THE MARKETOUR

A MARKETING GUIDE FROM THE WISCONSIN DEPARTMENT OF TOURISM

October/November 1999

VACATION PACKAGING DRAWS MORE VISITORS
Travel industry research shows consumer interest in travel packages is growing steadily. Baby Boomers are experiencing many competing demands for their time, and with their intention to continue balancing both work and leisure time well into retirement, no end to their schedule crunch is in sight. When the opportunity for a quick weekend getaway arises, what better way to simplify travel planning than to book a convenient all-inclusive package?

Package With Other Businesses in Your Area: Packaging is not only a benefit to consumers but also a marketing tool that can boost your business. First, think of packaging as a way to join forces with other tourism businesses in your area and together draw more visitors than any one of you ever could alone. Basically, this kind of packaging requires that you market your business as part of a menu of activities and attractions in your area.

For example, if you own a lodging property, do your marketing materials present your property amid the many recreational offerings in your region? By positioning your tourism offerings within a wider set of activities and attractions, you can increase your business.

One example of this type of regional marketing is the Mississippi Valley Partners. As mentioned in our last "Marketour" issue, this group of businesses in 13 towns surrounding Lake Pepin combined efforts to bring a greater number of visitors to their area because they realized that as a collective whole they were a more appealing destination choice than any one small town was on its own. To learn more about how they're employing joint marketing, go to their Web site at mississippi-river.org.

To take packaging a step further, you can cultivate stronger working relationships with tourism colleagues in your region and create true vacation packages for visitors. This requires you to take on the responsibility of coordinating details, such as reservations, equipment rental, payment, etc. One classic example is a charter fishing package in which lodging, meals, boat and equipment rental, and the services of a licensed guide are combined so that travelers can conveniently book the whole experience at once and pay a single fee.

Use Research to Shape Package Offers: When deciding what kinds of packages work for your business, consider travel trends. For example, research shows that Baby Boomers are interested in learning vacations. What kind of package can you create to address this trend? Perhaps combining lodging and meals with a weekend of creative arts workshops, a fly-fishing class or a wildlife photography seminar would appeal to this group.

You can also let your interaction with customers be your guide. Do you keep a database of information on your customers? Make a consistent effort to collect information on the activities that they do while in your area. If a large number of them go cross-country skiing, visit a particular museum or attend a special event, create packages that include those activities.

Also, keep in mind that the Department's research has found that certain clusters of activities logically go together; therefore, travelers who enjoy visiting historic sites are more likely to also be interested in antiquing, rural driving tours and staying in bed-and-breakfasts. Likewise, those who go hiking are also apt to enjoy biking and fishing and to be drawn to state parks. For more details about the research on activity clusters, call David Scheler at 608/261-8187.

Evaluate Results From a Consumer's Perspective: Once you have a package or two in place, regularly evaluate your results. Work with your tourism colleagues to ensure smooth handling of the logistics - you never want to disappoint a customer with a package that fails to meet expectations. Remember the customer will expect the package to be the ultimate convenience and everything included to go off without a hitch. Keep an eye out for new travel trends and incorporate them in your packaging strategy whenever possible.

WINTER DIRECT MAIL ZEROES IN ON THE HOTTEST PROSPECTS
This winter, the Wisconsin Department of Tourism will again supplement its mass marketing efforts with an extremely targeted direct mail campaign. Like last year, the mailing will utilize the Department's extensive database of individuals who've ordered Wisconsin Tourism publications - a database that yielded an impressive 12 percent return during 1999. For the early November mailing, initial contact will be made with a postcard telling would-be travelers that the Department has their winter publication waiting for them. Additional prospects will also be targeted using an advanced "cloning" process which identifies households with demographic/psychographic profiles similar to those on the existing database. The mailer will emphasize both indoor and outdoor offerings. The Department's winter marketing campaign will also use broader-based media. Wisconsin Tourism ads and promotions will be extremely visible in major Midwestern metropolitan areas via newspapers and radio, as well as snowmobiling and cross-country skiing publications.

MAKING THE MOST OF YOUR WEB SITE
Are you fully reaping the benefits of your Web site? Research shows that more travelers are using the Internet for vacation planning, so getting online should be a priority in marketing your business. However, merely getting a Web site in place and a procedure for keeping it continually up-to-date (Web surfers expect timeliness) is not enough. Savvy marketers will also want to make sure that they are getting the maximum value out of their site.

One way to do this is to think of your site not only as a means of getting information to a wide audience, but also as a way of gathering information about potential and current customers. Do you know how many people have visited your site? Are they repeat visitors? Which areas of your site are most popular? Web site tracking software (Hitometer, Web Trends) can help you gather this type of data, including the number of visitors, how far into the site they go and which site sections are of greatest interest to them. Once you know what's grabbing their attention, you can modify your site to play up these topics and change any areas that are drawing few visitors.

You can learn even more specifics about your customers by offering an incentive that allows you to capture data about them. For example, the Department of Tourism's site now includes an area where visitors can order free Wisconsin travel publications online. To place an order, visitors must provide basic data, including their name, mailing address and e-mail address. By obtaining this information, the Department can determine where its online visitors come from. In addition, those who place orders are asked to voluntarily answer a few questions, including whether they've visited Wisconsin in the past two years, how far in advance they planned their trip and how they will use the publications requested. This data is relatively easy to collect and invaluable in developing a better insight into consumer behavior patterns. Other incentives that allow Web sites to gather this kind of data include special discounts or promotions, such as a sweepstakes or contest that visitors can enter through your site.

Customer data gathered from initial publication orders placed on travelwisconsin.com:
* The most popular publications were the Wisconsin Travel Guide, Wisconsin Highway Map and Attraction Guide, Fall Sampler and State Parks Visitor Information Guide.
* Most orders came from the core markets of Wisconsin, Illinois and Minnesota, although orders were received from as far away as Thailand and Slovenia.
* Fifty percent were frequent visitors to Wisconsin, while the other 50 percent hadn't visited Wisconsin in the past two years.

CHICAGO ASIAN MARKET OPEN TO WEEKEND TRAVEL, WISCONSIN
This July, the Wisconsin Department of Tourism conducted focus groups in three of Chicago's Asian communities to gain a better understanding of their perceptions of Wisconsin as a travel destination. The participants identified Wisconsin as one of the best travel destinations in the Midwest, describing it as welcoming, friendly and more sophisticated than other Midwestern states.

Weekend getaways are part of the Asian culture with Asian families commonly taking multiple trips each year. Information gathering is an important step in their decision on where to travel, and printed information is second only to word-of-mouth in influencing that decision. Many respondents said that price is a consideration, and that travel packages, coupons and discounts are motivators in the final travel decision.

Golfing, biking and other outdoor activities interested younger travelers between the ages of 25-35, while the remainder of the respondents showed a tendency toward more passive activities such as sightseeing and nature viewing.

For more information, call David Scheler at 608/261-8187.

QUICK TIPS
Insights on Minneapolis Media: Krista Elias, PR manager of the Department, recently traveled to one of our top markets, Minneapolis/St. Paul, to pitch Wisconsin travel stories and to nurture relationships with travel editors and writers. This summary highlights each visit.

"St. Paul Pioneer Press," Beth Gauper, travel writer
Beth Gauper has a strong knowledge of Wisconsin travel options, so the main reason for this deskside visit was to reinforce the relationship. However, the conversation brought to light good information about her interests and work style. She usually travels three days a week - Tuesday through Thursday - and needs to get at least three stories out of a trip. She also likes to include with each destination an activity/attraction, a restaurant and a lodging property. She usually does her writing on Mondays and Fridays.

Although difficult to reach by phone, a short voice mail message is welcomed. She prefers to receive information in hard copy because she likes to keep it on file for later reference. She also likes receiving brochures.

Special Interests:
* What's new in fall, winter and especially spring. (She finds spring particularly difficult because of unpredictable weather.)
* New resorts and resorts with a special twist, including programs for children.
* Farm vacations and bike trails.

"Minneapolis Star Tribune," (Mr.) Chris Welsch, assistant travel editor
Chris Welsch is also familiar with Wisconsin travel offerings, and the travel section covers Wisconsin on a regular basis.

Because Welsch receives so many releases and press kits, he recommended improving communication by sending information with a handwritten "heads-up" note that briefly calls out why the information is important. As an example, he mentioned events listings: They usually include too many events offering no way to distinguish which are worth covering. Mentioning attendance numbers is helpful, according to Welsch. He also likes to recommend travel resources to his readers, including new books and travel guides.

Colleen Coles should also be included on the media list; she assists Welsch and writes short event/destination pieces and travel guide briefs.

"Mpls./St. Paul Magazine," Adam Platt, travel editor
Recent changes in this pub's approach to travel make it more difficult for Wisconsin to receive coverage in this publication. Adam Platt will work more closely with advertising, which will drive the editorial. An events listing, as well as a shorter travel piece will be cut, meaning there is only one travel feature per issue.

Although opportunities for Wisconsin coverage are limited, Platt requested information that's unique and fresh. He showed interest in soft adventure travel (especially suited to his target market), antiquing in northern Wisconsin, restaurants and B&Bs. Rather than press kits, Platt prefers to receive a list of "offbeat" story ideas. The one opportunity for Wisconsin on the editorial calendar falls in December, when he will cover cross-country skiing (possibly regional). The new editorial calendar for 2000 will be developed in fall. No matter what the editorial calendar, a particularly strong story will still have a chance, according to Platt.

Help Promote Wisconsin: If you would like your property considered for use as a prize in a Wisconsin Tourism promotion, contact your local chamber of commerce or convention & visitor bureau.

Media Leads: A new travel Web site will be a good addition to your media list. Hidden America is an online publication specializing in "off-the-beaten-path" Americana. To get a feel for the content, check out the Web site (hiddenamerica.com). Send information about Americana opportunities to Eric Model, Hidden America, 155 Monroe Ave., River Edge, NJ 07661.

International News Group is looking for travel ideas to include in its syndicated features. The travel features calendar fills quickly, so allow plenty of lead time on family trips and events. Send materials to Features Editor Stephen Butler, 8677 Villa La Jolla Drive, Mail Code PMB1215, La Jolla, CA 92037-2354, or e-mail Stephen_Butler@msn.com.

10-SECOND WRITING CLINIC
Refresher course: Here are the most frequently misspelled words, according to The Dictionary of Modern American Usage: separate, receive, occurrence, committee, embarrass, definitely, accommodate, harass, persevere, minuscule, hors d'oeuvre and restaurateur. Here's a heads up: Millennium.

PR'S GREATEST HITS
Wisconsin is showing itself to the world once again in both print and electronic media.

"The New York Times" ran a story covering Wisconsin in one of its most highly read editions of the year. The Sunday, July 4, article discussed the many vacation opportunities in picturesque Door County. Also, based on repeated contact with a senior editor, "Colonial Homes" ran features about Milwaukee and Old World Wisconsin in their June/July issue. Outstanding photography accompanied both articles.

Hayward's National Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame was featured as "Sight of the Week" on roadsideamerica.com. Roadsideamerica.com is a Web site devoted to bringing its visitors the most offbeat tourist attractions in the United States. The online article featured three color photos, including one of the Hall of Fame's giant