While Nevada has been focusing on promoting the state's more rural pleasures (especially skiing) and "old West" cultural attractions, the state's approach to tourism marketing is far from retro. For the 2010-11 winter season, the Nevada Commission on Tourism (NCOT) has built on its innovative winter 2009/summer 2010 "Let Nevada Capture Your Heart" campaigns. Through compelling creative and targeted, cost-effective media -- including ground-breaking use of Google in-stream video -- those campaigns, with a combined budget of just $3.6 million (reflecting the state's overall, recession-driven budget slashes), generated $110 million in tax revenue. That translated to a record $31 yield for every $1 invested, according to TNS Global data. Under Dann Lewis -- named NCOT's director in early 2009, and previously tourism director for Maine and New York (Lewis developed an integrated marketing structure for New York State based on the then-new "I Love NY" campaign) -- NCOT marketing worked with researchers to determine how its target audience receives travel information and plan vacations. That audience -- upscale, active adults in high-population markets within easy driving or flying distance from the state, plus international markets including Canada, Mexico, the U.K. and Germany -- was reached through targeted advertising heavily focused on the Internet and television. NCOT's efforts included a co-op program with Southwest.com that spotlighted Nevada as a "featured destination" on the site and included an email promotion to seven million Southwest registrants starting last November -- producing an average 46% week-over-week lift in Nevada hotel bookings through the Southwest site. The current winter campaign, with a budget of $2.2 million, also targets low-hanging-fruit markets (California, Utah and Arizona, in particular), and also focuses on TV and the Internet, along with print, mobile and out-of-home advertising. The creative -- emphasizing the state's "free-spirited" atmosphere and featuring two hands forming a heart around classic winter scenes (snow-shoeing through blankets of snow, swooshing through fresh powder, sipping hot chocolate by an outdoor fire pit on the edge of Lake Tahoe), is again being conveyed in part through shorter, in-stream videos on the state's own mobile site (NVski.mobi), Google and Weather.mobi and other third-party mobile Web sites, to reinforce longer, traditional TV spots. The state's enhanced NVski.mobi site provides snow, weather and traffic reports, as well as resort details, information on arrivals and departures at Reno-Tahoe International Airport, and the ability to purchase lift tickets. The Google element is particularly intriguing. Google.com began working with NCOT in late 2009, and chose Nevada as a first success case story for its tourism business efforts. NCOT's in-stream video test program with Google exposed its skiing commercial to 7.7 million people, targeted to high-income skiers/snowboarders ages 25 to 54 in L.A., Vegas, San Francisco, Seattle, Dallas, Chicago and Phoenix. Forty-five percent watched the entire 30-second ad, and those who watched were found to be 33% more likely to consider Nevada as a vacation destination than those who saw other Nevada online ads. Little surprise, then, that a continued relationship with Google dominates the $835,000 earmarked for the Internet in NCOT's current fiscal year budget, which also includes presence on Yahoo, Weather.com, TripAdvisor and the Southwest Airlines site. Social media are also integrated into the current plan -- although, given their low media investment costs, NCOT's budget instead includes an employee dedicated full-time to developing and leveraging Facebook, Twitter and YouTube opportunities. The winter campaign media budget also includes $1.4 million for television ads in L.A. and San Francisco, and $90,000 for print ads in National Geographic Traveler, Southwest Spirit, Southwest Airlines' in-flight magazine, and the state's own Nevada magazine, reported the Las Vegas Sun. In addition, the state is scheduled to spend $55,000 for mobile advertising and $10,000 for billboards for the winter season. The current campaign also leverages the previously established, successful recession-driven strategies of expanding the promotion of meetings and conventions, weddings and honeymoons, and Nevada's parks and museums; expanding Web content to appeal to additional niche markets such as travelers seeking pet-friendly accommodations; conducting media campaigns targeted to diverse market segments such as Asian-Americans and Latino Americans; and working with Nevada's various tourism "territories" to develop sales-blitz programs for increasing overnight stays in rural communities. In a surprise announcement covered by national media, Lewis in mid-November announced his resignation as Nevada's commissioner of tourism, stressing his gratification with the achievements realized with the NTOC team but his sense that the time was right for him to "move on to other endeavors." Larry Friedman, NCOT deputy director of sales and industry partners and a 20-year commission veteran, has been named interim NCOT director. Friedman currently oversees the state's rural programs and domestic and international sales, including NCOT's international offices in Mexico, Canada, the U.K. and continental Europe.
Well, apparently there is an app for everything. Even skiing. Newry, Maine ski resort Sunday River has unveiled a new Facebook application that uses the latest in geolocation technology and social media to make the winter sport more interactive. The new app, Sunday River Patches, takes its cue from the embroidered patches that skiers and snowboarders often sew onto their jackets and backpacks. Using the app, skiers earn virtual patches by checking in at various locations throughout the resort. A skier who hits all eight peaks at the resort, for instance, gets an explorer patch, while someone who checks in on 10 different days earns a Sunday River Local patch. The idea was born as the resort was looking at a way to utilize Foursquare's technology in conjunction with a new marketing campaign, "Find your happy place," says Nick Lambert, Sunday River's vice president for sales and marketing. However, the geolocation application did not have any way to create a customized promotion for a business, he says. "Then, when Facebook announced it was going to roll out its Places [app], that seemed like a natural fit for us," Lambert tells Marketing Daily. "It was a fun way to encourage people to explore the mountain and supported what we were talking about on the marketing side." Down the road, the resort also hopes to integrate Facebook's Deals through its Patches application, such as offering people discounts on appetizers or drinks when they check in at one of the resort's bars or restaurants, he says. In the meantime, he adds, the resort will be content to see how the power of social media can help its marketing. "It's something new and 'techy' that people can have fun with, but every time someone checks in, it hits their news feed and tells all their friends that they're skiing at Sunday River," Lambert says.
"Visit Florida," the state's official tourism marketing arm, has been busy this year trying to keep consideration high in the face of a double whammy: the recession and the Deepwater Horizon spill. To the extent that they impact the Sunshine State's tourism, both issues are -- it is hoped -- setting like the sun over Cedar Key, but the organization has been keeping up its marketing efforts. This month, "Visit Florida" ran a "Great Visit Florida Beach Walk" involving some 3,700 volunteers walking on 850 miles of Florida beaches, and a Washington, D.C. event -- the Florida Seafood Celebration at Florida House on Capitol Hill. The beach walk program includes an online photo gallery at VisitFlorida.com, where visitors can vote on their favorite beaches from among around 5,000 taken by people at the event, and enter for a chance to win a trip to Florida, a Mazda Miata sports car and a $5,000 gift card. A spokesperson for "Visit Florida" says the site has gotten about 20,000 uniques since Nov. 6, and is getting 500 daily uniques. Last week's culinary event in Washington involved three top chefs from Florida preparing signature dishes using Florida seafood. Next up is perhaps the most critical campaign: the winter-tourism campaign to bring vacationers south. The effort actually reprises last year's "Your Florida Side," but with slight tweaks reflecting consumer focus group data. The effort, via DDB Miami, comprises print, TV, out of home, and interactive elements. Print features images of visitors on beaches, rides at theme parks, boating, kayaking, and images of small towns and historic spots, matched with English and Spanish active-verb headlines like "Awaken," "Unleash," and "Embrace." The effort, set to run January through April, includes two TV ads that show people having fun in a pastiche of Florida destinations, from beaches to clubs. The ads end with the person awakening from a daydream to his or her snowy or rainy urban setting, gazing at a "Visit Florida" billboard. The campaign is focusing on the state's "Super Six" domestic markets: New York, Atlanta, Chicago, Philadelphia, Boston and Washington, D.C. Chris Thompson, president and CEO of "Visit Florida," says tourism is picking up again slowly with improvements in the third quarter versus last year, particularly from overseas visitors. He tells Marketing Daily that in the third quarter, tourism saw a 0.6% uptick, although domestic traffic was down slightly. "International was up double figures," he says. "After two tough years, we started to see a rebound at the end of last calendar year in the number of folks visiting. Even after the Deepwater event, volume is heading back in right direction; we are cautiously optimistic that the trend will continue." Thompson says that even through 2008 and 2009, Florida's tourism volume never dropped that dramatically, falling less than 1%. "That's a great testament to the strength of Florida as a brand, to the 80 million visitors who come every year and the hard work to keep Florida top of mind." He says winter tourism is especially important to south and central Florida, and that the Your Florida Side campaign has delivered. "It's one of the best campaigns we have ever had when you look at ROI. When we first ran it, we got $147 for every dollar we spent. But during the course of the summer, in the midst of the oil spill, we wondered if it would resonate." He says the only big changes are in some of the verbs in print, "but the overall campaign is going to remain."
Southwest and Microsoft Windows 7 have partnered to make the winter holiday travel experience jollier with "Holiday Photos on the Fly." (Not to skip over Thanksgiving, Southwest employees are currently wearing buttons that say "Only turkeys charge for bags." The airline will offer a free adult beverage to customers flying on Thanksgiving Day.) Beginning Dec. 2 and continuing every weekend until Christmas, Southwest Airlines and Windows will offer free holiday photos to people at 26 airports nationwide. Customers can stop by one of Santa's workshops in select Southwest Airlines airports to have their photo taken with Santa or in a holiday-themed backdrop. Once a photo is taken, a Windows 7 elf will show customers how to edit, share and store their photos. Families will be able to print a copy of their photo at the airport, or visit www.freeholidayphotos.com to retrieve and share their photos online. "Our employees love to celebrate the holidays, and we feel this program will make our customers' travel experience an even more positive one," says Andy Allmann, Southwest's director of promotions and sports marketing. "Holiday Photos on the Fly" will be available in the following airports: Albuquerque, Austin, Baltimore/Washington, Boston Logan, Chicago Midway, Dallas Love, Denver, El Paso, Fort Lauderdale, Houston Hobby, Los Angeles, Milwaukee, Nashville, New Orleans, Oakland, Ontario, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Portland, Sacramento, San Diego, San Jose, San Antonio, St Louis, Seattle Tacoma, and Tampa Bay. In addition to the photos, the promotion includes a holiday sweepstakes with daily prizes. Prizes include $500 cash, Windows Ultimate and Southwest roundtrip tickets. The promotion will move out of the airport to New York City's Bryant Park this week, where visitors can get their picture taken, experience Windows Live, play with Kinect and check out PCs and Windows phones, some of which are not yet available in stores.
At the recent Digital Hollywood Conference, a panelist was asked, "What's up with radio?" That's a fair enough question, but it was greeted with a few chuckles in the room. For marketers, all things digital are hot right now. Some folks are busy downloading disc jockey or spending every waking moment updating their Facebook page, tweeting about their trip to the grocery store or signing in on Foursquare. But while opinions differ on radio's efficacy and its role in the new media universe, there is only one set of facts, be they digital or analog. We're all entitled to our opinions, but we're not entitled to our own facts. And the facts are these: