HERNANDO COUNTY

BROOKSVILLE - TAMPA BAY REGIONAL AIRPORT

BUDGETARY ALLOCATIONS

APRIL, 11 2013

Hernando County /Brooksville-Tampa Bay Regional Airport Economic Development Research .................................................................... .. ....... $35,600

Estimate reflects costs related to conducting seventeen (17) in-depth telephone interviews, including discussion guide development, interview coordination, communications audits, and peer group analysis. Findings would be reported in a presentation/deck with summaries, profiles, and conclusions. Travel is additional.

Hernando County /Brooksville-Tampa Bay Regional Airport Economic Development Marketing Plan ................................................................ $24,97 5

Estimate reflects costs related to the development of a marketing communications plan including strategies, tactics, timelines, and recommended tools. Development and production of marketing materials and travel are additional.

Hernando County /Brooksville-Tampa Bay Regional Airport Economic Development Consultation ..... ..................................... .. ... ....................... $54,000

E stimate represents an on-going economic development consultative engagement for Hernando County/Brooksville-Tampa Bay Regional Aiiport including public affairs and public relations support. Annual not to exceed a budget of $54,000.00, billable at $4,500.00 per month for twelve months. Travel is additional.

Total ................................................. .................................................................................. $114,575

WALKER MARKETING, INC.

The International Business Park· 805 Trnde Strcct, l\'\V ·Sui te 101 · Cont·ord, NC 28027 70·1 ·782·.~2+± office · 70 1·262· 1 lOO/ax · walker-marketing.com

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Estimate

Leonard B. Sossamon Jr. County Administrator Hernando County 20 North Main Street Room 263 Brooksville, Florida 34601

Date: Job Title:

Total

Terms:

Accepted by:

April-11-2013 Tourism Visitor Profile and Impact Study

Estimate reflects costs related to conducting a Visitor Profile and Impact study, planning, online survey development, participation recruitment, coding and tabulation based on a 350 sample size. Also includes conducting nine (9) telephone interviews with select hotels, attractions and tourism businesses, including discussion guide development, coordination, analysis and presentation of findings. Costs based on Hernando County providing contact information (name and email address) for visitor research sample (approximately 25,000 emails). Travel is additional.

$44,000.00

Net: 30

PLEASE SEE REVERSE SIDE FOR TERMS AND CONDITIONS.

BRAND OPPORTUNITIES FOR HERNANDO COUNTY, FLORIDA

FEBRUARY 27, 2013

I. Situation

The national financial crisis and collapse of the housing market occurred during what may have otherwise been an expansion period for tourism in Hernando County. The convergence of these events further compounded by the Deepwater Horizon offshore oil spill and lack of a clear and distinguishable brand have necessitated a new focus on strategic planning to help define the future of the county. Among these priorities is the issue of rebranding Hernando County to clarify its brand identity and value proposition as a destination for both tourism and business.

At present, the county and its various stakeholders appear to be gathering momentum and consensus in the shared desire to:

Construct and define the Hernando County brand Discover and promote a powerful, overarching value proposition for the county Develop marketing communications that leverage these values for both tourism and economic development

Ultimately, a new brand will be used to support tourism and economic development efforts. To this end, we have recommended an inclusive branding process which identifies and incorporates the needs and motivations of a broad cross-section of "brand stakeholders" who have vested interests in the Hernando County brand and the ensuing marketing campaign implemented to attract tourism and business. What follows is an outline of our recommended process.

II. Process Overview

Our process is simple: we collect information and input from three different audiences in order to inform our branding recommendations. All branding processes rely on a variety of inputs to ascertain insight. Typically, the three audiences from which to draw information include:

The Organization (Hernando County) The Category (comparable counties/ regions and competitors) The Customer (visitors, local and prospective business and industry)

WALKER MARKETING, INC.

The International Bus iness Park · 805 Trade Streel, N\Y/ · Suire 101 · Concord, NC 28027 704·782·3244 office· 704·262·1100fax· walker-marketing.com

Discovery is obtained from these three audiences with the objective of satisfying three strategic criteria:

Of the "Organization," we ask: what is the most valid promise we can make? By valid, we mean: What is most true? What is transcending across geography, season, demographics, business types, etc.? What can leadership embrace and advocate?

Of the "Category," we ask: what promise is the most differentiated? In other words, what promise will help separate Hernando County from other options?

Of the "Customer" we ask: what is the most motivating promise? By motivating, we mean: what is most likely to cause a behavioral reaction, such as a visit or tour?

Ill. Discovery Process

The discovery process consists of both qualitative and quantitative research. While the quantitative research has a higher statistical validity, each is integral to the discovery process for reasons stated above.

A. Qualitative Interviews

Qualitative discovery would consist of interviews with each audience segment at approximately 30 minutes in length per interview. Interviewees would be selected from the following groups:

Tourism Economic Development (3) Hotels/Motels (3-6) County Commissioners (3) Attractions (3-6) Tampa Bay Partnership members (3) Local tourism-related businesses (3) Local businesses (recent

relocations)

We will conduct up to 25 interviews with key stakeholders in the region and work closely with the county to identify prospects within the community to interview. Interviews are generally 30-45 minutes in length. A discussion guide will be prepared in advance covering topics such as: specific motivations, perceptions, and preferences.

Findings would be reported in a presentation/ deck with verbatim comments. This deck will include conclusions and implications for tourism and economic development.

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B. Alternatives Analysis

Walker marketing will conduct additional research on trends in tourism and economic development marketing, the region, and Hernando County's primary competitors, including an in-depth analysis of up to three "alternative" counties with a focus on communications practices (website, advertising, earned media, collateral).

Deliverables include competitive snapshots, positioning summary matrix, best practices analysis, and category trend summary. Findings would be reported in a presentation/ deck with summaries, profiles, and conclusions.

IV. Visitor Profile and Impact Study

The purpose of the quantitative research is to profile Hernando County's leisure activities and visitors and quantify and monetize their activities in the county, leading to the development of a value proposition that aligns with the needs and motivations of prospect visitors with the hierarchy of economic benefit for the county.

We must first better define Hernando County's "customer" prior to development of a brand strategy or marketing communications so that future work is informed and strategic in nature. The objectives of this research are to:

Profile and prioritize visitor types

Quantify the economic impact of each visitor type

Prioritize visitor types based on contribution to the economy

Identify perceptions, motivations, and information consumption trends

A. Approach

This proposal is based on using existing contact information (name and email address) of individuals participating in key leisure activities in Hernando County, including: kayaking/canoeing, fishing, boating, biking, camping/RV, ATV, birding, and hiking.

Email survey invitations will be sent to these individuals that will contain a link to the online questionnaire, which will query:

Primary motivation for traveling to the area Activities they have participated in while in Hernando County Point of origin Party size Ages represented in party Length of stay

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Their spending during their visit on:

• • • • • •

Lodging Food/beverages in restaurants Groceries (food & beverage) Equipment purchase or rental Other entertainment Gasoline

Perceived quality of the activity in the county Where else they engage in the activity (alternatives) How Hernando County compares to those competitive areas Return intentions Potential motivators to increase visitation Sources of information about travel Sources of information about chosen activity

B. Sample Size Goals and List Requirements

A visitor database comprised of visitor emails would be used as the study sample. For cost efficiencies, Walk.er Marketing, along with county officials, would access various databases (i.e. marina, attractions, RV parks, etc.) to obtain contact information from each of the activity ''buckets."

Based on sample availability and incidence of activity participation, we will seek:

Water Sports 1SO- 300 • Kayaking/ canoeing SO - 100 • Fishing SO - 100 • Boating SO - 100

Trail Activities 1 SO - 300 • Biking SO - 100 • Birding and hiking 50 - 100 • ATV 50 - 100

Camping/RV 50 -100

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To accomplish the goals for completed surveys, we estimate that we will need the following quantities of visitor contact information. These estimates are based on average response rates for this type of survey. The higher the quality of the lists (correct and current email) and the better the motivating incentives, the better the response rate should be, which would allow for more interviews out of fewer sample records.

• Water Sports 10,000- 20,000 • Kayaking/ canoeing 3,500 - 7 ,000 • Fishing 3,500 - 7 ,000 • Boating 3,500- 7,000

• Trail Activities 10,000 - 20,000 • Biking 3,500 - 7 ,000 • Birding and hiking 3,500 - 7,000 • ATV 3,500- 7,000

• Camping/RV 3,500- 7,000

V. Brand Strategy & Timing

Once the discovery process is complete, we develop the brand strategy, which consists of a value proposition at its core. A value proposition is triangulated by solving for validity, motivation and differentiation, and answering the questions that align with these values. The value proposition is the strategic foundation for the brand strategy-how you intend to position and market going forward.

Once the brand strategy is developed, creative and marketing communications tactics would be developed and outlined in a marketing communication plan, which can be implemented over time.

In summary, the branding process consists of the following critical steps:

Discovery phase, which includes qualitative and quantitative research and development of a brand strategy (90 - 120 days) Marketing communications plan & brand usage manual (60 - 90 days) Marketing communications execution (ongoing)

The cost of planning and executing all discovery outlined in this proposal is $124,725. Costs are based on projects similar in nature and size and asswnes the visitor survey sample is provided. All related travel costs are additional.

WALKER MARKETING, INC.

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