to 76,477 visitor days at an estimated expenditure of $90 per visitor day, for a total leisure visitor spending of $6,882,975. (Because of the changes in marketing we are working to create new conversion studies to accurately reflect these new marketing models). Convention and event sales are based on 7,000 room nights with 8,000 attendees with an average conference/event expenditure of $350 each, for a total expenditure of $2,800,000. (This number is based on definite conference and group booking sold during the fiscal year not those actually attending during the year.) The combination of these two values is $9,682,975 divided by the city’s investment of $337,950 gives a return of $28.65 for every one dollar invested in tourism by the City. (Compared to $24 last year.)
Page 33