The Visit Pensacola, Pensacola Beach, Perdido Key Chamber and the Pensacola Sport Association made a combined presentation for the entire $4.38 million. The TDC instead approved
Visit Pensacola $2,463,694
Perdido Key $940,084
Pensacola Sports Association $180,703
Combined total: $3,584,481
Budget of proposal (2011_BP_GroupLetter ):
Incentivized Travel – voucher/gift card program and marketing support: $1,100,000 ($600,000 in gift cards & $500,000 for marketing)
Special Events – festivals, sporting events, conferences: $750,000
Public Relations and Promotions – national/regional campaigns: $300,000
Advertising – multi-media national/regional campaigns: $2,034,830
Request Summary by agency:
Visit Pensacola & Pensacola Beach $2,763,699
Perdido Key Chamber: $871,131
PSA: $211,750
Here is how Visit Pensacola portion ($2,483,519) broke down their part of the request:
Incentivized Travel – $585,700
Purchase of $300,000 of American Express, Visa, or MasterCard Gift Cards to be used to promote shoulder season travel to Pensacola Beach. This program will be modeled after the highly successful incentive program conducted last fall by Visit Pensacola.
The program will be promoted with a $285,700 marketing budget. Marketing will consist of print, interactive, social media, radio and/or TV advertising.
Incentivized travel objectives
• Incite travel during the shoulder season
• Increase tourism development tax collections over 2009 numbers
Incentivized travel tactics
• Develop and implement an incentivized travel program consisting of gift cards and/or vouchers
• Promote the program through advertising, public relations and social media efforts
Incentivized travel evaluation
• Track registrations for incentive program and track redemption of incentives
• Track results of promotional efforts
• Track tourism development tax collections during the promotion period
Social Media – $100,000
Social media will be used in a non-traditional advertising role to quickly reach travelers and potential travelers with real-time information on incentives, promotions and events in the Pensacola Bay Area.
Having an advertising and promotions presence on key social media outlets will help keep positive conversations going on about the Pensacola Bay Area. Enhancing the Pensacola Bay Area’s presence in the social sphere will reinforce traditional advertising and help generate positive “buzz†for Pensacola.
Social Media Objectives
• Increase attendance at existing events and increase number of repeat travelers and new visitors over 2009
• Engage travelers with information on area events, promotions and opportunities
• Generate leads to destination travel websites for more information and increase visitor guide requests
• Generate registrations for incentivized travel programs and increase database of travelers for future promotion
• Increase tourism development tax collections over 2009 numbers
Social Media Tactics
• Daily updates to Facebook, Twitter and blog pages for Escambia County
• Select advertising and promotions for social media channels
• Publicize incentivized travel offers to social media fans to increase event attendance
• Twitter –2-3x daily updates posted: events/promotions/weather/facts
• YouTube – regular updates and re-posts immediately as videos are available
• FourSquare – location based promotions
Social Media Evaluation
• Track increased fans on Facebook, followers on Twitter and subscribers for YouTube and
destination blogs
• Track Web site traffic from all social media venues
• Track incentivized travel redemption during promoted events via “How did you hear about us?â€
• Track monthly active user on Facebook and Twitter re-posts
• Track Facebook, Twitter and YouTube wall posts and comments weekly, track FourSquare
check-ins and tips
Public Relations and Promotions – $231,000
Public relations and promotions tactics will be used to reacquaint potential visitors with our beautiful beaches and clear, emerald waters and incite travel during the spring and summer season.
Public Relations and Promotions Objectives
• Generate positive stories in the national media that our beaches are beautiful and our water is clear
• Develop promotions that help increase shoulder season travel to the Pensacola Bay Area
Public Relations and Promotions Tactics
• Host journalists in the Pensacola Bay Area on media familiarization or “fam†trips and visit media
contacts in targeted cities bringing the Pensacola story to them.
• Invite/accommodate the more than 100 journalists who interviewed industry representatives
following the oil spill to return for a follow-up story
• Implement select promotions designed to increase visitation in the spring and summer season
Public Relations and Promotions Evaluation
• Track media coverage of the Pensacola Bay Area (exceed $6 million in ad equivalency during
campaign)
• Track response to promotions
• Track tourism development tax collections
Advertising – $1,566,819
A multi-media campaign will promote travel to the Pensacola Bay Area. These campaigns will support public relations and social media efforts outlined in this plan. Advertising will include TV, interactive and print media.
Advertising Budget Snapshot
• Television $800,000
• Interactive $600,000
• Print/Outdoor $166,819
Advertising Objectives
• Generate inquiries and requests for a visitor guide as well as visits to Pensacola travel websites
• Generate registrations for incentivized travel programs
• Increase visitation 15% over 2009 number
Advertising Tactics
• Television, Interactive and Print/Outdoor Media
Advertising Evaluation
• Tracking advertising generated leads
• Tracking interactive advertising engagement, click-thru and response
• Tracking Web traffic from markets targeted in television campaigns
• Track tourism industry tax collections
Media Rationale:
Television – TV advertising provides the broadest reach and generates the most impact, allowing the Visit Pensacola to show our clean, beautiful beaches, conveying the message the Pensacola Bay Area is an ideal destination for spring and summer travel. Television buys across our key target markets have proven to increase traffic to VisitPensacola.com from those markets.
Internet – Internet advertising will supplement and strengthen the TV campaign, specifically reaching out to those in the active mode of planning travel. It is imperative that we reach those people that are making summer travel plans making sure the Pensacola Bay Area is a top-of-mind choice.
Print/Outdoor – Print advertising will be targeted to travel-related publications. It is imperative that we reach those people as they are making travel plans ensuring that the Pensacola Bay Area is a top-of-mind choice. Outdoor will be used in key feeder markets to support the print, television and interactive campaigns, creating a fully integrated marketing campaign.
