Okaloosa County BOCC — January 8, 2013 — PMA Final Stub Year Marketing Plan — reading text

Table of Contents Research 3 Objectives & Strategies 12 Marketing Initiatives 19 Website 21 Consumer Research 24 Shoulder Season Campaign 26 Groups, Meetings & Conventions 32 Public Relations 34 Ongoing Social Media 42 Measuring Success 48 Marketing Plan Budget 50 2 Research 3  Occupancy by Year 2006 – 2012 Source: Smith Travel Research 4  Average Occupancy by Month Source: Smith Travel Research 5  RevPar by Year 2006 – 2012 Source: Smith Travel Research 6  Average RevPar by Month Source: Smith Travel Research 7  Annual Revenue Source: Smith Travel Research 8  Monthly Revenue Source: Smith Travel Research 9  2% Monthly Collections FY 2012 1200 1000 800 600 Thousands 400 200 0 October November December January February March April May June July August September Source: Okaloosa County November Tax Revenue Report 10  Observations • After four years of decline, business rebounded in 2011 by all measures • Occupancy improved in 2011 by increased demand (+9%) plus a slight reduction in supply (-2%) • Seasonally, June and July are 17% of inventory, but 33% of total revenue • Shoulder seasons • April – May • September – October • November – December • January – February 11 Objectives & Strategies 12  Objectives • Maintain top-of-mind awareness during peak seasons • Drive leisure and group visitation during the shoulder season • Post-Spring Break – Memorial Day • Leverage awareness of Okaloosa County’s Emerald Coast brand • Maximize impact of media spend 13  Strategies • Communicate year-round messaging while focusing on driving business during the shoulder season • Utilize research to motivate consumers to select Emerald Coast as their vacation destination • Target consumers with a combination of traditional and online marketing 14  Strategies • Collaborate with VISIT FLORIDA to maximize impact of media spend • Promote and track special events and sponsorships via website • Communicate a value message while growing revenue • Utilize festivals and special events to drive trial and repeat visitation 15  Target Audience Profile Demographics • Adults • Age 25 – 64 • Annual HH Income of $50,000+ skewing higher Mindset/Lifestyle • Traveler – at least 3-night stay • Interested in the beach, fishing, shopping, restaurants and more • Looking for an accessible escape 16  Media Markets Primary target audiences will include leisure travelers within a 13-hour-drive radius of the Emerald Coast as well as meeting/group business travelers 17  Media Markets Secondary target audience will include travelers with nonstop lift access 18 Marketing Initiatives 19  Initiatives • Develop and implement new comprehensive destination website • Conduct primary consumer research • Implement shoulder season campaign • Generate earned media through Public Relations • Local communications plan • Create Social Media awareness and engagement 20 Website 21  Website Present consolidated website development strategy in first quarter for the following sites: • Emeraldcoastfl.com • Emeraldcoastconventioncenter.com • Filmemeraldcoast.com • Myemeraldcoastevent.com 22  Website Strategy • Analyze current data available from sites • Conduct high-level competitive research and analysis of peer sites and overall best practices • Review of Google analytics of the sites for user trends and patterns • Examine the unique user experiences occurring on each site for possible integration • Develop high-level analysis of the content on all four sites • Provide recommendations • Engaging content • Content management platform • Effective booking channel 23 Consumer Research 24  Consumer Research Conduct consumer research to increase efficacy of marketing efforts • Understand consumers’ attitudes, awareness and perceptions of Destin, Ft. Walton and Okaloosa Island • Uncover opportunities to increase visitation • Obtain understanding of what drives visitation • Understand leisure travel planning process • Explore meaning of Emerald Coast • Uncover any barriers to visitation 25 Shoulder Season Campaign 26  Shoulder Season Campaign Objectives • Drive new visitation and increase bookings to Okaloosa County’s Emerald Coast post-Spring Break through Memorial Day Strategies • Build and maintain visibility across all steps in the travel planning and booking process • Paid search, travel content and booking/deal sites and Social Media • Utilize media to drive consumers to newly developed campaign landing page • Communicate value messages to drive bookings 27  Shoulder Season Campaign Target Audience • Primary Audience • Adults 25-54 without children in the home • Secondary Audience • Senior adults 28  Shoulder Season Campaign Reporting Strategies • Develop a reporting system that will track bookings • Track and report additional online metrics (impressions, clicks, click rate, etc.) • Reporting is sometimes dependent on third-party partnerships 29  Shoulder Season Campaign Niche Targets • Partner with niche sites (e.g. AAA, AARP) • Create content, travel contest/sweepstakes and/or packages • Incorporate placements across OTA (Online Travel Agent) niche content sections, where applicable • Use Social Media tools to target consumers based on their interests, conversations and likes • Use promoted posts to send target fan base key messages • Discount offers, sweepstakes, senior packages, etc. 30  Shoulder Season Campaign Social Media • March: Vacation Planning and Preparation • Focus content on vacation planning • Incentivize travel: provide fans with the resources they need to organize trips • April: Spring Break Engagement • Leverage relevancy of Spring Break conversations to drive visitation post-Spring Break • May: Last-minute Trips • Encourage users to take last-minute trips to the Emerald Coast • Emphasize ease of access from drive markets • Spotlight user-generated content 31 Groups, Meetings & Conventions 32  Groups, Meetings & Conventions Objectives • Raise awareness of Okaloosa County as the premiere destination to hold events, meetings and groups • Drive incremental bookings Strategies • Position Okaloosa County’s Emerald Coast’s unique offerings as a premier location for groups and meeting business • E.g. weddings, military, sports, religious, family reunions, fishing, bus tours • Develop collateral material to support top niche audiences (e.g. wedding guide) • Identify key media opportunities to effectively reach target audiences • Utilize lead generation outlets to directly solicit RFPs (e.g. Cvent) • Work in collaboration with Public Relations and Social Media to position Okaloosa County’s Emerald Coast as the top group and meeting destination 33 Public Relations 34  General Awareness Objectives • Raise awareness of Okaloosa County’s Emerald Coast • Leverage the natural assets of the area to highlight the Emerald Coast during shoulder season Strategies • Support shoulder season campaign • Work in collaboration with Social Media to utilize existing media channels (e.g. Facebook, Twitter) • Utilize news coverage to establish Okaloosa County’s Emerald Coast as the top choice for a vacation destination • Position Okaloosa County’s Emerald Coast unique offerings as a premier location for group and meeting business • Leverage public improvement projects to gain regional media coverage 35  Tactics Utilize targeted media lists • Employ robust media list that includes the entire southeast region of the country in addition to appropriate national outlets • Travel media, online news sites, consumer media and blogs Invite travel writers • Organize travel writers who reach consumers from target markets interested in unique aspects of Emerald Coast • Family travel • Event-centered • Seniors/snowbirds 36  Tactics Provide event-focused outreach • Outreach to target publications • Identify newsworthy events for corresponding trade publications • Oakley Fishing Tournament, State HOG Rally and other additional special events and sponsorships Target Regional/National Media Outlets • Pitch story angles that highlight Okaloosa’s assets • E.g. celebrity sportsmen, TDD’s proactive stance on sustainability, unique anniversary • Secure travel features in respected media outlets (e.g. National Geographic) • Establish a presence at the Society of American Travel Writers 2013 Convention, October 20-25, 2013 on the Mississippi Gulf Coast • Create a pre- or post-destination tour for select travel writers 37  Local Communications Plan Objectives • Position the TDD locally as a trustworthy entity of the Board of County Commissioners • Leverage the destination’s public improvement projects of the TDD to create positive sentiment • Encourage community buy-in for special events leveraged to attract tourists to the area Strategies • Present Dan O’Byrne as an accessible and