According to the Spending and Saving Tracker by American Express, over half of Americans will take a trip this summer, and 89% of it will be domestic. In even more good news, they plan to spend around $1,000 per person in their group. Most said they hadn’t splurged on a trip already this year and plan to save a few dollars by driving rather than flying, staying closer to home and downgrading accommodations. Let’s hope this will be a positive influence on the Adirondacks and other “rubber tire” destinations.
Premier Tourism Group recently sat down with Joe Veneto “the Opportunity Guy” and advocate of the Experience Economy. Joe explains how destinations can create unique experiences that leave a powerful emotional connection with a visitor. That engagement and immersion creates a strong brand affiliation that lasts. One example I always remember is the Vermont Teddy Bear Company’s “Build a Bear” program. not only is there a factory tour, but kids actually go through the process of building their very own custom bear – something they’ll cherish for years.
Welcome to experiential marketing, Williamsburg. It’s about time, considering the concept has been around for over seven years! I guess it takes an $8 million budget (more than I Love NY) and a HUGE ad agency (not located in Virgina mind you) to discover that people want to embrace brands and make an emotional connection.
“With ‘Be part of the story,’ it’s clear there is an active role for the visitor,” Mr. Campbell says. Their old tag line “History is just the beginning,” came across as “apologetic.” I would also sympathize with them as they have had difficulty getting people to make a repeat visit.
The campaign directs people to their website (which is well designed, but not optimized for search engines BTW). It also includes the obligatory social elements (blog, iPhone app, Facebook etc..). The TV spot has great production value, but as I’ve said mant time before, where is the call to action? I also hope they can get a lot more views on the YouTube posting, which has only 205 views to date.
Michigan Tourism’s budget was slashed 80% to just $5 million for 2010. In an effort to keep momentum going (they have one of the most visited state tourism website in the country) while curbing big advertising production costs, they are engaging in a (surprise!) user-generated campaign. They receive over 70% of visits from in-state residents, many of whom are traveling shorter distances for vacation and by car, as the economy continues to be sluggish. These people are a huge resource for collecting photos, videos and stories to help entice potential visitors to Michigan.
With the kind of big production television spots they have been producing (including Tim Allen as the voice over – but probably pro bono), you can understand how a $5 million budget cannot support further spots, or more importantly, running them nationally.
While I enjoy their spots, the direct marketer in me would certainly suggest a stronger call to action, and displaying their website address for longer than two seconds!
Here is an excellent use of online video to create a user experience that may be a deciding factor in choosing where to spend a winter vacation. the videos allow the viewer to scroll up, down and all around to fully engage in the activity.
Not only do the videos show the great skiing, they also display the fine dining and lodging options as well.
You can view all of their different resort experiences here:
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Jun 02 2010
