The Flagstaff Convention & Visitors Bureau (CVB) is launching a re-imaging campaign in FY 2013 with a May 1, 2013 start date. The re-imaging effort includes an updated advertising campaign, new photography, visuals and graphs with current statistics, as well as a new website.

Background:

• In the tourism industry, it is common practice to review marketing campaigns periodically to determine their ongoing effectiveness. Our current campaign has seen high success over the past four years with a 71.1% increase in monthly web hits to www.FlagstaffArizona.org, a 7.7% increase in the BBB revenues, as well as leading the state in hotel occupancy percentage rates. The outcomes of our current campaign have met or exceeded expectations, but the time came to review our overall efforts for consideration of a new approach. Therefore, the CVB staff sought the advice from regional partners and the Tourism Commission to review our efforts to possibly seek out new methods to reach potential travelers and to continue to look for opportunities to improve and optimize our messaging and marketing activities. In addition to the visual aesthetics of the CVB marketing efforts, the various tools that visitors use to make travel decisions were also reviewed since these have changed greatly over the past four years. Based on these assessments, CVB staff was supported by the Tourism Commission in moving forward with a new image for the marketing campaign and tools used.

Guidance from a professional marketing firm was solicited, along with traveler input through focus group research, to determine the best way to move forward in marketing Flagstaff. We selected Off Madison Ave. as the firm to work with us. They conducted two focus groups in the Phoenix metro area and reviewed all current research that the CVB has on file. They compared this with industry research that they have access to in order to generate a creative brief to be used by the CVB to establish best practices and trends that should shape our promotional efforts and possibly create a new marketing campaign. The cost for this firm was $25,500 and was completed May 2012. The focus group input and professional recommendations of Off Madison Ave. supported the independent conclusion drawn by CVB staff, the Tourism Commission and stakeholder input that it was time for a new campaign to best move forward in promoting Flagstaff more broadly in an effort to continue experiencing increases and stronger revenues from tourism as a return on investment.

CVB staff has created comps for the new campaign and shared these with the Tourism Commission as well as many of the stakeholders. Staff is currently employing all the avenues necessary for the May 1st launch, including print and digital advertising, website design, branding materials, sales and media kits and all other items deemed beneficial to promote Flagstaff as a destination for all seasons.

The presentation will include initial comps of these efforts and a walk through the steps the CVB staff is taking for this campaign.