This document provides an overview and introduction to a tourism marketing workshop. It outlines the topics that will be covered, including starting a marketing plan, defining the visitor experience, cooperative marketing opportunities, product positioning and branding, understanding target markets, and developing marketing strategies and action plans. Attendees will learn tools and resources for creating a tourism marketing plan on a limited budget. The workshop aims to help participants communicate their offerings in a compelling way to visitors and maximize financial resources through partnerships.

1. Tourism Marketing on a Shoestring
May 17, 2011

2. Introduction
• Travel Oregon Staff
• Regional & Local Organizations
• Presentation Team
• Workshop Participants

3. Introduction
• Community Tourism Planning Workshop
• Nature-based Tourism Development Workshop
• Cycling Tourism Development
• Cultural Heritage Tourism Development Workshop
• Agritourism Development Workshop
• Rural Tourism Marketing on a Shoestring
• Fundraising for Tourism & Teaming for Success

4. Introduction
Cooperative Marketing Paths
Local Businesses, Services, Attractions
Local Destination Marketing Organization (DMO)
Regional DMO (Travel Lane County/WVVA)
Travel Oregon

5. Introduction
Overview of Today’s Topics
What is marketing?
Starting your marketing plan
What is the experience you are selling?
Cooperative marketing opportunities – Travel Oregon/RDMO
Product positioning and branding
Understanding your potential markets
Marketing communications strategies and action planning
Budgets, timelines, measurement
Discussion
Evaluations and wrap-up
Workbook

6. Introduction
Outcomes
How to communicate in a way that the visitor finds
compelling.
Familiarity with marketing terminology, strategies,
action planning.
How to extend and maximize financial resources
through partnerships.
Tools and resources from which to develop a tourism
marketing plan.

7. Introduction
What are the top three things you
are going to do in the next week?

8. Starting on Your
Marketing Plan

9. Marketing Plan
What do you want to work on?
• The local destination marketing
organization (DMO)?
• Your business
• An event
• Other?

10. Marketing Plan
WHAT IS MARKETING?
What do YOU think Marketing is?
Definition of Marketing – The process or technique
of promoting, selling and distributing a product or
service. To be most effective, marketing requires the
efforts of everyone in an organization and can be
made more or less effective by the actions of
complementary organizations.
Marketing includes everything from the initial
awareness of a product, service, or destination to the
marketing materials developed to the delivery of the
experience.

11. Marketing Plan
Marketing Plan Background & Rationale – Page 7
Create your organization or business mission
statement
Mission – A broad, general statement about an
organization’s business and scope, services or
products, markets served and overall philosophy.
What is your business?
What services or products do you provide?
Describe the markets that you serve.
What is your overall business philosophy?

12. Marketing Plan
Marketing Plan Background & Rationale – Page 8
What is happening in the world around you?
Economic Conditions?
Current travel trends?
Current social trends?

13. What Experience
Are You Selling?

14. The Experience
What Are You?
The LURE: the experience that motivates the visitor to
actually come to your destination.
DIVERSIONS: things visitors can do closer to home but will
do in your destination because they are already there.
AMENITIES: Things that make the visit a comfortable one:
signs, restrooms, shade trees, parking, seating and gathering
areas wifi, etc.
AMBIENCE: historic buildings, public art, street entertainers,
etc.

15. The Experience
When selling: (Page 9)
• Who is your customer?
• Lead with the benefit to your customer.
• Name the company second.
• Are you part of a larger niche or destination
brand?

16. Positioning
& Branding
Page 11

17. Positioning & Branding
A Brand is a promise of the experience
you are going to deliver.
Positioning is how you describe what you
are selling. (marketing)
(A good reference book is “Destination Branding for Small Cities”
by Bill Baker.)

18. Positioning & Branding
What branding IS NOT:
• A logo
• A slogan
• A marketing campaign
• Geography
• History

19. Positioning & Branding
• Tie in with a destination brand when possible
• Become known for something special
• If the product is not unique, make the service
special

20. Positioning & Branding
Even if you do nothing, you still have a
brand. It just may not be the one you want.
Because consumers decide what your brand is, your product,
service or destination has a brand.
Do you really know what your brand is?
Are you managing your brand?

21. Positioning & Branding
Do you have a brand?
If so what is it?
How are you managing your brand?

22. Travel Oregon
Programs

23. Lunch

24. Understanding
Your Markets
Page 12

25. Understanding Your Market
Geographic markets
Local
Instate
Region of the U.S.
Entire U.S.
International – specific countries
Demographic, Psychographic Research
Demographics (age and income, education)
Psychographics (lifestyles, behaviors, interests)

26. Understanding Your Market

27. Understanding Your Market
Overnight Travel Study
• Where visitors come from and how many
• What visitors look like – age, sex, party size, education,
employed, income, etc.
• How they plan their trips to Oregon – timing, info
sources, web use, etc.
• What they do on their trips
• How they rate their experiences
• Trends over time
• Sometimes called the Longwoods Study

28. Understanding Your Market
A Regional Version of the Oregon Overnight Travel Study
is Available

29. Overnight Visitor Profile
Highlights (Willamette Valley)
Origin of Overnight Visitors
Source: 2009 Longwoods Overnight Visitor Study (Willamette Valley)

30. Overnight Visitor Profile
Highlights (Willamette Valley)
Other Places Visited
Source: 2009 Longwoods Overnight Visitor Study (Willamette Valley)

31. Overnight Visitor Profile
Highlights (Willamette Valley)
Main Purpose of Marketable Trip
Source: 2009 Longwoods Overnight Visitor Study (Willamette Valley)

32. Understanding Your Market
Examples of Other Research
• Tourism & Hospitality Indicators
• Lodging Tax Survey
• Oregon Travel Impacts
• Fishing, Hunting, Wildlife Viewing and Shellfishing
• Oregon Cyclist Visitor Analysis
• Oregon Bounty
• Importance of Cultural Tourism
• Go to website: www.industry.traveloregon.com

33. Travel Oregon’s Target Audience
Travel Oregon’s advertising campaigns primarily target’s the
following high-yield consumers:
Primary
• Adults 25-64
• who spend at least $1,000 per year on travel
• and live in Oregon, Washington, Northern California, and Idaho
Secondary
• Southern California and New York

34. Understanding Your Market
Who are your target markets? – Page 12

35. Marketing Strategies
& Action
Page 13

36. Marketing Strategies & Action
Marketing Objective – A goal that your
organization or business attempts to achieve,
usually focused on a target market.
Marketing objectives should be:
– Results oriented
– Target market specific
– Quantitative/measurable
– Time specific

37. Marketing Strategies & Action
Examples of Marketing Objectives (Page 11):
For an attraction: “To increase the number of trips
sold(result) to RV visitors to the region (target market
specific) by 100 (quantified) during the summer season
2011 (time specific).”
For a small lodging establishment: “To increase the
number of room nights (result) generated from the
bicycle touring market (target market specific) by 100
(quantified) during the spring and summer of 2011 (time
specific).

38. Marketing Strategies & Action
Marketing Strategy - A course of action selected from the
marketing mix to communicate to various target markets.
Marketing Mix – Activities to communicate your brand, market
position, product/service features and benefits to the
customer. For example:
Website
Social networks
Brochures
Press releases
FAM trips
Other

39. Marketing Strategies & Action
Example of a marketing strategy and action plan:
Strategy for an attraction or tour: “Use printed
brochures (collateral material) to communicate our
brand, market position, product/service features,
benefits to customer and pricing.”
Action plan for collateral attraction or tour: “Create
4” X 9” rack brochures to be distributed to visitor
information centers throughout the county.”

40. Marketing Strategies & Action
Key Shoestring Strategies
• Interactive
• Collateral
• Public Relations
• Advertising
• Travel Trade
• International
• Special Opportunities

41. Marketing Strategies & Action
1. Interactive Marketing
Page 17

42. Interactive
Travel Oregon’s Interactive Strategy:
Goal: ENGAGE in a conversation with consumers and
provide them INSPIRATION, INFORMATION and
TOOLS for their OREGON vacation experience.
1.Showcase the Oregon experience
1.Engage at every stage of the trip
1.Improve connectivity & partnerships

43. Interactive
How do you do create and Interactive Strategy?
• Creating a website
• Using social media like Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare, etc.
• Developing e-marketing newsletters and e-blasts
• Creating a blog, RSS feeds
• Developing YouTube, Vimeo videos
• Using co-op opportunities with DMO, RDMO, TO

44. Interactive
Your Website – 8 Rules:
• Hire someone to help build the website structure.
• Content is more important than design.
• Design for easy navigation, not for art.
• Home page is critical – leads to other pages.
• Understand the importance of key words.
• Use a title tag on each page that is different. This is what
shows up in searches.
• Links and images need descriptive tags too!
• Make a site map of your website and give it to Google.

45. Interactive
How Does Your Website Get Noticed?
• Search Engine Optimization
• Search Engine Marketing – Keyword Ads
• Banner Ads

46. Interactive
Search Engine Market Share – April 2011
Source: comScore

47. Interactive
Key word ads >> SEM
SEM Key Word Ads
<< SEO listings
SEO
<< Listings

48. Interactive
Advertising on Google, Yahoo, Bing
1. Banner ads and SEM keyword ads.
2. Budgets are flexible by day.
3. Experiment with key words.
4. Pay only for visits to your site.
5. Try different ad copy.
6. Ask how visitors found you.
7. Use ANALYTICS.

49. Interactive

50. Interactive
Social Media – Where Do I Start???

51. Interactive
First of all – Why?
• Because marketing has changed
from a one-way message to a two-way
conversation.
• And there is no going back!!

52. Interactive
You need to think about a full social
media strategy. Start Here:
1. Observe how it works
2. Look at competition
3. Become active

53. Interactive
Most Important:
1. Tell your story.
1. Focus on relevant social networks.

54. Interactive
= 500 million users and counting
= timely information; conversation
= telling your story
= listing and reviews
= reviews

55. Interactive
http://business.twitter.com

56. Interactive
A word about BLOGGING:
• Opportunity to TELL YOUR STORY
• Readers can comment, creates conversation
• Builds additional web traffic
BUT:
• Can be time-consuming (but it’s free!)

57. Interactive
Usability
Content (navigation, search visibility,
accessibility etc.)
Creative
Sweet
Spot
Balanced Communications

58. Marketing Strategies & Action
Collatera
l
Page 19

59. Collateral
What is Collateral? – A collateral marketing strategy involves the
use of various printed and online materials that communicate
your brand, market position, product/service features, benefits
to the customer and pricing if you are a business.
Collateral marketing strategies can include the following activities:
• Creating attractive brochures and rack cards
• Creating posters, bookmarks and other printed materials
• Utilizing cooperative opportunities – local DMOs, RDMO, and
Travel Oregon

60. Collateral
Key Tips:
• Lead with the best, leave the rest
• Tell the story, don’t just provide lists
• Give the details
• Photos should be large and compelling, not amateur hour
• Always have people in the photos, your target audience
• State the benefit to the visitor – it is not about you.
• Use good maps and detailed instructions on how to find
you.

61. Collateral
Collateral Usability
• Collateral – make it easy to carry
• Fit into brochure racks.
• Use quality paper especially if you use a lot of photos

62. Collateral
Ways to Distribute Collateral
• Visitor information centers
• Kiosks
• Online
• Direct mailing
• Trade shows
• Fulfillment of requests from interactive, PR, advertising
• Other

63. Marketing Strategies & Action
Public Relations
Page 22

64. Public Relations
Public Relations – Activities designed to generate
and maintain awareness of your product, service or
destination among your target markets and other
organizations through nonpaid communication and
information about what you have to offer.
Why Public Relations?
• Important because it is “third party” coverage but
more controlled than social media.
• More credible than paid advertising.

65. Public Relations
Public Relations Activities
• Develop a website media or press area
• Develop a hard copy press kit, press information,
photo library
• Create and distribute press releases
• Provide media assistance for story writers and editors
• Utilize cooperative opportunities – Local DMO,
RDMO and Travel Oregon

66. Marketing Strategies & Action
Advertising
Page 23

67. Advertising
Advertising – Any paid form of promotion of your
product, service or destination.
Types of Media
• Newspapers
• Magazines
• Broadcast
• Direct mail
• Outdoor
• Internet
• Coop opportunities

68. Marketing Strategies & Action
Travel Trade
Page 24

69. Travel Trade
Travel Trade – Travel agents, tour wholesalers and
operators, corporate travel managers, incentive travel
planners, and convention/meeting planners.
Travel Trade Marketing Activities:
• Advertising in travel trade publications
• Attending travel trade shows
• Providing Familiarization (FAM) trips
• Brochure distribution
• Public Relations
• Cooperative opportunities

70. Marketing Strategies & Action
International
Opportunities
Page 25

71. International
International Opportunities – The key
international markets for Oregon:
– Germany, U.K. France, Benelux
– Japan, Korea, China
– Canada, Mexico
– Scandinavian Countries*
– Australia*
* New markets

72. International
International Marketing Activities:
• Media & Travel Trade Research Trips
• Trade Shows
• Sales Missions
• Partnering With Regions
• In-country Marketing Reps
• Printed Media
• Social Media – Twitter, Facebook

73. Marketing Plan Group Work
Page 26

74. Budgets & Timelines
Page 26

75. Establishing Budgets & Timelines
Budgeting Methods
1. Historical – spending is same as previous years.
2. Percentage of sales – industry average % of total
revenues.
3. Competitive – match spending of your competitors.
4. Task-oriented – consider each activity and what needs
to be spent to meet marketing objectives.

76. Establishing Budgets & Timelines
The Reality of Budgeting
1. Allocate a tentative, overall budget for marketing.
2. Determine your marketing objectives and strategies.
3. Tentatively split the budget between strategies.
4. Then split the budget between actions within the
strategies.
5. Develop and refine the activities.
6. Reallocate budget to determine final budget
allocations.

77. Establishing Budgets & Timelines
Establishing Realistic Timelines
1. Establish a full-year marketing calendar cycle.
2. Understand steps and time involved in producing
collateral and advertising material.
3. Research key deadlines for advertising insertion dates.
4. Work closely with partners and service providers.
5. Stay connected to your local DMO, RDMO, and
Travel Oregon.
6. Create and overall TO DO list that covers the
marketing cycle and includes details of who needs to
do what and when.

78. Measuring Your Success
Page 27

79. Measuring Your Success
How to you measure your success?
• Establish your measurement criteria.
• Establish marketing controls – monitoring and adjust
activities.
• Analyze the results of efforts – both at the activity
level and the overall objective level.

80. Measuring Your Success
Overall Evaluation
• Ask visitors how they heard about you.
• Total number of room nights for the year/season
• Total income for the year/season
• Total visitors and/or visitors by target market

81. Measuring Your Success
Examples of Specific Measures
• Website – unique visitors, page views, origin of traffic, time
spent on site, engagement
• Collateral – number of brochures distributed, bookings
generated from brochures
• Public relations – number of stories generated through press
releases, FAM trips
• Advertising – number of impressions, responses, bookings from
specific ads or ad campaigns
• Travel trade and International – number of leads/bookings
generated though various activities
• Special promotions – number of inquiries/bookings generated

82. Sharing

83. Evaluation & Wrap-up
Thank you !
from the teams at