Williamsburg Area Destination Marketing Committee

Williamsburg Area Destination Marketing Committee

Marketing Strategy is the WHAT. What are our goals, what would we like to achieve. Strategy is typically long-tail (multi-year), and rarely changes significantly. Marketing Plan is the HOW. How will we reach those goals, what is the roadmap and tactics that the strategy leads us towards. Plans typically have tactics that vary year to year.

GREATER WILLIAMSBURG BRAND Find your freedom in Williamsburg Ready for a vacation that gives you the freedom to have fun, the freedom to satisfy your curiosity and the freedom to relax? Then come to Williamsburg, where you ll find more vacation freedom than at any destination in America. Ready for some excitement? Then feel free to start your vacation with a trip to the world s most beautiful theme park. Next, find your thrill at one of our two top-10 water parks. Challenge yourself at one of our championship golf courses or visit any of our many other adrenaline-pumping attractions. Want the freedom to satisfy your curiosity? History repeats itself daily in our world-class living history museums. Still not satisfied? Then a trip to America s second-oldest college would be a stroke of genius. Want the freedom to relax? You ve come to the right place. You can get back to nature exploring our thousands of acres of beautiful woodlands and wetlands, then enjoy an amazing array of culinary choices, including one of the top wineries in the country. Prefer a soothing hot stone massage? Your table awaits at one of our luxury spas. So when you re ready to indulge your mind, body and spirit, we invite you to come find your freedom in Greater Williamsburg, Virginia.

Williamsburg 2017 Strategic Recommendations October 3, 2016

2016 plan Maintain focus on three pillars of fun, relaxation and curiosity Improve Williamsburg s association with the concept of fun

In 2016, Williamsburg s overall association with fun improved. 2015 2016 Fun 2.0% above average association with Williamsburg 9.3% above average association with Williamsburg In 2016, the percentage of respondents who strongly associated Williamsburg with these concepts grew relative to the average association score.

2016 plan Maintain focus on three pillars of fun, relaxation and curiosity Improve Williamsburg s association with the concept of fun 2016 findings We achieved our goal of improving the destination s association with fun, yet there is still room for growth Fun remains the most important vacation planning concept 2017 recommendation Improve Williamsburg s association with the concept of fun Support the concept of fun with special emphasis in messaging, layered in the brand s three pillars of the Freedom messaging strategy fun, curiosity and relaxation

2016 plan Maintain media and messaging focus on family decision makers

Intend to visit in the next three years 3 rd In Intent to Visit 7 th In Intent to Visit *Relative ranking compared to competitive set; 2016 Brand Health Survey

2016 plan Media and messaging focus on family decision makers 2016 findings Awareness, recent visitation and intent to visit is strongest in HH with children 2017 recommendation Focus primary creative messaging and media targeting to family decision makers with continued optimizations to better reach and connect with our primary audience of HH with kids

2016 plan Primary media markets of Philadelphia and DC; secondary media markets of New York & Raleigh. Added in some statewide messaging with the digital and print campaigns

Sources: VisitWilliamsburg.com 2016 Google Analytics; Busch Gardens 2015 Visitor data; Jamestown Yorktown Foundation 2015 Visitor Data; Colonial Williamsburg 2015 Visitor Data; VTC 2014 Visitor Research

2016 plan Primary media markets of Philadelphia and DC; secondary media markets of New York & Raleigh. Added in some statewide messaging with the digital and print campaigns 2016 findings Our strongest markets are within an easy drive distance A preliminary review of 2016 campaign results also supports the same visitor markets of origin 2017 recommendation Our primary media focus on the East Coast drive market Exact plan TBD based on detailed media plan & budget The more we shift to digital, the more we can stretch our geographical reach by focusing on behavioral targeting instead

2016 plan Media was placed March August 2016 findings Web traffic shows strong visitation (even after removing digital media) in the March to August time period. 2017 recommendation Exact calendar TBD, media buy prioritized to approximate window of March August. Take a market-by-market approach to timing; modifying as needed based on distance

2016 plan Use PR & Social Media to reinforce key messages with our primary audience of families, and expand messaging to also include a secondary audience of couples.

PUBLIC RELATIONS Media were most interested in the following categories: "Untraditional" Williamsburg (what is there other than history) Williamsburg for families Williamsburg for adults Food, wine and spirits SOCIAL MEDIA Best Performing & most engaging Content Themes: Fun & Attractions Dining & Beverage Affordability

2016 plan Use PR & Social Media to reinforce key messages with our primary audience of families, and expand messaging to also include a secondary audience of couples. 2016 findings A preliminary review of 2016 PR & Social Media results indicates our key audiences responded positively to our story telling. 2017 recommendation Integrate Content, PR & Social Media to amplify priority message across all platforms in unison. Influence the destination brand with Social Media, align with national trends that are of interest to younger demographics and target audiences. Continue to strengthen Williamsburg s association with the most important key vacation planning concepts.

New

Travelers 2016 Above Average association of Key Vacation Planning Concepts with Greater Williamsburg Recent Visitors Fun Relaxation Good Food Interesting Freedom Entertainment All Respondents Fun Interesting In 2016, the percentage of respondents who strongly associated Williamsburg with these concepts grew relative to the average association score

New 2016 findings Recent visitors have significantly higher positive perceptions about the destination plus a higher intent to visit again. 2017 recommendation Develop intentional efforts around capturing data, emails, etc so we are able to communicate with this group in the future Leverage existing seasonal destination events and marketing as an additional reason for a return visit

New In 2016, we transitioned to a pilot SEM / SEO / content program that encompasses content optimization along with high volume brand campaigns with the goal of improving organic performance. 2016 findings This strategy (kicked off in March) has increased click volume by 41% since the beginning of the year. We increased the CTR from 1.88% to a strong 8.34% (Industry benchmark average is 3%). 2017 recommend ation Increase efforts with this hybrid SEM / SEO / content program; develop more data-driven content, optimize the content and work towards integration across all owned channels SEM = Search Engine Marketing; paid placements of content to drive traffic to the website (Google Adwords is a prime example) SEO = Search Engine Optimization; efforts on our our site with top-searched keywords and phrases to organically grow native (unpaid) traffic

2015 - $6,544,756 (Includes staff) 2015 - $22,595,250 (Does not include staff) 2015 - $36,000,000 (Staff unknown) 2015 - $20,000,500 (Includes staff) 2015 - $8,800,000 (staff unknown) 2017 - $53,000,000+ (Staff unknown)

Consumer confidence Macro travel trends Competitive destination plans Weather School schedules

2016 Marketing Goals & KPIs* *Key Performance Indicators Goal: To promote Greater Williamsburg as an overnight destination. Brand Health Website Public Relations

2016 Marketing Goals & KPIs* *Key Performance Indicators Brand Health 2016 Objective 2016 Result Improved Ad awareness 1 st in aided awareness (from 2 nd in 2015) Increase Intent to Visit Up to 6 th place (from 8 th in 2015) Positive Association with Fun Improved from 2% to 9.3% above average Source: 2016 Brand Health Survey

2016 Marketing Goals & KPIs* *Key Performance Indicators Website 2016 Objective Increase traffic to the website over 2015 Improve Bounce Rate Increase Industry Partner Referrals Source: Google Analytics; 1/1 to 8/31

Source: Google Analytics; 1/1 to 8/31

2016 Marketing Goals & KPIs* *Key Performance Indicators Website 2016 Objective Increase traffic to the website over 2015 2016 Result, YTD 8/31/2016 Overall web traffic is down by 12%* Improve Bounce Rate Bounce Rate has improved by 8% over 2015 Increase Industry Partner Referrals Pacing metric only (not captured in 2015) 243,450 Source: Google Analytics; 1/1 to 8/31

2016 Marketing Goals & KPIs* *Key Performance Indicators Public Relations 2016 Objective Earn more than 150 million media impressions 2016 Result, YTD 8/31/2016 Earned more than 200 million media impressions YTD Secure at least 5 stories per key media markets Initiate conversations with 30 targeted A-list media Exceeded 5 stories in every market YTD except Toronto (2 stories to date) In active discussions with more than 50 targeted A-list media Source: Cision

2017 Proposed Marketing Goals & KPIs* *Key Performance Indicators Goal: To promote Greater Williamsburg as an overnight destination. Brand Health Improved Ad awareness, both aided and unaided Public Relations Earn more than XX million media impressions Website Increase overall traffic to the website; Conversion Increase number of visitors to the website driven by digital media Improve Intent to Visit TBD Increase organic traffic to the website Increase by XX% the number of visitors to the website sent to partner websites Grow destination association with the concept of fun TBD Improve Bounce Rate Increase by XX% the number of requests for additional information

Greater Williamsburg Business Metrics Calendar year through JUNE 2016 Business Metric City of Wmbg thru 2/16 James Cty Cnty thru 2/165 York County thru 2/16 Wmbg Region thru 2/16 Change 2014 Total Tourism expenditures $542,268,510 $397,547,460 $211,147,782 $1,150,963,752 3.0% # of Hotel rooms 3,528 2,123 3,103 8,754-410 # of timeshare rooms 213 3,654 2,724 6,591 215 # of B&Bs 80 7 16 103 1 Total Lodging Rooms 3,821 5,784 5,843 15,448-194 # of occupied hotels/b&bs/ts 253,138 146,968 247,757 647,863-0.1% # of occupied timeshare rentals N/A 54,795 23,395 78,190 8.5% Room night demand growth -5,905-7,401 18,798 5,492 0.8% Rooms Sales $28,143,580 $23,466,379 $33,239,146 84,849,105 3.9% Room sales tax $1,407,179 $1,173,319 $1,805,072 4,385,569 3.9% Average Daily Rate $111.18 $116.31 $133.14 $120.81 3.2% Meals tax $3,199,351 $3,063,868 $2,905,728 9,302,818 2.9% Retail sales tax thru May 2016 $1,542,967 $4,115,908 $3,708,904 $9,367,780 0.0%

REVENUE 2015 Actual 2016 Budgeted 2016 Projected 2017 Proposed Williamsburg $1,136,020 $1,140,000 $1,130,086 $1,100,000 James City County $851,786 $866,400 $809,766 $840,000 York County $1,115,478 $1,120,000 $1,128,140 $1,130,000 Private Investors $195,000 $175,000 $176,250 $175,000 VTC Co-op $6,557 $12,000 $10,554 $11,400 Ares Commission $32,802 $30,000 $23,754 $2,000 Interest $2,246 $1600 $1,654 $1,600 Revenue Total $3,339,889 $3,345,000 $3,280,205 $3,260,000 Expense Total $3,172,941 $3,615,000 $3,613,876 $3,260,000 Year End Cash Position $1,465,526 $1,195,526 $1,131,854 $1,131,854 General media inflation is estimated to be 7% YOY.

Target Markets: East Coast Drive Market Target Audiences: Family Decision Makers, HH w/ kids Campaign Timing: Media focus March-August Creative Messaging: F.U.N. Preliminary Budget: $3,260,000