The Calaveras Visitors Bureau Mission Statement

The Calaveras Visitors Bureau is Calaveras County’s core

tourism promotion organization dedicated to creating long

term and sustainable economic growth for the region and

its members through innovative tourism programs,

promotions and partnerships.

Organization & Funding

• The Calaveras Visitors Bureau is a 501c6 non-profit association governed by a 9-member Board of Directors elected by member businesses.

• Funding & Income – approximately $300,000 to $350,000 annually

City TOT (13% of the 10% tax)

County TOT (33% of the 6% tax)

Membership includes ad sales

Partnerships - coop advertising

Gift shop sales - covers our lease

38%22%

30%

7%3%

2014 – 2015 Budget Breakdown

Marketing

Payroll

Admin (rent, accounting etc)

Membership

Conference Education

Association Dues

Insurance

49%

33%

13%

• 49% of our entire budget goes directly into marketing:

2014 – 2015 Marketing Spend

Activities Guide - print & distribution

Print - Sunset, Via, Visit California

PR - blogs, email campaigns, press re-leases etc.

Online - Facebook, Google, Visit Cali-fornia

State Fair - design & build, props & volunteer support

Trade Shows - Sunset, Bay Area Travel, LA Travel

Cooperative - GCVA, HSVC, etc.

Website - upgrades & development

Misc - ad development, signage etc.

30%

23%16%

14%

7%

5%

2%

2014 – 2015 Marketing Plan Includes

• Design, production, distribution of 80,000 Calaveras Experience Guides

• Calaveras booth in the California State Fair • Exhibits at the most productive Travel and Trade

Shows• Continuing education on best industry practices• Strategic online & print advertising• Submitting story ideas to journalists

and Visit California• Creating compelling travel itineraries• Content marketing to create engage-

ment with our brand• Regional marketing with local partners• Continuation of email campaigns• Media FAM (familiarization) trips• Continued website improvements

• Increased our web visitation in 2013 by 17.5% and exceeded that by 21% for 2014 for over 12,800 unique visits monthly. 2015 saw further 38% increase to over 17,710 per month.

• Increased our Facebook likes in 2014 by 64% (from 9,354 on January 1st to 15,359 on December 31st) . In April 2015, we exceeded 18,200 likes.

• On May 1st, 2014, we launched our mobile and tablet sites resulting in a 98.25 decrease in the bounce rate on our desktop site.

• Twitter followers have increased since Jan 2014 by 40% from 476 to 667.

2014-15 Highlights – Digital

Leveraged our marketing dollars with our regional tourism marketing groups:

• Gold Country Visitors Association• 2014 2 fam tours resulting in great

media coverage• California Visitors Guide co-op ad• Dog Trekker partnership• 2015 - Gold Country Golf fam – 2

radio interviews already

• High Sierra Visitors Council• 2014 1 fam tour with Visit California

France• Gold Country contest with Visit

California France• Developed new map brochure • 2015 plans – itinerary development

2014-15 Highlights – Regional Marketing

2014-15 Highlights – Email Campaigns

Monthly VISITOR newsletters are sent to nearly 6000 subscribers

Monthly MEMBER newsletters are sent to 435 members and friends of the CVB

Monthly copy of VISITOR newsletters for members go to the same 435 members and friends

26%open

rate

34%open

rate

35%open

rate

Why have we received the Constant Contact All Star Award for the last three years?

The industry standard open rate for email campaigns is 18.2%. Here’s how WE do:

2014-15 Highlights – Activities Guide

80,000 copies distributed through:• Fulfillment from ad reader response

in:• Sunset, VIA and CA Visitors Guide

• Gold Country Visitor Centers • County rack distribution program• Travel trade shows• Media & tour operator fulfillment• California State Fair – GOLD AGAIN!• 2014-15 Certified Distribution:

• Doubled N. California Summers Sports Program

• Doubled San Jose Corporate offices

• Added Oakland Airport • Kept San Jose Airport and CA

Welcome CentersDigital version also available on CVB website and issuu.com where it’s fully interactive and can be shared anywhere online

2014 HIGHLIGHTS: Presentations

• Presenting to key California tourism marketing organizations helps reinforce our brand and strengthens our relationships with them. In 2014 we presented to:

• San Francisco Travel – 15 minutes expanded to 2 hours to include time with frogs and catered lunch by Lunch Lady Catering paired with Calaveras wines.

• Visit California – 1 hour presentation with frogs, wine, rubber chickens, chocolates and fantastic giveaways including an overnight stay at Hotel Léger, free wine tasting and cave tours.

2014-15 HIGHLIGHTS: Website Upgrades

• Expanded our listings• No longer just member based• Unlimited listings under every

logical category• Continued to expand the Member’s

Corner• All board reports are posted• Check out Highlights reports for

the latest on what we’ve achieved

• Events for our calendar can now be submitted by Calaveras businesses

• Expanded the Weddings section• Expanded our Media section

• Photo Galleries now online for media use

• 2-page Calaveras profile• Story ideas• Seasonal itineraries• Press releases

2015 Promotions: Fall in Love Sweepstakes

Valentine’s Adventure Getaway for 2

• Promoted through social media, our website, Sunset online, Visit California online, our newsletter and we sponsored a Sunset e-newsletter

• Reached nearly 11,500 people on Facebook

• Nearly 600 entrants

Ultimate Fair & Frog Jump Family Getaway for 4

• Promoted through social media, website, Sunset ad

• Nearly 600 entrants with a 37% conversion rate.

Calaveras Visitors Center

• Is open 7 days a week proudly serving visitors & residents: 11,042 for 2014.

• Provides 24 hour information: phone, bulletin board & website.

• Includes a gift shop selling Calaveras County souvenirs and locally produced items, covering the cost of our lease.

• Sells tickets to member events.

• Keeps track of available hotel rooms and helps visitors book their overnight stays.

Proven Partnerships

We work in partnership with local, regional and state marketing and economic development groups for the advancement of Calaveras County. These are just a few of the groups we work most closely with:

Invest in a marketing ROI study so we can

expand our most effective marketing

programs.

Imagine More Funding!

Hire another full-time staff member

to get all tourism related businesses on our website and Visit California’s website.

Raising TOT from 6% to 10% would add about

$65,000 to our marketing budget.

Engage more with outlying areas of

Calaveras County & help to develop more tourism.

Increase TOTHere’s what we could do: