The URL can be used to link to this page

Home My WebLink About07-07-2015 C4 SLOTBID Marketing Plan 2015-20161 Copyright © 2015 - Barnett Cox & Associates. All Rights Reserved. No distribution or reproduction is allowed without expressed written permission or authorization. SLO TBID MARKETING PLAN 2015-2016 2 Copyright © 2015 - Barnett Cox & Associates. All Rights Reserved. No distribution or reproduction is allowed without expressed written permission or authorization. TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION 3 OUR APPROACH 5 DIGITAL 6 SOCIAL 7 SHARESLO 8 PAID MEDIA 9 STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS 10 EVENTS 11 CONCLUSION 13 ADDENDUM A 14 ADDENDUM B 15 ADDENDUM C 16 3 Copyright © 2015 - Barnett Cox & Associates. All Rights Reserved. No distribution or reproduction is allowed without expressed written permission or authorization. INTRODUCTION The following plan outlines our approach to deliver on SLO TBID’s Strategic Clarity goals for 2015-2016. Following a successful and accomplished 2014-2015, BCA & StudioGood are primed to capitalize on our discoveries about what works, what doesn’t, and what’s next. Before we dive into our plan, take a look at a snapshot of the past year’s progress. SNAPSHOT OF 2014-2015 • Rebranded San Luis Obispo Vacations & ShareSLO • Restructured ShareSLO.com and refreshed SanLuisObispoVacations.com • Developed new print & digital advertising campaign • Re-launched ShareSLO campaign with new approach • Redesigned and re-launched San Luis Obispo Vacations E-Newsletter • Coordinated strategic partner outreach, management, and fulfillments • Attended 3 tradeshows & Celebration Weekend • Implemented SEO recommendations • Managed social media paid advertising campaigns • Participated in events to increase brand awareness • Designed and produced new swag, including sunglasses, t-shirts and Savor bags • Increased TOT each month • Identified and managed team of ShareSLO Influencers • Developed new social strategy and handled daily community management of ShareSLO social channels NEW OPPORTUNITIES FOR 2015-2016 • Integrated, responsive San Luis Obispo Vacations website • Unique collateral • New videography & photography • Research new tradeshow possibilities • Integrated PR effort with Chamber 4 Copyright © 2015 - Barnett Cox & Associates. All Rights Reserved. No distribution or reproduction is allowed without expressed written permission or authorization. TBID STRATEGIC CLARITY PLAN The highest priority Strategic Clarity Plan initiatives for the 2015-2016 fiscal year are: • Deliver smart growth • Develop the SLO brand • Contribute to an unforgettable SLO experience Some of these initiatives have been completed, some are a work in progress and some need our undivided attention in the coming year. The following items will allow us to deliver on the above high priority initiatives: • Marketing Plan • Maximize trade show strategy • Target Audience identification and marketing efforts alignment • Strengthen SLO brand platform • Strengthen social media plan • Elevate SLO Brand awareness • Develop concierge capability • Competitive research 5 Copyright © 2015 - Barnett Cox & Associates. All Rights Reserved. No distribution or reproduction is allowed without expressed written permission or authorization. OUR APPROACH We’ve spent the past year learning the ins and outs of marketing the City of San Luis Obispo. We’ve celebrated our successes and what has worked, and noted the areas for improvement and new opportunities. Moving into the 2015-2016 fiscal year, we are using our experience, the goals outlined in the Strategic Clarity Plan (specifically, delivering smart growth, developing the SLO brand and contributing to an unforgettable SLO experience) and research on the leading industry trends to shape our plan for the year. Our approach includes – • Simplifying the SLO TBID digital experience • Leveraging video, the must-have asset of 2015 • Enhancing our social media presence based on current trends, more organic content • Coordinating with strategic partners to maximize everyone’s marketing efforts • Making SLO TBID mobile friendly • Exploring external markets not previously targeted • Evaluating the ROI of events and tradeshows 6 Copyright © 2015 - Barnett Cox & Associates. All Rights Reserved. No distribution or reproduction is allowed without expressed written permission or authorization. DIGITAL Currently, the digital landscape for the SLO TBID consists of three websites: SanLuisObispoVacations. com, ShareSLO.com, and m.SanLuisObispoVacations.com. With three websites, the brand messaging is fragmented and less effective. In addition, the mobile experience leaves users wanting more informa- tion, but unable to access it. On April 21st, 2015 Google released its latest update that negatively affects search rankings for sites that are not mobile friendly. To top things off, research shows that the number of individuals using their mobile device to do travel research will increase from 55% to 62% from 2015 to 2016. Given this information and the mobile experience metrics presented throughout the year, address- ing mobile is the top priority of 2015-2016. In alignment with the Strategic Clarity Plan, we also want to continue to strengthen and develop the dig- ital presence of the SLO Brand. The best way to do this and address the mobile issue is by simplifying the digital presence of the brand – consolidating the three websites into a single, fully-responsive website. WITH A SINGLE, COHESIVE WEBSITE WE – • Unify branding and messaging • Optimize for search from the ground up • Build it mobile from day 1 • Integrate social sharing throughout • Enhance design and user experience based on modern web design • Develop a custom dashboard for content updates • Create a cohesive content strategy • Amplify the ShareSLO campaign 7 Copyright © 2015 - Barnett Cox & Associates. All Rights Reserved. No distribution or reproduction is allowed without expressed written permission or authorization. SOCIAL To avoid boring our fans, we will continue to provide them with new, engaging content, while maintain- ing the voice, tone, look and feel of the campaign that we developed in 2014-2015. Our content plan will continue to include links, and photos, but will place a large emphasis on video. Whenever possible, we will include video content on social media. Whether that is our own video or user generated video content. OUR PLAN IS TO – • Move away from excessively-branded imagery. Using other destinations as an example, we want the photos we use to be more organic in appearance, keeping the bright and cheery look established this year. • Revise the content strategy to include - • More unique SLO features and fun facts • Capture the “SLO Life” • Real-time posting of organic, in-the-moment content • Photo and video contests to entice fans • Guest posting by local and external Influencers • Enhance YouTube presence • Increase frequency of posting on Twitter & Instagram • Explore additional platforms such as Snapchat to capture a new audience • Increase real-time engagement with visitors by commenting, liking and sharing their posts • Incorporate more social media campaigns throughout the year 8 Copyright © 2015 - Barnett Cox & Associates. All Rights Reserved. No distribution or reproduction is allowed without expressed written permission or authorization. #SHARESLO We kicked off the restructured ShareSLO Influencer program in September of 2014. Since then, people have been sharing and using the hashtag daily. Our Influencers have helped us spread campaign aware- ness by attending events and sharing their experiences through social media and the blog. Now that we have created buzz around the campaign, we want to move away from focusing heavily on events to promote ShareSLO, instead emphasizing attractions and activities that visitors can find in SLO all year long. We will continue to provide event tickets to Influencers as we receive them and encourage them to continue to ShareSLO, but there will be no formal group of Influencers. HERE IS HOW WE SEE SHARESLO EVOLVING IN 2015-2016 – • Feature blog content from locals, industry experts and external Influencers. Per our digital strategy, the blog will be included on the single SLO TBID website • Utilize SEO research to forecast and plan blog content based on search trends • Coordinate with the San Luis Obispo Chamber of Commerce to identify and host Influencers from external, target markets This strategy would include - • Using SEO research, find Influencers with domain authority in external markets • Through Chamber outreach, invite them to experience SLO. Possibly pair them with local with similar interests to show them around SLO • Require them to share their experience through their own blog/website, social media channels and the ShareSLO blog 9 Copyright © 2015 - Barnett Cox & Associates. All Rights Reserved. No distribution or reproduction is allowed without expressed written permission or authorization. PAID MEDIA • Paid media efforts in 2014-2015 were very successful. We monitored and reported the highest impressions and click thru rates, and will shift media buys accordingly in 2015-2016 to maximize performance. • We’ve seen very healthy interest and results from our 2014-2015 geo-targets. We see value in continuing the push in LA, San Francisco, San Jose and also in expanding and testing a few more geographical areas, such as San Diego, Palm Springs and Phoenix. • SEO and SEM continue to be key to our efforts to increase qualified, organic traffic to the website. • Mobile rules! Industry standard shows 60% of travelers are using mobile devices to shop, book and navigate trips. Invest large portion of media spend in mobile advertising. 10 Copyright © 2015 - Barnett Cox & Associates. All Rights Reserved. No distribution or reproduction is allowed without expressed written permission or authorization. STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS SLO TBID’s strategic partnerships allow the marketing agencies to build relationships with the organizations below, elevating the destination as a whole. Promotional opportunities with each organization gives SLOTBID new platforms and audiences to build brand awareness. Chamber • Partner with the Chamber to manage external Influencer strategy • Leverage Chamber media FAMs, tradeshows, and earned media mentions Cal Poly • Plan additional events surrounding ‘presenting sponsors’ games • Work with Cal Poly to increase San Luis Obispo Vacations presence on their websites • Expanded partnership opportunities with other university departments including Cal Poly alumni, parents CCTC • Leverage new co-op opportunities, i.e. Canada outreach • Increase monthly blog content by adding SLO TBID-sponsored event promotions • Coordinate with rep to keep events listing up to date Downtown Association • Partner with the Downtown Association to provide #ShareSLO collateral for downtown businesses • Consider business partnerships as part of #ShareSLO external Influencer strategy SLO Wine • Specify presence on SLO Wine website based on domain rankings • Update site banner ads to reflect upcoming SLO TBID-sponsored events & promotions • Continue to provide monthly content for SLO Wine e-newsletter • Promote SLO Wine events in accordance with SLO TBID’s event strategy guidelines (see addendum) SLO Airport • Identify opportunities for ad placements • Add a link to San Luis Obispo Vacations on the airport website Visit SLO County • Include more SLO specific content on the site Visit California • Ongoing coordination to keep SLO specific content up-to-date and relevant 11 Copyright © 2015 - Barnett Cox & Associates. All Rights Reserved. No distribution or reproduction is allowed without expressed written permission or authorization. EVENTS In 2014-2015, your marketing agencies attended, promoted, or organized Influencer attendance to more than a dozen events of different shapes and sizes. With our new insight, we’ve developed an event strategy (see addendum C) to ensure all SLO TBID-sponsored events are well-aligned with the SLO TBID/ ShareSLO brand and expectations and best practices are clear. These new guidelines will allow us to reach visitors before, during, and after an event takes place, which in turn arms us with the tools we need to leverage events to put heads in beds. • Provide TBID with strategy for brand presence at events (see SLO TBID Event Strategy addendum C) • Receive goals and outcomes from all SLO TBID-sponsored events • Continue to support TBID in growth of sponsored events • Continue to research potential new events that SLO could host 12 Copyright © 2015 - Barnett Cox & Associates. All Rights Reserved. No distribution or reproduction is allowed without expressed written permission or authorization. SWAG • Create unique and desirable giveaways • Create specific collateral for events and tradeshows for maximum exposure and visitor engagement • Grassroots efforts to get the brand integrated into the City of SLO • Window clings • Flags • Hotel pieces • Table tents TRADESHOWS • Take an objective look at the value of currently attended tradeshows and make decisions based on prior year’s attendance, specific numbers, demographics and quality of audience. • Explore alternative tradeshows that may elevate business or mid-week travel to SLO. • Research possible partnerships with other SLO organizations and tradeshows they attend. • Cal Poly • Food & Wine • Adventure • Craft Beer 13 Copyright © 2015 - Barnett Cox & Associates. All Rights Reserved. No distribution or reproduction is allowed without expressed written permission or authorization. CONCLUSION BCA and StudioGood will update the SLO TBID Marketing Plan each fiscal year. We feel that it is imperative to acknowledge trends, be observant of growth or decline and make changes according to the current tourism climate on an ongoing basis. The SLO TBID Marketing Plan coupled with the SLO TBID Strategic Clarity Plan provides a foundation for building the City of SLO brand and establishing real tactics for consistently improving tourism in the City of San Luis Obispo. 14 Copyright © 2015 - Barnett Cox & Associates. All Rights Reserved. No distribution or reproduction is allowed without expressed written permission or authorization. ADDENDUM A SLO TBID: 2015/2016 Marketing Budget DESCRIPTION OF ACTIVITY TOTAL % BUDGET Website Maintenance $20,000.00 3% Content Updates $15,000.00 2% Design Support $15,000.00 2% Creative / Online $20,000.00 3% Creative / Offline $15,000.00 2% Copywriting $15,000.00 2% Event Strategies $15,000.00 2% Collateral $20,000.00 3% Account Management $70,000.00 9% Social Media $95,000.00 12% #ShareSLO $50,000.00 6% Offline Media $30,000.00 4% Digital Media $80,000.00 10% Mobile Advertising $90,000.00 12% SEM $40,000.00 5% SEO $60,000.00 8% Media Planning $20,000.00 3% Tradeshows $15,000.00 2% New Website $70,000.00 9% Contingency Fund $15,000.00 2% TOTAL $770,000.00 100% 15 Copyright © 2015 - Barnett Cox & Associates. All Rights Reserved. No distribution or reproduction is allowed without expressed written permission or authorization. ADDENDUM B SLO TBID Event Strategy: Deliverables to and from SLO TBID SLO TBID-sponsored events must provide the following information to the TBID’s marketing agency contact for promotion: • Basic event information, including date, time, attendance expected • Press Release for Chamber use/distribution • Direct contact(s) (email & phone) for any agency questions/needs regarding the event and event promotion • High-resolution vector file logo to be used on SLOTBID collateral, digital campaigns and social media, or where applicable • Photos from past events, if available, and photo release form granting TBID permission to use the photos in all digital and collateral applications • Schedule of event’s promotional tools – including any planned advertisements, e-blasts, social media posts, etc. • A list of event influencers/ambassadors, if applicable, as well as opportunity to interview with one or all for use on SLOTBID digital properties including ShareSLO.com, SanLuisObispoVAcations.com, and social media • A database (if available) for one time use to allow the agency to reach out to the intended audience either before or after the event takes place • An agreed upon exclusive promotional opportunity for SLOTBID, i.e. book your hotel in SLO, receive $10 off your ticket • 6-8 tickets for #ShareSLO influencers to attend the event and promote before, during and after Listed items should be provided to the marketing agency before registration and/or ticket sales begin. It is imperative the SLO brand is well ingrained in the event before, during, and after the event takes place. In addition, the event must make the following accommodations to ensure SLOTBID branding: • Space at the event for SLOTBID/#ShareSLO’s Step & Repeat, plus staff person to set up/tear down • #ShareSLO promotion in social media posts In exchange for the listed items above, SLOTBID’s marketing agency will provide: • E-blast to promote the event and the exclusive promotional opportunity • Influencer blog(s) and social media post(s) via #ShareSLO • Influencer attendance • Banner ads to promote the event and the exclusive promotional opportunity, for use on event’s owned digital properties • SLOTBID blog on CentralCoast-Tourism.com • Event promotion on San Luis Obispo’s TripAdvisor sponsorship page • Slider image/promotional page on SanLuisObispoVacations.com 16 Copyright © 2015 - Barnett Cox & Associates. All Rights Reserved. No distribution or reproduction is allowed without expressed written permission or authorization. Event Name: x Date: x Attendance Goal: x Attendance Actual: x Pre-‐engagement strategy: x Event day engagement strategy: x Post engagement strategy: x Media coverage: x Hotel stays booked: x Approximate number of #ShareSLO posts related to the event: x Referrals from event website to SLO vacations: x Open rate for newsletters pertaining to event: x ADDENDUM C SLO TBID: INTERNAL EVENTS WORKSHEET