2015 Marketing Plan. tourismsquamish.com

Transcription

1 2015 Marketing Plan tourismsquamish.com

2 VISION To become the premier mountain town in British Columbia offering epic outdoor experiences from Sea to Sky that highlight our rich natural surroundings and preserve local culture. Overview of 2014 Activities and Achievements 3 Increased the annual hotel occupancy rate by 10% over 2013 (2014 = 55% / 2013 = 45%) 3 Secured $151,884 in Municipal and Regional District Tax dollars to be reinvested into marketing the destination of Squamish 3 Achieved over 270,000 unique visits to tourismsquamish.com; an increase of 35% over Hosted an unprecedented amount of media visits resulting in editorial in major newspapers, magazines, television news, network specific programming, on-line blogs and social media outlets. Highlights include: CNN Money, Toronto Star, LA Times, Explore Magazine, Pedal Magazine, Metro News, Breakfast Television, Global BC, CBC, Canadian Living, USA Today, Canada.com, Huffington Post MISSION Work collaboratively with partners to execute strategic marketing and sales programs that deliver both more visitors and higher yield visitors to Squamish throughout the year. We provide industry leadership and create awareness within our community of the value of tourism by actively measuring the impact of the products and services that we offer to our visitors. REGIONAL - Consumer Direct Spring Fling #exploresquamish Summer - Day Tripper Summer - Mid Week Mayhem Fall - FALL in love with Squamish Winter - Countdown to Christmas SOCIAL MEDIA Community Engagement Social Content Curation Promotion of #exploresquamish PAID SEARCH MARKETING (PPC) Regional North America Other MARKETING Regional TRAVEL MEDIA HOSTING Winter Spring Summer Fall Colour key: level of activity / investment JAN FEB MAR APRIL Heavy Medium or ongoing Light

3 3 Increased social media engagement via on-going posts and contests. Facebook up 49% over 2013, Twitter up 20% over 2013 and we launched an #exploresquamish hashtag on Instagram 3 Successfully operated the Visitor Centre for our first year and increased the number of visitors serviced by 70% over Launched a mobile visitor servicing pilot program called Squamish Street Team that serviced over 5000 visitors throughout the summer months 3 Produced the first Official Squamish Visitor Guide (distributed 20,000 hard copies + over 2,100 digital downloads) 2015 MARKETING ACTIVITY CALENDAR MAY JUNE JULY AUG SEPT OCT NOV DEC ORGANIZATIONAL GOALS F To grow awareness of Squamish as a visitor destination F To increase room nights in the Squamish accommodation sector F Maintain financial sustainability F Govern and manage effectively F Maximize member and stakeholder engagement F Establish benchmarks to set targets and measure results F Encourage tourism product development 2015 AREAS OF FOCUS 1. Convert the day tripper to an overnight visitor 2. Extend the single night stay to a weekend getaway 3. Encourage and increase mid-week visitation during busy periods 4. Media Hosting 5. Regional visitation: Staycationers and Family Getaways 6. Festivals, Events & Sport Tourism 7. Sport Specific Leisure Travelers 8. In-destination Marketing

4 KEY MARKETING STRATEGIES AND TACTICS: 3 Build overnight stay packages themed around festivals and events 3 Strategic banner ad placement on signature event websites to target specific markets and link to Tourism Squamish accommodations page 3 Increase awareness of events and packages through: Pay per click targeting key search terms Social media channels Banner ad placement on relevant websites 3 On-going collaboration with partners to ensure a consistent approach to maximize communication and marketing opportunities for all signature events 3 Develop and distribute Festivals and Events flat sheet and calendar to partners and visitors 3 Create sport specific training packages (running, biking, climbing) and promote via relevant on-line publications (through banner advertisements) 1. Festivals, Events & Sport Tourism Primary focus on Squamish s signature festivals and events to capitalize on their notoriety and the people attending these events to promote and increase overnight stays. Secondary focus on events that pass through Squamish but are not held in Squamish to capture friends and family stays. We will have direct contact with event organizers to collaborate on marketing a stay here component to event/festival participants and spectators. ANNUAL SIGNATURE EVENTS F Test of Metal Series F Squamish Days Loggers Sports F Squamish Triathlon F Squamish Mountain Festival F Squamish 50 F Polar Express EVENTS INCORPORATING SQUAMISH F BC Bike Race F GranFondo Target Markets: F Event participants for sporting events (reach through event organizers and event websites) F Friends & families of participants F Lower Mainland and Pacific Northwest drive markets F Leverage festivals and events to increase overnight stays and average spend in Squamish F Create packages with accommodation and activity providers to entice visitors to stay overnight pre/post and during the events F Sell accommodation packages through toursimsquamish.com F Develop Squamish as a training destination F Thomas the Train F Squamish Valley Music Festival F Brackendale Eagle Festival F Squamish Wind Festival F Squamish Beer Festival (new for 2015) F Squamish is home to a year-round, packed calendar of local, regional, national and international events and festivals F Countless exciting world class adventures and attractions to experience F Range of accommodation and camping options for every budget

5 TARGETS FOR Media Hosting Focus on continuing to build new relationships with established and emerging journalists and media outlets. Establish and strengthen our brand by creating custom FAM tours that highlight the best of Squamish. Each visiting journalist receives a customized itinerary and access to our extensive digital media library. Target Markets: Identify and invite journalists, media personalities and bloggers from: 1. Travel (Conde Nast, Globe & Mail, Travel Life, Zoomer, Westworld) 2. Lifestyle and entertainment (Canadian Living, Chatelaine, Canadian Geographic) 3. Inflight Magazines (Enroute, Horizon, Voyager) 4. Outdoor recreation (Pedal Magazine, Mountain Biking BC, Explore, Adventure Journal) 5. Niche market publications: food, beer, science, birding (Craft Beer Newspaper) 6. On-line publications (Huffington Post, Metro News, Canada.com) F To secure editorial coverage at a fraction of the cost F To track distribution and re-distribution of media coverage on Squamish and relevant spikes in traffic to the website, social media engagement and Visitor Centre F To create awareness and peak interest within our key markets by targeting specific journalists and media outlets F To put Squamish on the map as a destination of choice F Squamish is an authentic world class destination nestled in between Vancouver and Whistler F Truly epic recreational lifestyle destination that attracts and is home to people who crave adventure F Hardwired for Adventure TACTICS: 3 Create targeted strategies to approach relevant media to visit Squamish 3 Maintain relationships with key vendors and community groups to ensure media have access to the resources required to promote Squamish to our target audience 3 Establish a must-see, must-do itinerary to maximize relevant media exposure for Squamish 3 Perform due diligence to properly vet all requests, ensuring the maximum potential for media exposure is met 3 Research and explore independent opportunities within the industry to highlight Squamish 3 Actively seek to collaborate on opportunities to host FAMS with Tourism Vancouver, Tourism Whistler and Destination BC

6 TACTICS: 3 Launch new website that easily filters visitors to the content they are searching for 3 Develop landing pages that showcase adventure-specific holiday packages and itineraries: biking, climbing, hiking, water and wind sports 3 Increase awareness of Squamish as a world class multi-sport adventure destination through: PPC ads targeting key search terms (Google/FB etc.) Banner ads 3 Capitalize on the high visitor traffic at the Adventure Centre by encouraging visitors to sign up for consumer e-newsletters, contesting and special deals 3 Maintain ongoing strategic campaign (monthly newsletters) to increase subscribers and distribute fresh and newsworthy content as well as specials and packages 3 Launch a Summer Day Tripper campaign to inspire Lower Mainland residents and visitors to do a day trip to Squamish 3. Sport Specific Leisure Travelers Focus on sport specific leisure travelers who visit destinations specifically to partake in their activity of choice during relevant seasons. Focus on highlighting the destination s world class sport and adventure experiences which include: F Mountain Biking F Road Cycling F Hiking F Rock Climbing Target Markets: F Lower Mainland F Pacific Northwest F California F Leverage this target segment to strengthen the new Squamish brand F Increase traffic in target markets to tourismsquamish.com by 30% over 2014 F Increase Twitter subscribers by 35% over 2014 F Increase Facebook subscribers by 25% over 2014 F Increase the number of page views, click throughs and shares of newsletter content F More world-class outdoor adventures than any other community in Canada F Wind sports F Water sports F Nordic skiing F Backcountry skiing F Unparalleled trail system for hiking, mountain biking and running F Easily accessible and ideally located between Whistler and Vancouver F Squamish is an affordable and authentic destination F Range of accommodation options for every budget 6

7 4. Regional: 1 to 2 night Getaways & Staycations Target Market: Regional: F Rubber tire traffic - Lower Mainland and Western Washington residents (families, couples and individuals) who live within reasonable driving distance from F Visitors with focused stays (holiday time periods, overnighters and weekenders) F Increase awareness within key target markets F Increase traffic in target markets to tourismsquamish.com by 30% over 2014 F Increase overnight stays and average visitor spend F Squamish is an exciting, unique and affordable weekend destination for families, couples and staycations 5. In-destination Marketing Utilize street level marketing tactics to entice day-trippers and visitors passing through to further explore and discover Squamish and possibly extend their stay to an overnight + visit. Target Market: F Day trippers to Squamish visiting various attractions and events F Visitors to the Adventure Centre F Encourage day trippers to further explore and discover Squamish F Increase our annual visitor count (increase number of visitors we reach with our visitor servicing) F Increase and expand our level of visitor servicing within the destination There is always something unique to discover in Squamish: 1. Multiple world-class outdoor recreation opportunities 2. Two National Heritage museums 3. Unparalleled trail system for hiking, mountain biking, running and walking 4. Paved valley trail that connects the community 5. Truly a sea to sky destination 6. Jam packed festivals and events calendar TACTICS: 3 Launch Spring Fling campaign to encourage Lower Mainland families to visit Squamish over spring break and Easter weekend 3 Launch Countdown to Christmas campaign to encourage Lower Mainland residents to visit Squamish during December 3 Create and sell Polar Express and Thomas the Train packages through website 3 Publish 2015 Adventure & Experience Guide for visitors to pick up in destination as well as to distribute Visitor Centre s across the Province 3 Targeted social media campaigns, promotions and giveaways TACTICS: 3 Engage our consumers and encourage conversation through the use of the #exploresquamish hashtag 3 Continue with the Street Team mobile visitor servicing program 3 Publish 2015 Adventure & Experience Guide for visitors to pick up in destination as well as to distribute Visitor Centre s across the Province 3 Utilize the Visitor Centre staff to capture visitors and encourage them to experience more during their visit 3 Launch a QR code signage program with key information at visitor gathering points: Adventure Centre, bike shelters, trails, street team vehicle, Sea to Sky Gondola, WCRHP, Britannia Mine Museum, trail head parking lots etc.

8 To learn more about this report or to contact Tourism Squamish please contact: Visit the Squamish Adventure Centre at: Loggers Lane tourismsquamish.com