Destination Marketing Plan 2019-2020 · destination marketing plans, and the overall satisfaction of tourism promotion for the destination Increase Visitation to the Official Visitor

Destination Marketing Plan 2019-2020

Introduction Visit Cottonwood, the destination marketing arm of the Cottonwood Chamber of Commerce, aims to market and promote the destination to visitors domestically and internationally while maintaining the charm of a smaller community and valuing partner participation. This marketing plan highlights the initiatives used to maximize the investment made in destination marketing, projects and improvements currently in place, strategy, and plans for 19/20.

What we know…

Strengths Historic Old Town: known for its Main Street with over 60 businesses that attract visitors and local residents. Verde Valley Wine Trail: rich wine destination with 24 wineries and/or tasting rooms in a 20-mile radius. State Parks: close proximity to state parks for visitors interested in nature, outdoors, RVing and camping. Attractions: a variety of attractions including Blazin’ M, Verde Canyon Railroad, Out of Africa, ATV tours, kayaking, and more. Location: heart of Arizona, heart of wine country, easy driving times to major attractions and destinations- Sedona, Grand Canyon, etc.

Weaknesses

Lodging inventory: a lack of inventory means fewer overnight stays, less bed tax spending. Limited funds: limited budget for marketing and promotion requires more strategy, time, and effort for management and guaranteeing ROI (return on investment). Visitor Center location: the move of the visitor center has resulted in less traffic, which means less face to face time to promote more of Cottonwood and share the full message. Community outreach: we need to share our message more, garner more trust with the business community by including them in the plans and showing them how to get involved. Seasonality: seasons still impact our businesses. By creatively promoting at slower seasons, spreading the message long before the peak, and as we approach a valley, we can promote slower times and encourage year-round visitation.

Opportunities AOT Coop: strategically using the Arizona Office of Tourism cooperative campaign for rural destinations allows us to invest $50,000 and receive dollar for dollar matching. By choosing areas we would not normally be able to afford placement on our own, we can increase our exposure and piggy back off of AOT’s efforts. More PR: public relations is the most cost-effective strategy a destination can use to expand their message and reach. By writing and distributing more press releases, we can have a greater impact with less cost.

Our Visitor Center Information From our Visitor Center data, we have details to help us build our marketing strategy

• Numbers have decreased because of the location move but have been trending downward since 2015

• More visitors to the Center come from out of state than instate • Fluctuations occur with instate traffic being higher for the summer and fall/winter months • Out of state peaks in summer and the fall • Foreign visitation remains steady with peaks in the spring and winter

What do we do with this? We can build a strategy around what we know and what we’re missing.

• Visitor Center location- what can we do to remedy the location? Where can we move to? • Less visitors are stopping in. We need our website to be performing at its best with specific

content • Out of state visitors drive the traffic numbers- we can gather more specific data about which

state they are coming from • Instate traffic comes in the summer and winter- we have two open windows to promote:

spring and fall • Foreign visitors- our message can be one of year-round visitation, not just specific seasons.

Our Website Analytics Compared to neighboring destinations, we have a higher demographic of men searching our destination. This tells us we can create an arm of our marketing plan geared towards adventure seekers, romantic weekend ideas, suggestions for exploring the area and being the hero to their partner and/or family members. We also find that our age demographic is not the senior citizen market, aboard a tour bus, and only wanting to eat at a quick chain restaurant. Our analytics show us the younger demographic is searching our site, specifically ages 25-34. This tells us adventure seekers, outdoor travel, recreation, trendy eats, microbrews, wineries, and a unique experience need to be showcased.

Social Media Our social media audience is still growing but gives us data we can use as well. On social our users tend to skew more female, with a peak age group of 45-54 being the highest. This information tells us that shopping, experiences, dining, and overnight stays will appeal to the audience.

Marketing Strategy By having a strategy and following it diligently in the new fiscal year, we can set the following goals in place and look forward to sharing tangible results quarterly, and at the end of the fiscal year:

• Increase visitation to the Visitor Center with address, phone, and map instructions • Increase overnight visitation, resulting in increased bed tax revenue • Gain media exposure state-wide, regionally, domestically and internationally • Increase community and business outreach to encourage more participation, knowledge of

destination marketing plans, and the overall satisfaction of tourism promotion for the destination

Increase Visitation to the Official Visitor Center By making the Visitor Center “THE” first official stop in Cottonwood, we begin to create the itinerary for our visitors travel plans. Increasing awareness to a new location requires time, effort, and education for constituents and visitors alike.

• Advertising- includes the Visitor Center and the address, hours, and phone number • Website updates: add a page with an image of the Visitor Center, smiling volunteers, the

interior, and an idea of what they can accomplish when visiting. Maps, park passes, overnight lodging ideas, etc.

• Press releases- for destination marketing advertising, drive traffic to the Visitor Center • Promotion of the area at trade shows, events, and in person- always include the Visitor

Center as “THE” first stop in Cottonwood • Record keeping- adding state info, interest, and having volunteers be more engaging to

encourage visitors to share more details. “What brought you to the area? Any specific plans? How did you hear about that XYZ activity? Are you spending more than a day?” Empower the volunteers to be brand ambassadors

• Encourage social engagement- keep track of numbers, as we approach a big number, ex. 500th visitor for the month, have a prize packet ready to give them, take a picture, ask them to share it on social, we will too. Prizes get bigger as the year progresses

Increase Overnight Visitation Increasing overnight visitation is a process that requires commitment. By continuing to educate the visitor about the need to spend the night in order to fully experience the area, we can hope for growth.

• Advertising- messaging and encouraging “Plan a day… spend the weekend,” “Driving through? You’re going to end up needing a room,” “Never visited? Welcome to your new favorite getaway.”

• Images- showing more dark sky, night time events highlight the need to stay over • Videos- quick clips or virtual tours of lodging locations and the uniqueness to be found • Website- updating the website to ensure we have accurate content, deals and offers

consistently available, working links, highlight parks, outdoor recreation areas, events, river access and more

• Consumer newsletter- creating a quarterly consumer newsletter with activities, events, lodging locations and the reason to spend more than a day

• Work with area stakeholders to share their offers, specials, promotions during slow times and increase traffic to their locations

• Build awareness and interest on social media channels- videos, images, and eye-catching content

Gain Media Exposure Public relations is one of the most cost-effective tools we can use- it just takes time. By generating press releases about the destination and sharing the latest news, accolades, specials, promotions, and updates, we increase awareness and generate more online traffic.

• Generate quarterly press releases about what’s new, events, accolades, etc. • Target the media with a theme-based calendar approach. (See attached PR calendar) • Direct outreach to media pitching story ideas, inviting for FAM visits • Partner with neighboring communities and AOT to offset cost and encourage more Arizona

coverage • Monitor media and news stories to share with community, council, and chamber members

Increase Business & Community Outreach Through consistent communication with businesses, chamber members, and community leaders, we can share the updates, news, challenges, and accomplishments as we implement and engage in our marketing strategy.

• Bi-annual meeting with stakeholders sharing plans for the new fiscal year: first meeting end of May or early June, second in November or January. Presentation with time for Q&A

• Tourism Newsletter quarterly with what’s happening, accomplishments, call to action for businesses, etc.

Let’s Market Visit Cottonwood! We know our strengths and have a strong grasp on our challenges. It’s time to take advantage of the knowledge we have and apply it to marketing Cottonwood. By using the following marketing opportunities, we believe we will experience measurable results.

• AOT Cooperative advertising campaign- purchasing our maximum investment amount allowed: $50,000.

o Specific targets to areas we cannot afford on our own: TripAdvisor, USA Today online, AAA Via, AZ Highways, Madden Media and more

• Social advertising: Facebook, Instagram. Reach our audience where they are and draw them in with visual content

• Key Magazine- full page ad each month with concierge placement throughout the state, editorial encouraged to be submitted monthly

• SEO- our own SEO campaign to drive traffic to the website based on search terms from advertising campaigns

• Website improvements- updates, cleaner content, map directions for the Visitor Center, smiling faces from volunteers added to the site

• Consumer newsletter- quarterly to promote the destination, seasons, events, and more • Public relations- quarterly press release submission and direct media outreach.

We’re in the beginning stages of the co-op campaign with AOT. Some of the highlights include:

• September-November issue of Arizona Drive Guide. Half page ad with calendar mentions of what’s happening in Cottonwood.

• Huddled Masses digital marketing campaign reaching online users interested in and searching for: Arizona travel, outdoor recreation, Arizona getaways, for the months of October-March.

We’ve had the opportunity to send out media leads this July-September as well as host different journalists in the community. Here’s a summary:

• LA Times: A lead was received by our team at the last minute and we sent it out to wine industry partners for the topic: How to Join a Grape Harvest in western US & Canada. April Orcutt was the journalist and she thanked us for submitting Alcantara on our own since they put out a request for people to help them with their crush on Facebook, we were able to pass it along. We’ll be on the lookout to see if any partners make the piece.

• Team Roping Journal: The Team Roping Journal builds suggested itineraries around Arizona to include in their piece for the industry when events take place across the state. We sent them content for Dead Horse Ranch State Park, Old Town Cottonwood, Verde Valley Wine Trail and more. They are based out of Colorado and will send us a printed copy when it’s out.

• Modern Luxury Scottsdale’s City Guide: We were contacted by a freelance writer, Teresa Traverse and supplied content as well as images for an upcoming Fall issue.

• Phoenix Magazine: We assisted by providing content for the Wine Issue with content ideas, Wine Trail info, and community details.

• Gourmet Traveler: We experienced the fruits of labor for one of the pieces Max wrote from his visit in the last quarter. He interviewed Maynard Keenan and we hope to receive a physical copy direct from Australia in the coming month.

• Travel + Leisure: Wednesday, August 28 brought the Travel + Leisure team to the area for the day. In partnership with AOT and a new marketing and branding campaign piece, they

reached out to us to include us in the piece. We were able to take them to D.A. Ranch in the morning, Burning Tree Cellars for some footage, and they ended with a Water to Wine tour for a piece that will market Arizona for its food and wine scene. Travel + Leisure covered the cost of the Water to Wine tour, the wine industry partners generously poured complimentary. We’ll share the promotion as soon as it’s released.

This quarter we have not incurred any expenses from hosting the media. The above work was done via email and phone.

This quarter provided a great opportunity to host the Brand USA Australia Luxury Product Manager FAM (familiraization visit). Brand USA is the destination marketing agency for the United States. Put into place by President Obama and the first time an actual agency was established to market and promote the United States as a destination to visit to the rest of the world. While in Australia in February, Heather Hermen had the chance to meet with Brand USA representatives and share the idea of a top tier visit for specific areas in Arizona by partnering with the Arizona Office of Tourism. On August 25, 7 representatives visited:

• Alysha Hughes, Helloworld Travel

• Shannon Fogarty, Travel Associates

• Jodie Collins, Luxury Escapes

• Louise Sutton, Flight Centre New Zealand

• Gabrielle Brown, House of Travel Products

• Liz Glover, Brand USA

• Jessica Mitchell, Senior Travel Industry Marketing Manager, AOT We were able to showcase Old Town Cottonwood, enjoy brunch at Crema, then they enjoyed a Water to Wine Tour with Verde Adventures at a discounted rate of 25% off, a site inspection of the Tavern Hotel, visit to the Southwest Wine Center, and dinner at Osteria. Osteria treated them to dinner, the Chamber of Commerce covered the cost of their wine tasting at SWWC and Osteria. This opportunity to showcase the destination provided us with face time for these top performing agents in a rapidly growing market, Australia, and the chance to find out what we can do to help them sell and promote the destination. (New Projects, Exhibit A) On September 18, Heather had the opportunity to represent the destination at the National Concierge Association meeting in Cave Creek in front of fellow travel industry, tourism businesses, and concierge to highlight upcoming events for the destination.

This quarter we’ve focused on consistency in our posting on social media accounts and really drawing attention to our events. Instagram has continued to grow with an audience now at 500, up from 371 without any funds being spent on it. Our audience skews more female and in the age

demographic we prefer to reach. Beginning in the next quarter, we’ll be doing some targeted social media promotion and look forward to sharing the results. (Exhibit A- Administration, item #3)

This final quarter we will be implementing a new program from Crowdriff. Crowdriff is a visual content marketing software that helps us pull images from user generated content on social media. We will be able to share images from users as they visit, post, share, and use hashtags to promote the destination. We’ll also be able to pull content from business partners as they post as well. We’re excited about this new tool that will generate great images for us to use! (New Project, Exhibit A)

From July-September we had the opportunity to help promote the following events through postings on the Chamber of Commerce event calendar and social media platforms:

• Fantastic Family 4th of July

• Bootleggers Bash

• Thunder Valley Rally By cross promoting these events on our platforms, we extend the reach for social audiences and website users. We were also able to share the information to the visitors at the center during these months. (Exhibit A, #9, 10)

Visitor Center numbers for July-September are as follows:

2018 2019

July: 380 July: 525

August: 414 August: 544

September: 442 September: 491

Broken down by local, in state, out of state, and foreign visitors: (Reports sent to AOT)

Based on our numbers, we will be launching a promotion for the remaining quarter of 2019 to promote the Visitor Center as THE place to stop first. We’ll be including visuals, maps, images, and video to attract more attention and visitation to the Center. (New Projects, Exhibit A) The Official Visitor Center sign was placed in a spot that was distracting visitors and causing them to enter the dispensary parking lot instead of turning at the light. After discussing with AOT and ADOT, we were able to adjust the location of the sign.

2019-Visitors Jul Aug Sep 2018-Visitors Jul Aug Sep Local/Other Visitors 139 171 191 Local/Other Visitors 107 134 71 In State 135 103 79 In State 112 112 84 Out Of State 229 262 158 Out Of State 128 97 238 Foreign 10 5 35 Foreign 17 37 37 Relocation 12 3 28 Relocation 16 34 12 Total Visitors 525 544 491 Total Visitors 380 414 442

Installation of Tourist Information Kiosk was installed in Old Town at the City’s Financial Building in September. Below is an inventory of collateral taken from the rack: in September. Below is an inventory of collateral taken from the rack:

September 2019 Visit Cottonwood Guide 75 Chamber Directory 50 Historic Trails Map 20 Wine Trial 20 Arizona Maps 10

The Chamber of Commerce After hours Information Kiosk, counts:

August 2019 September 2019 Visit Cottonwood Guide 35 58 Chamber Directory 36 41 Historic Trails Map 61 45 Wine Trial 29 25 Arizona Maps 55 62

Tourism

Ordinary Income/Expense

Income

4100 · INCOME ACCOUNTS

4101 · Cottonwood - Bed Tax 57,500.00

4102 · Member Dues 0.00

4103 · Grant Income 0.00

4106 · Newsletter Ads 0.00

4108 · Relocation Revenue 0.00

4110 · Non-Dues Revenue 0.00

4112 · Interest Income 0.00

4113 · Visitor Center Sales 126.00

4114 · Miscellaneous Income 0.00

4115 · Cove Parkway Rental 0.00

Total 4100 · INCOME ACCOUNTS 57,626.00

4200 · EVENT INCOME

4204 · Golf Tournament 0.00

4205 · Verde River Day 0.00

4206 · Christmas Parade 0.00

4210 · Mixers 0.00

Total 4200 · EVENT INCOME 0.00

Total Income 57,626.00

Cost of Goods Sold

50000 · Cost of Goods Sold 276.87

Total COGS 276.87

Gross Profit 57,349.13

Expense

5000 · ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSE

5100 · Payroll Expenses 0.00

5101 · Salary 20,845.00

5102 · Payroll Tax 1,594.64

5104 · Payroll Insurance 749.01

5105 · Simple IRA Fees 252.50

5110 · Contract Work - 1099 0.00

5201 · Bank Service Charges 0.00

5203 · Insurance Expense

5203.2 · Professional Liability 0.00

5203.3 · Worker's Compensation 80.00

Total 5203 · Insurance Expense 80.00

5207 · Office Supplies 116.12

5208 · Membership Costs 482.39

5209 · Postage/Shipping 300.00

5210 · Printing and Stationary 126.10

5211 · Copier Lease 312.04

5213 · Mileage 172.84

5214 · Meals 0.00

5215 · Travel Expense

5215.1 · Air/Hotel 0.00

5215.2 · Conferences/Registration 0.00

Total 5215 · Travel Expense 0.00

5218 · Dues/Fees 0.00

5219 · Professional Development 0.00

5220 · Telephone Expense 772.72

5221 · Utilities 780.74

5230 · Building Repairs&Maintenance

5230.1 · Rental Expense 0.00

5230.2 · Property Improvements 756.44

5230 · Building Repairs&Maintenance - Other 50.00

Total 5230 · Building Repairs&Maintenance 806.44

5239 · Legal/Professional Fees 528.11

5241 · Caring Gifts 0.00

5299 · Miscellaneous 0.00

Total 5000 · ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSE 27,918.65

6000 · MARKETING and PROMOTION

6000.1 · Admin/SoMe/Contract 1099 6,000.00

6100 · Tourism Marketing

6101 · Advertising - Non AOT Co-Op 1,895.00

6102 · Travel

6102.2 · Hotel 509.00

6102.3 · Mileage/Toll Fees 320.76

6102.4 · Meals 301.52

Total 6102 · Travel 1,131.28

6104 · Regional & Co-Op Marketing

6104.1 · Co-Op Marketing 9,623.63

6104.2 · Regional - SVVTC 2,375.00

Total 6104 · Regional & Co-Op Marketing 11,998.63

6105 · Public Relations & Promotion

6105.1 · FAM/Journalist/Travel Writers 188.26

Total 6105 · Public Relations & Promotion 188.26

Total 6100 · Tourism Marketing 15,213.17

6300 · Visitor Center 7.66

6500 · Web Expense

6502 · Hosting - Tourism Site 483.61

6503 · Hosting - Chamber Site 0.00

Total 6500 · Web Expense 483.61

Total 6000 · MARKETING and PROMOTION 21,704.44

7000 · ACTIVITY EXPENSE

7101 · Breakfast 0.00

7102 · Mixer Supplies & Service 0.00

7107 · Golf Tournament 0.00

7108 · Verde River Day 0.00

7112 · Community Relations 208.05

Total 7000 · ACTIVITY EXPENSE 208.05

Total Expense 49,831.14

Net Ordinary Income 7,517.99

Net Income 7,517.99

This next quarter will bring the following projects:

• Marketing campaign to promote the Visitor Center through digital and social media channels. We know traffic has slowed at the Center, now it’s time to try some tools in our toolbox to pick up the numbers.

• Crowdriff- social sharing platform. New images, content, and organic experiences of Cottonwood and the Verde Valley.

• Destination Marketing and Promotion Meeting- October 29, 8:00am, 12:00pm, and 4:00pm at the Riverfront Meeting Room lasting one hour at each time. This will be a chance for us to share our marketing and PR plans as well as engage in a Q&A session with attendees. All are invited and the marketing begins to promote it on September 30.

• New video loop to show at the Visitor Center and provide video content to use for marketing and promotion purposes at trade shows and events.

• Continued AOT co-op ad placements and reporting to follow with website statistics and more.

The AOT Cooperative Program has placed us in many outlets where we wouldn’t normally be

able to afford placement. Some of the highlights include: o March/April 2020 issue of AAA So Cal Westways- half page placement o Huddled Masses digital marketing campaign reaching online users interested in and searching for: Arizona travel, outdoor recreation, Arizona getaways. o Through the Fall we focused on promotion of

events in our ads in Arizona Highways, Arizona Drive Guide, Phoenix Magazine, and outreach with the Arizona Office of Tourism through their online calendar, media outreach, and TV promotion in the Valley reminding travelers of: Second Saturday Art Walk in Sept., Thunder Valley Rally, Christmas Parade & Chocolate Walk.

The October-December months tend to be slower for media, which we welcome. We were able to assist with the following

• Travel Classics Newsletter: The Travel Classics Newsletter is an industry newsletter for freelance/journalists in the travel writing industry from all over the United States and Canada. They included information about the Verde Valley Wine Trail to their 5,000+ subscribers prior to their conference in Canada in November.

• Chicago Tribune: We were contacted by Lori Rackl, Travel Editor of the Chicago Tribune. She will be visiting in January and has secured her own lodging in Page Springs. We’ve created a sample itinerary with wine tastings, meals, winery visits, outdoor recreation suggestions and more. Paula Woolsey will meet with her as well as Heather Hermen while Lori is in town.

This quarter we have not incurred any expenses from hosting the media. The above work was done via email and phone.

This quarter provided a great opportunity to host the Brand USA China Trade FAM. Brand USA is the destination marketing agency for the United States. Put into place by President Obama and the first time an actual agency was established to market and promote the United States as a destination to visit to the rest of the world. The group visited Thursday, November 14, and experienced a quick walking visit through Old Town as well as a complimentary lunch and train ride at the Verde Canyon Railroad. Visitors included representatives from the following travel professional companies:

• China CYTS Tours Holding

• Beijing CAISSA International Travel Services

• U-Tour Group

• Beijing China International

• Beijing 6-Renyou International

• Total Travel International

• Beijing Fancy Tours International

• Beijing Global Tour International

• Beijing XIAOYAOXING International

• Beijing Lead Holiday Travel

• American Airlines Account Manager

• Travel Trade Marketing Manager Beijing Office Brand USA These tour companies sent their representatives to begin trip planning and itinerary building for the 2020 and beyond sales. Seeing the destination in person usually helps them sell the area better. These representatives will be selling FIT (future independent travel) vacations, not necessarily bus or group tours.

This quarter we’ve focused on consistency in our posting on social media accounts and really drawing attention to our events. Instagram has continued to grow with an audience now at 664, up from 500 without any funds being spent on it. Facebook is nearly at 2,000 followers organically. In 2020 we plan to begin awarding our fans with some swag from the destination.

From October-December we had the opportunity to help promote the following events through postings on the Chamber of Commerce event calendar and social media platforms:

• Second Saturday Art Walk

• Thunder Valley Rally

• Chocolate Walk

• Christmas Parade By cross promoting these events on our platforms, we extend the reach for social audiences and website users. We were also able to share the information to the 1597# of visitors at the center during these months.

Visitor Center numbers for October-December are as follows:

2018 2019

October: 628 October: 761

November: 508 November: 462

December: 325 December: 374

Based on our numbers, we continue to promote the Visitor Center as THE first place to stop when visiting.

The Chamber of Commerce listing on Google Maps has been freshened up with new photos of the location. We are happy to report our listing is being seen. We reached 50K Views through Google Maps.

50,000

Hi Christian,

Your photos are more popular than ever

You reached a new personal record: 50,000 views! Great photos like yours help people

see what places are really like.

Cottonwood

Chamber of

Commerce

9/15/19

41,111

Cottonwood

Chamber of

Commerce

9/15/19

6,222

We received 35,000 guides in November of 2019. 4500 Guides where distributed to our advertising partners as well as Certified Folder for Distribution around the Phoenix area. Our Visitor Center has also distributed an additional 5450 guides through our network of Visitor Centers around the State. In the month of December.

Old Town Tourist Information Kiosk. Below is an inventory of collateral taken from the rack.

The Chamber of Commerce After Hours Information Kiosk, counts:

Jul - Dec 19


Income






Cost of Goods Sold

50000 · Cost of Goods Sold 395.64

Total COGS 395.64


Expense


5100 · Payroll Expenses 0.00

5101 · Salary 72,758.96

5102 · Payroll Tax 5,837.52

5104 · Payroll Insurance 2,496.70


5203.1 · General Liability Insurance 1,426.75

5203.2 · Professional Liability 834.62

5203.3 · Worker's Compensation 160.00

2019 Old Town Oct Nov Dec Visit Cottonwood Guide 68 93 78 Chamber Directory 58 81 53 Historic Trails Map 10 0 0 Wine Trail 10 20 30

2019 Visitor Center Oct Nov Dec Visit Cottonwood Guide 81 71 37 Chamber Directory 100 71 36 Historic Trails Map 26 79 32 Wine Trail 67 40 17 Arizona Maps 23 4 0

5203 · Insurance Expense - Other 445.88

Total 5203 · Insurance Expense 2,867.25

5207 · Office Supplies 1,404.83

5209 · Postage/Shipping 2,484.72

5210 · Printing and Stationary 721.05

5211 · Copier Lease 1,932.71

5220 · Telephone Expense 3,124.32

5221 · Utilities 2,620.28

5230 · Building Repairs&Maintenance

5230.2 · Property Improvements 1,693.24

5230 · Building Repairs&Maintenance - Other 712.03

Total 5230 · Building Repairs&Maintenance 2,405.27

5239 · Legal/Professional Fees 2,377.95

5240 · Volunteers 457.50

5250 · Taxes - Property 2,293.50






6101.1 · Advertising - Graphic Design 200.00

6102 · Travel

6102.2 · Hotel 509.00


6102.4 · Meals 390.11

Total 6102 · Travel 1,372.12

6103 · Shows

6103.1 · Travel/Media Shows 800.00

Total 6103 · Shows 800.00


6104.1 · Co-Op Marketing 37,852.51

6104.2 · Regional - SVVTC 4,750.00




6105.4 · Promotional Items 1,041.22

Total 6105 · Public Relations & Promotion 1,229.48


6200 · Wine Trail

6201 · WT-Advertising/Marketing 1,746.42

Total 6200 · Wine Trail 1,746.42


6500 · Web Expense

6502 · Hosting - Tourism Site 1,619.60

6503 · Hosting - Chamber Site 175.99

Total 6500 · Web Expense 1,795.59



Net Ordinary Income -52,660.98

Net Income -52,660.98

In October we had the chance to host 3 informative meetings on October 29 at 8:00am, 12:00 noon, and 4:00pm. We kept each meeting to an hour or less and were able to share our marketing plans for the 19/20 fiscal year in partnership with the City of Cottonwood. We welcomed nearly 30 business members and community members. We look forward to our next meeting and the chance to share our message with even more people.


• More media outreach. With the new year comes new media inquiries to assist with travel and visits. We will continue to vet the inquiries and be sure they are the right fit for our destination and we can participate with little to no expense, providing the best opportunity for exposure for the community and the businesses.

• A decision about a New Year’s Eve cork, wine barrel, wine glass, or bottle drop. Now is the time to come together as a city, chamber, and the business community to decide if we can make something happen. New Year’s Eve is on a Thursday, making the New Year’s Day on a Friday and most will take or have the day off. Can we come together and come up with a plan to create an annual event? We received media inquiries from USA Today, Reader’s Digest, AAA Via and the Arizona Republic with requests for unique celebration or interesting “items” being dropped like Flagstaff with the pine cone, Tucson with the taco, and Prescott with the boot.

• Continued AOT co-op ad placements and reporting to follow with website statistics and more.

The AOT Cooperative Program has placed us in many outlets where we wouldn’t normally be

able to afford placement. Many of our programs are wrapping up as we approach the end of the 19/20 fiscal year. Some of the highlights for the beginning of 2020 and end dates are as follows: o AZ Big Media website- targeting people interested in AZ travel, ended March 31. o Search engine marketing through Madden Media- targeting those not in our area, visitors in key states and cities interested in Arizona travel,

outdoors, recreation, wine, and family travel: ended March 31. o TripAdvisor: geotargeted display ads, targeting visitors from southern California,

Texas, Ohio, Chicago, and by interest including Grand Canyon, outdoors, recreation, wine, and family travel. Wrapped: March 31.

o The April issue of Food & Wine Magazine includes an advertorial piece mentioning wine country purchased by the Arizona Office of Tourism. We had the chance to host the film crew last year and DA Ranch as well as Burning Tree Cellars were part of the shoot and are mentioned in the piece. (Photo below)

The January-March months welcomed a few journalist inquiries:

• Colleen Stinchcombe: Freelance writer reached out with questions regarding dark sky community and we passed on some local photography contacts for her to get in touch with for dark sky images.

We were scheduled to have a media visit with a German journalist in May, as we well as an Australian and New Zealand FAM tour of 8 tour operators for the second weekend in May. Due to COVID-19, they have cancelled their plans.

We launched our first consumer newsletter to over 5,000 email opted in subscribers in February. We did a call to tourism members for their deals, specials, news and offers. Our contributors included: Blazin’ M, Pines Motel, Red Cooster Café, Verde Canyon Railroad. Click here to view the email online. Our open rate was 26.8% and the industry average is 18%.

We look forward to sending another newsletter towards the middle of May, hopefully when we are all open and back in business to encourage more travel.

Due to COVID-19, any FAM visits we had scheduled for the spring months were cancelled. International tour operators and agents have not been able to reschedule or change their plans yet due to the inability to book travel currently to the U.S. We continue to keep the lines of communication open with industry partners and look forward to working with them again in the near future and welcoming them to Cottonwood.

https://conta.cc/3cfXrnO

https://conta.cc/3cfXrnO

This quarter we began our focus of spreading the word about where the Visitor Center is located and a specific call to action. We promoted free stickers when visitors stop by the Center and mention they saw it on Facebook. We ran an ad reaching over 6,000 people in the Phoenix area and the statistics below show us our audience skews female, and ages 35-65 are most active on the ad.

Once we are through the COVID-19 time period, we’ll be able to jump back in with further promotion, more stickers, and engaging the visitors to stop by and learn more.

From January-March we had the opportunity to help promote the following events through postings on the Chamber of Commerce event calendar and social media platforms:

• Cottonwood Vintage Run

• Verde Valley Rally

• Sip, Stroll & Shop

• Verde River Runoff By cross promoting these events on our platforms, we extend the reach for social audiences and website users. Unfortunately, many of these events are cancelled and we have stopped promotion.

Visitor Center numbers for January-March are as follows:

2020-Visitors Jan Feb Mar 2019-Visitors Jan Feb Mar

Local/Other Visitors 230 164 138 Local/Other Visitors 177 117 172

In State 90 95 47 In State 93 80 93

Out Of State 192 308 239 Out Of State 230 226 406

Foreign 39 87 67 Foreign 48 67 118

Relocation 13 25 5 Relocation 16 5 8

Total Visitors 564 679 496 Total Visitors 564 495 797

Based on our numbers, we continue to promote the Visitor Center as THE first place to stop when visiting.

Tourism Notes


Income



4108 · Relocation Revenue 10.00




Cost of Goods Sold

50000 · Cost of Goods Sold 857.32 Visitor Center retail

Total COGS 857.32


Expense


5100 · Payroll Expenses

5101 · Salary

5101.1 · Salary/Increase/Bonus 1,774.30 1.5 FTE Visitor Center/Tourism

5101 · Salary - Other 57,013.79 1.5 FTE Visitor Center/Tourism

Total 5101 · Salary 58,788.09

5102 · Payroll Tax 4,361.55 1.5 FTE Visitor Center/Tourism

5104 · Payroll Insurance 2,491.93 0.5 FTE Visitor Center/Tourism

5105 · Simple IRA Fees 570.48 1.0 FTE Visitor Center/Tourism

5100 · Payroll Expenses - Other 0.00

Total 5100 · Payroll Expenses 66,212.05

5110 · Contract Work - 1099 500.00 Visit Cottonwood website work


5203.1 · General Liability Insurance 1,159.24

1/2 Auto / 1/3 building / 1/2 EE theft / 1/2 cyber

5203.3 · Worker's Compensation 218.00 1.5 FTE

5203 · Insurance Expense - Other 445.88 VVWT Board Policy

Total 5203 · Insurance Expense 1,823.12

5207 · Office Supplies 498.91

5208 · Membership Costs 1,160.35

Tourism businesses on visitcottonwood website

5209 · Postage/Shipping 2,188.07 Visitor Guide, other tourism mailing

5210 · Printing and Stationary 729.00 Maps, other tourism printing

5211 · Copier Lease 800.18 1/2 cost

5213 · Mileage 243.60

5218 · Dues/Fees 0.00

5220 · Telephone Expense 2,256.13 1/2 telephone

5221 · Utilities 1,666.52 1/3 electric, gas, water/sewer

5230 · Building Repairs&Maintenance 2,301.75

1/3 landscaping, pest control, office cleaning, HVAC repair

5239 · Legal/Professional Fees 528.11 VVWT 501c3 creation and filing

5240 · Volunteers 457.50 Appreciation gifts

5250 · Taxes - Property 764.50 1/3 property taxes

5299 · Miscellaneous 415.00 Tourism meeting






6101.1 · Advertising - Graphic Design 200.00

6102 · Travel

6102.2 · Hotel 653.26


6102.4 · Meals 590.03

Total 6102 · Travel 1,983.29

6103 · Shows

6103.1 · Travel/Media Shows 906.00

Total 6103 · Shows 906.00


6104.1 · Co-Op Marketing 47,312.26

6104.2 · Regional - SVVTC 7,125.00




6105.4 · Promotional Items 1,041.22

Total 6105 · Public Relations & Promotion 1,229.48


6200 · Wine Trail

6201 · WT-Advertising/Marketing 3,357.75

6202 · WT-Web/Admin 305.02

Total 6200 · Wine Trail 3,662.77


6500 · Web Expense

6502 · Hosting - Tourism Site 1,835.66

Total 6500 · Web Expense 1,835.66


7000 · ACTIVITY EXPENSE

7112 · Community Relations 549.21 Tour group dinner, chocolate walk

Total 7000 · ACTIVITY EXPENSE 549.21


Net Ordinary Income 599.06

Net Income 599.06

9,000.00

In-Kind Rental (1,000 sq ft @ $1.00 pr sq ft)

39,670.80 Volunteer costs - In Kind

We have increased our communication about COVID-19 with business and personal resources. Sharing webinars, links to assistance, and more. Administration of Cottonwood Connected program: www.cottonwoodconnected.com


• More media outreach. We will continue to reach out to the media with what travel options are awaiting their arrival when things return to normal. We’ll keep encouraging family travel, outdoor recreation, events, and the wine industry.

• Something that could still be addressed: A decision about a New Year’s Eve cork, wine barrel, wine glass, or bottle drop. Now is the time to come together as a city, chamber, and the business community to decide if we can make something happen. New Year’s Eve is on a Thursday, making the New Year’s Day on a Friday and most will take or have the day off. Can we come together and come up with a plan to create an annual event? We received media inquiries from USA Today, Reader’s Digest, AAA Via and the Arizona Republic with requests for unique celebration or interesting “items” being dropped like Flagstaff with the pine cone, Tucson with the taco, and Prescott with the boot.

• Continued AOT co-op ad placements and reporting to follow. (TBD) Based on City Chamber contract moving forward.

Documents

Destination Marketing Plan 2019-2020 · destination marketing plans, and the overall satisfaction of tourism promotion for the destination Increase Visitation to the Official Visitor