Fine Tuning comes from focus groups

Investing wisely in media buys is always challenging and to ensure that dollars are being spent appropriately, the Department conducted a series of focus groups in late 1999, two each in Minneapolis, Milwaukee and Chicago, of travelers between the ages of 25-65 with household incomes over $40,000. The purpose of these focus groups were to record the emotional reactions and effectiveness as seen through our customers eyes to direct mail brochures; resource publications; TV, radio and print ads; and the Tourism website. (While the research was done several years ago, the information is still relevant today and serve as a reminder.)

In this issue of the Travel Tracker, highlights from these focus groups as well as relevant quotes from participants (in italics) are provided below for direct mail and resource publications. Future editions of the Tracker will highlight the remaining media.

Direct Mail

• Direct mail sent to mass markets should not appear in standard junk mail size and format.
  “I don’t think I’d open it. I get so much junk mail, unless it’s important, I don’t have time to look at things.”
• Create small, information-packed booklets rather than “teaser” brochures. The Department’s Samplers which are 5 ½ x 8 ½ as magazine inserts were commended as excellent direct mail pieces because of the engaging cover, high impact photos and intriguing content. “It doesn’t just say, ‘Come to Wisconsin.’ It shows you 70 things you can do, it gives you ideas.”
• Send an occasional invitation card to valued customers – reminding them of the fun they had and show them you remember them as valued customers. Invite them to be on a mailing list if you have special events throughout the year. “Every year I get a postcard from a hotel I’ve stayed in about their casino packages. When I get it, like I did just last week, I take it bowling or whatever and say, ‘Who wants to go? I’m making reservations!’ I’ve taken up to ten couples – we pick a weekend and go. I get somewhat of a discount on that card.”
• Send a thank you note or card after a patron has had time to get back home and reflect on their vacation.
• The cover should have a very strong visual and compelling message to get the customer to open and read. “I’d open something that doesn’t look like junk mail that looks like something important that I have to open up. Not window envelopes saying you’ve won a vacation, or here’s 10% off a vacation.”
• Reply cards should be postage-paid. “I never sent it if I’ve got to pay for postage…Maybe I’m cheap, I don’t know, but it’s just one more thing to do… These days, I pay all my bills by the Internet, so I have less stamps in the house.”
• Because word-of-mouth is almost always mentioned as the single most important and credible source for vacation ideas, lodging properties and other businesses who directly serve the traveler might consider offering free postage-paid color postcards to guests so they can write a note to family and friends describing the fun they’re having on vacation. This offer should be made with a light touch; some participants objected to the idea of being asked to “do their advertising for them."

Resource Publications

• Organize materials in the following order: season, geographic area (if your publication covers a large territory) and relevant activity. “I like that you can look up specific dates. I went right to December, just in case there was something going on this month.”
• “If you’re already in Wisconsin and it’s August 8th, you can turn there and look at your choices and say, ‘Oh, we’re not far from New London.’ It would work well in a hotel room, once you check in, to find out what’s going on.”
• “Within the regional section, it should be grouped by activity. Let’s say I want to go camping there. I don’t want to look through three pages of Madison area activities to find the campgrounds.”
• Ensure that your materials are concise and take the work out of reviewing the publications for your customers.
• “It takes too much time to read all this. I want to look at pictures to see where I want to go. I’ll read the subtitles, but I don’t want to read page after page of all this text.”
• A powerful cover to your publication is vital, especially when the delivery is made in a rack of similar publications. Color photography is critical, even if the rest of the publication is primarily text or black-and-white photos.

There are two themes that appear to hold the greatest immediate attraction. One is a powerful and dramatic mood-building image that demonstrates natural beauty and relaxation. The other is a bold and active portrayal of fun and action, particularly showing something unique, unusual or even quirky as it might relate to your destination.

• Use 12 or 14-point fonts for easy reading, and avoid using overly fancy or too many font types. Large type is particularly important for middle-aged and older target markets.
  “For someone who wears bifocals, some of these pages are pretty challenging.”
• As in direct mail or any printed materials, make sure you provide your toll-free number; email address and Internet address and highlight them for easy location.

For information on obtaining this or other Department of Tourism research documents, please see our Research page.