2016 Proposal Guidelines - Enjoy Olympic Peninsula
Transcription
2016 Proposal Guidelines - Enjoy Olympic Peninsula
P age |2 2016 Proposal Guidelines Tourism Promotion Activities The Jefferson County Lodging Tax Advisory Committee is accepting proposals from government agencies and non-profit organizations for tourism-promotion to be provided during calendar year 2016 and paid for from the County’s lodging tax fund. The Committee will make recommendations to the Jefferson County Commissioners within one month following the proposal deadline as part of the County’s annual budget development. All decisions for use of the lodging tax will be made by the Jefferson County Commissioners. Proposal Deadline: On or before 4:30 p.m. October 30, 2015 (received in County Administrator’s Office, not postmarked) Mailing Address: Jefferson County Lodging Tax Advisory Committee County Administrator P.O. Box 1220 Port Townsend, WA 98368 Delivery Address: Jefferson County Lodging Tax Advisory Committee County Administrator 1820 Jefferson Street Port Townsend, WA 98368 General Guidelines ■ Proposals from government agencies or non-profit organizations are to be for tourism promotion during calendar year 2016. Please refer to Section B of this packet for the definition of “tourism promotion.” ■ Proposals must comply with federal, state, and county laws and requirements. NOTE: Jefferson County may not use public funds in any way that can be construed as a gift to an individual or organization. ■ Proposals must completely address the questions, and all requested supplemental information must be provided. Incomplete proposals will not be considered by the Lodging Tax Advisory Committee. ■ To be considered, a fully completed and signed original application PLUS SEVEN (7) complete copies with supporting documents must be received and date stamped at the Jefferson County Courthouse, County Administrator’s Office, 1820 Jefferson Street, Port Townsend, WA 98368 by the deadlines listed above. ■ The proposal and all documents filed with the County are public records, potentially eligible for release. Jefferson County is committed to the non-discriminatory treatment of all Persons in the employment and delivery of services and resources. P age |3 2016 Proposal Checklist Service Proposal for Tourism Promotion Activities Organization Name TCC (Jefferson County Tourism Coordinating Council) Event Name, if different Proposed Contract Amount: $120,000.00 + $20,000 banked capacity Conversion Study Proposals must completely address the questions, and all requested supplemental information must be provided. Incomplete proposals or proposals submitted after the deadline will not be considered by the Jefferson County Lodging Tax Advisory Committee. To be eligible for consideration, your application must be signed, dated, and include the following items in the listed order. Please sequentially number all of the pages in your proposal on the upper right hand side of each page. On the blank line next to each item, please indicate the page number(s) within your proposal for the requested items. 1. ___4____ Signed and Dated Proposal Summary Sheet 2. ___5____ Section 1 - Itemized list of proposed services and estimated costs. 3. ___11___ Section 2 - Proposal Questions. 4. ___13___ Section 3 - Proposed 2016 promotion, facility, event or activity budget. 5. ___19___ Section 3 - 2015 budget and year-to-date income and expense statement(s). 6. ___20___ Section 3 - List of names and addresses of the organization’s current Board of Directors. Name and contact information for event chairperson, if applicable. 7. see URL Section 3 - Optional work samples such as season brochures, promotional materials, reviews, news/magazine articles, etc (maximum of 5 separate pieces). 2015 TCC Marketing Gallery at: http://www.enjoyolympicpeninsula.com/2015-tccmarketing-gallery/ To be considered, a fully completed and signed original application PLUS SEVEN (7) complete copies with supporting documents must be received and date stamped at the Jefferson County Administrator’s Office, 1820 Jefferson Street, Port Townsend, WA 98368 by October 30, 2015. Documents submitted to the County are public records, potentially eligible for release. P age |4 2016 Proposal Summary Sheet Proposal for Tourism Promotion Activities Proposal Deadline: October 30, 2015 at 4:30 pm (received, not postmarked) Address To: Jefferson County Lodging Tax Advisory Committee Mailing Address: P.O. Box 1220, Port Townsend WA 98368 Delivery Address: Jefferson County, County Administrator’s Office, 1820 Jefferson Street, Port Townsend, WA 98368 Please type (10 point or larger) or legibly print in ink. To be considered: all questions must be answered; all requested documents provided; this form must be signed and dated; and the original plus seven (7) complete duplicate sets filed by October 30, 2015. Organization Name Organization Address Contact Name Contact Address Day Phone E-Mail Address Facility/Event/Activity Name (if applicable) Total Lodging Tax Request: Estimated 2016 organizational operating budget (Incl. Lodging Tax Funds) If asking for funds for a specific event, list other cash funding sources and dollar amounts budgeted for this project. Note: This section is only due for specific event and festival funding requests. TCC (Jefferson County Tourism Coordinating Council) Steve Shively 2023 E. Sims way #308, Port Townsend, WA 98368 360-440-7006 Evening or Cell Phone same [email protected] $ 120,000 + $20,000 (Banked cap. From Lodging Tax reserves) $ 120,000 $ Funding Source – Jeff Co. Lodging Tax a)TCC 2016 Marketing Budget b) Banked capacity from Lodging Tax reserves for collaboration on contracted Conversion Rate study Dollar Amount $120,000 $ 20,000 $ $ $ $ $ Total Project Revenue Budget Did your organization receive Lodging Tax Funds from the County in 2015? yes _____ no I understand that if my organization’s proposal for tourism promotion activities is approved by the County that my organization will enter into a contract with the County to provide the contracted services up to the maximum contract amount. I understand that the proposal herein is a public record potentially eligible for public release. Sign Name: Print Name and Title: Date: Steve Shively – TCC Marketing Coordinator October 27, 2015 P age |5 Section 1. Itemized List of Proposed Tourism Promotion Services Organization (or Event) Name: TCC - Jefferson County Tourism Coordinating Council ___________________________________________________________________________ - In the following space or on a separate sheet of paper, please specify each proposed tourism promotion, facility, event or activity, including quantities and costs (see examples at bottom of page). “From Canal to Coast & Sea to Summit” The Jefferson County tourism message is as broad and diverse as our County is. From Marrowstone Island, to Kalaloch, to Brinnon to the Chimacum Valley. TCC remains active guiding, amplifying, and where needed - starting - these tourism focused conversations to the ears and eyes of active travelers. Our success is known when they convert these marketing messages of Enjoy Olympic Peninsula into feet on the ground, and dollars in the cash registers, or Jefferson County hospitality and lodging partners. This is the primary work of the TCC (Tourism Coordinating Council of Jefferson County). The power of these curated tourism messages is directly evident in the ongoing success of the overall Olympic Peninsula Tourism message and product. Year to Date County Hotel / Motel Lodging Tax revenue is up 24.2% over budget, (a leader across the whole Olympic Peninsula) Year to Date County Hotel / Motel Lodging revenue is up 33.57% over the 4-year average for the same period. Based upon 10 Year Jefferson County revenue actuals, County Lodging tax is forecast* to end 2015 with a minimum of $356,827. A gain of $46,327 or 14.92% over budgeted revenues of $310,500. TCC has been actively lending a hand or leading the tourism marketing conversations across the Puget Sound region during 2015. TCC leadership has included: o Military Members & Dependents Trade Fair o Kitsap Peninsula Tourism Summit o Visit Seattle Annual Tourism meeting o WTA (Washington Tourism Alliance) conference & Olympia lobbying day o Tourism & Economic Development Advisory seat, NOAA’s Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary o Kalaloch Lodge welcome & tourism briefing with new GM Kyle Forgey o Pleasant Harbor Marina Resort tourism briefings with Statesman Group President o FAM (Familiarization) tour logistics and leadership in conjunction with Port of Seattle o Developed and Facilitated Advance Marketing Measurements workshop for partners o Olympic Peninsula Tourism Summit As a result TCC’s presence within OPTC (Olympic Peninsula Tourism Council) has increased in both involvement and earned media impressions. Resulting in greater Jefferson County tourism marketing for the same monetary partnership investment. TCC has a growing and relative new social media presence through EnjoyOlympicPeninsula.com. Thanks to supplemental Jefferson County LTAC funding we have invested in additional marketing, organizational sophistication, and measurements. Resulting in increased ROI for lodging partners and increased tourism spending throughout the County. We seek your continued support to help us improve upon 2015’s success! P age |6 “A Bigger Pie” forecast for Jefferson County Lodging Tax revenues. * based on 10-year analysis of County auditor’s LTAC budget history the 2014 LTAC allocations for 2015 of $310,000 + $38,283 supplemental, are recommended to be awarded at no less than $360,000 in 2015 for 2016 tourism marketing. Any less allocated and the County will simply be adding additional funds to current reserves instead of leveraging earned lodging tax generated dollars to further promote tourism across the County. TCC is pleased that $385,000 in lodging tax revenue will be available for Jefferson Co. allocation on tourism promotion in 2016! Based on this confidence of the “Bigger Pie” and the great TCC council’s recommendation to keep building and progressing our tourism marketing efforts and message, we are sound in our proposal for a 9.46% increase over 2015 total TCC allocation. Additionally – TCC in collaboration with Clallam Co. and goal of participation from cities of Port Townsend, Port Angeles, and Sequim propose joint investment in a commissioned Conversion Study. Detailed page 10. Our proposed 2016 TCC marketing budget is detailed as follows: Proposed TCC 2016 Marketing Budget 2016 Proposed Advertising Collateral $17,800 Lodging List Placement in Getaway Guides Changes to Lodging List for Act. Map Reprint Opportunities, (e.g. Coho Ad) Reprint JeffCo Activity Map Regional Adventure Trail Map Projects Brochure Reprint (e.g. Waterfall Trail / OP TP) Web Hosting, Domain Reg. & Social Media Sub. Ad Creative Services $3,000 $500 $2,000 $4,000 $2,000 $5,200 $700 $400 Advertising - Marketing $54,100 Spring/Fall co-opt Campaigns Digital Marketing FAM Tour Support Olympic Culinary Loop Oly Peninsula Tourism Summit Collaboration WTA Participation Year-Around Campaign Shoulder Season Campaigns $13,000 $11,100 $2,000 $4,000 $2,000 $1,000 $12,000 $9,000 Olympic Peninsula Tourism Commission (OPTC) $27,000 Note: 4 areas represented: Pt. Ludlow, Pt. Hadlock, Quilcene/Brinnon, West End $27,000 Professional Services $21,100 Coordination of Marketing, Budget, etc. Travel, Postage, Copies, Office Expenses, etc. Meeting Conference Calling Professional Services (i.e. 501c6 & tax filing) $18,000 $2,100 $300 $700 TOTAL Requested Totals $120,000 P age |7 Budget Narrative: Itemized list of proposed services and estimated costs Advertising Collateral $17,800 Lodging List – Getaway Guide Placement & Pad Map $3,000 Partnering Jefferson County TCC with Port Townsend to publish the Lodging Guides for both Jefferson County and Port Townsend in the Port Townsend Leader Getaway Guide, which is distributed along the I-5 and related communities, as well as on the Olympic Peninsula. Inclusive of design work, graphic updates, and co-opt printing of current Jefferson County lodging listings used in popular visitor center pad maps, JeffCo. Activity Map and other publications. Jefferson County ‘Activities’ Map $500 This perennial favorite fly’s off Visitor Center and ferry brochure racks. Supported by a TCC digital ad on major WA State Ferry routes the Jefferson County Activity Map is a unique county asset that sets Jefferson County apart from the rest of our collaborative Olympic Peninsula messaging. Opportunity Ads $2,000 Opportunity Ads communicate that the Peninsula is “open for business” and enable TCC to be nimble players in larger co-opt advertising that would otherwise be simply out of the price range for TCC to afford on our own. NW Travel & Lifestyle Magazine and MV Coho (Black Ball Ferry) along with other regional marketing opportunities are presented for TCC and fellow Olympic Peninsula tourism partners to participate in. Some of these are seasonal scheduled, other are special opportunities providing marketing in response to unplanned events Reprint JeffCo Activity Map $4,000 This core marketing and tourism interpretive collateral is annually printed, (distribution quantity now up to 35,000), and broadly distributed throughout the region. Regional Adventure Trail Projects $2,000 All trails takes across our vast Olympic Peninsula take much more than one day to see and do, which contributes to increasing the number of nights each tourist stays in lodgings here in Jefferson County. From the nationally acclaimed Waterfall Trail brochure, the Salish Sea celebration of our Cascade Marine Trail, Equestrian, Whales, to the fast growing Olympic Discovery Trail (Bike) there are plenty of worthwhile trails which help exclaim all the enjoyment opportunities around our Olympic Peninsula. These map guides, and individually curated web based itineraries, have been exceedingly successful, and consumer demand warrants updates and additional printings in response to demand. Articles in national magazines have brought wide acclaim and attention for Jefferson County and the Olympic Peninsula, and these funds will continue the work on the brochures, their related websites, and on the regional and national efforts as these maps help illustrate the Enjoy Olympic Peninsula brand. Brochure Reprint (Waterfall Trail / Olympic Peninsula Travel Planner) $5,200 Print is not dead! Consumer demand warranted reprints and expanded distribution of popular brochures focused on unique and detailed visitor experiences across Jefferson County and around the entire Olympic Peninsula. Digital Platforms, Web Hosting, Domain Registration & Social Media Subscription $700 TCC continues to leverage the well-established power of OlympicPeninsual.org, along with TCC’s one year new EnjoyOlympicPeninsula.com site. TCC’s supporting Facebook page www.facebook.com/EnjoyOlympicPeninsula will have surpassed 1,000 fan Likes. Setting our marks for Kalaloch (3.2K) and The Resort at Port Ludlow (2.3K), pages which have been active since as far back as 2009. . TCC also redirects internet search engine queries to EnjoyOlympicPeninsula through companion domains: HeartoftheOlympicPeninsula, TravelOlympicPeninsula and ExperienceOlympicPeninsula. Successful engagement with travel writers and powerful leveraging of earned social media mentions of EnjoyOlympicPeninsula continue to exceed all past performance of TCC’s previously “Dragon” branded digital media presence. Ad Creative Services $400 P age |8 TCC coordinates message and ad design so as to retain a consistent look and feel within the growing Enjoy Olympic Peninsula tourism brand. Ad creative services are continually the lowest priced, with great ROI. Advertising Marketing $54,100 Spring/Fall Campaigns $13,000 There are two major co-opt campaigns the TCC runs through OPTC. We partner with Clallam, and the Lake Quinault Lodging partnership of Grays Harbor County for better buying power on promotions and advertising, and to promote the entire Olympic Peninsula in one package. The message is simple: Anywhere from Portland to Vancouver BC along the I-5 corridor, our visitors “Work Here (city) … as we encourage them to “Play” (Spring) or “Relax (Fall) Here (Olympic Peninsula)”. The “Work Here – Play/Relax Here” campaign has proven very popular. It has also enabled TCC to leverage supporting campaigns of our own as – together – we all strive to strengthen our traditionally deep shoulder seasons in comparison to the high occupancy summer peak. The consumer does not recognize county lines and therefore the TCC and our Olympic Peninsula tourism partners combine funds to ensure that our promotions reach as large an audience as possible and to take advantage of economies of scale in print, display ad media, web and streaming advertising that the TCC would not be able to afford on its own. Digital Marketing $11,100 Print is still powerful, but digital media (web and social platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter) is where the most dynamic responses are being seen across the industry. Through digital marketing we aggregate calendar feeds from My City Scene and OlympicPeninsula.org instead of creating redundant content. Digital communications platforms enable us to quickly changes and boost marketing focus on as necessary to with new and current content, dates, info about new promotions, and visuals (e.g. custom “Relax” & “Play” videos https://vimeo.com/115092612, https://vimeo.com/143814008) This category contains a monthly Digital Media Maintenance contract to maintain the EnjoyOlympicPeninsula website, Blog posting, email marketing, social platform networking and content, analytics collection and reporting. P age |9 FAM Tour Support $2,000 In order to increase the knowledge of tour operators, the TCC conducts FAM (Familiarization Tours) in Jefferson County for tour company professionals, and others who direct tourists and visitors to our area. During 2015 TCC partnered with OPTC in welcoming a record number of FAM tours through collaboration with Port of Seattle and Visit Seattle DMO. The mix of travel writers vs. tour operators was 60/40. Seeing that few Jefferson County lodging properties or tourist activity operators are set-up to administer added value discounts packaged by tour operators, TCC has been selective in receiving travel writer FAM’s over tour operators. Our 2016 goal is for additional home grown FAM’s and a target ratio of 70/30 travel writers vs. tour operators. FAM Tours for travel writers have directly brought many thousands of dollars in magazine, web, and radio articles that TCC would not have been able to purchase directly. Olympic Culinary Loop $4,000 All four counties round the Peninsula cooperate, and harvest annual bounty of “Taste Tourist”, thanks to this unique Culinary Association promoting the cuisine on the Olympic Peninsula, and thereby bringing in visitors who will need to stay in lodgings during the culinary tours of the Peninsula. The Culinary Loop Adventure is used as the core of TCC’s Spring and Fall Campaign promotions. During 2015 TCC partnered with OCL to host a Cider Press FAM that specifically focuses on the fertile farming and agitourism happening in the Chimacum valley, as well as welcoming a USA TODAY special sections travel writer into East Jefferson County. The ongoing OCL project includes support for the ongoing effort to bring visitors here by contributing to brochure printing expense, website changes and maintenance (all representing a regional and national branding effort) and tours that continue to increase lodging stays and therefore LTAC income. Marketing Summit Collaboration $2,000 Each year, an extremely valuable regional Summit is put on by JeffCo TCC’s partner group, OPTC, to educate lodgings and tourism business owners, members and partners in the tourism industry in how to better bring visitors to this area, which will help increase LTAC income. Jefferson County TCC is an active partner in this endeavor with now two years of hosting very well received Market Place exhibitor table and encouraging Jefferson County tourism members to attend this fabulous education and networking event. WTA Participation & Membership, $1,000 Washington Tourism Alliance (WTA) continues seeking legislation this January vital to establishing the five tourism industries funding assessment into a mechanism for ongoing, sustainable, state-wide tourism marketing. WTA is a very important support group for tourism and TCC’s continued “seat that the table”. In 2011 WA State closed the State tourism office. Competing western state tourism budgets range from $10 and $60 million. This category covers TCC annual member fees, discounts on marketing through the Experience WA web and digital media site, annual networking and lobbying efforts in Olympia and access to educational offerings for all TCC members. Olympic Peninsula Tourism Commission $27,000 “Individually, we are one drop. Together, we are an ocean.” - Ryunosuke Satoro Collaboration and joint marketing efforts of the Olympic Peninsula Tourism Commission (OPTC), which handles overall marketing of the Olympic Peninsula, is a powerful ‘ocean’ of marketing! The funds from the OPTC are spent in a diversified manner including print, web, radio, trade shows, networking to promote tourism to the Olympic Peninsula. In 2009, OPTC was instrumental in launching a regional website, olympicpeninsula.org, in which all Chambers and Visitor’s Centers on the Olympic Peninsula are able to manage their own pages/section/information and include information about their local areas that they feel is critical. All advertising and promotions done by OPTC point to that website, which contains information about Jefferson County lodgings, restaurants, events, things to do, everything visitors need to know to draw them to Jefferson County. P a g e | 10 In addition, OPTC is instrumental in procuring unpaid articles about the Olympic Peninsula in print, web, a many social media platforms. The OlympicPeninsula Facebook page is the 3rd largest tourism page in Washington State. Jefferson County TCC also joins with OPTC to publish a Travel Planner that covers the whole Olympic Peninsula and includes the Lodging Guides from each area of the Olympic Peninsula, including Jefferson County. Olympic Peninsula Tourism Commission $21,100 Coordination of Marketing, Budget, Etc, $18,000 TCC has enjoyed a stable and increasingly influential contract Marketing Coordinator. Increasing rate commensurate with services rendered was key in retaining the professional representative TCC needs. Our Marketing Coordinator is representing TCC at regional marketing and planning events throughout the year. As his travel increases, TCC’s message and collaborative role in the greater tourism industry also increases. Jefferson County is a vast land mass from Marrowstone Island on the east to Kalaloch on the western coast. Enabling TCC members’ attendance at meetings via a quality conference call system is essential to TCC’s representative and collegial work. Unlike other tourism marketing recipients presenting before LTAC, TCC has relied on Jefferson County to be the fiscal agent. While this process of having Jefferson Co. as the ‘bank’ for TCC has functioned, it is not as nimble and business oriented as TCC would like, nor as our contemporaries in Clallam (OBVB) or Mason Co. enjoy. For this reason TCC has long studied and discussed the option of filing for non-profit (501c6) status and self-organizing its operations. Former County Commissioner Austin, current County Commissioner Kler and County Administer Philip Morley have all affirmed TCC’s non-profit filing process as a – hopefully better – way to administer a dynamic and growing county-wide tourism marketing enterprise. $700 has been earmarked within this category to address continued 501c6 filing and estimated costs of a potential 2016 tax filing by TCC. EXTRA REQUESTED FUNDINGConversion Study funding – Authorized banked capacity from existing LTAX reserves $20,000 Washington State’s annual Jurisdiction Lodging Tax Reporting Form is challenging! Related to TCC’s scope of work, the request for statistical details regarding tourist: place of origin, paid vs. un-paid lodging nights accommodated related visitor spending details is difficult to quantify without aide of a scholarly Conversion Study. Defined as “The ratio of individuals responding to an advertisement by requesting information who actually visited the destination advertised.” Conversion Studies are most often used to measure specific actionable outcomes indicative of successful marketing such as: Book Reservation, Download map, Opt-in, Register, Refer a friend, Make a phone call, Click to chat, etc. Is Jefferson Co. visitors LOS (length of stay average) 1.8 or 2.35 nights? Taking into consideration the full spectrum of Jefferson County accommodations (from campgrounds to castles) does an ADR (average daily – room – rate) total for Jefferson Co. equate to $92 or $117? Etc. TCC in collaboration with Clallam Co. - and additionally sought participation from cities of Port Townsend, Port Angeles, and Sequim - proposes a one-time, joint investment, in a commissioned Conversion Study. The briefly surveyed DMO’s (destination marketing organizations) who have recently completed their own Conversion Studies report total costs of between $40K and $60K with resulting Structured Estimate indexes retaining their validity for approximately 5-years. Jefferson County is in possession of a large reserve of earned lodging tax revenues. TCC recommends authorizing up to $20,000 from those reserves for our collaboration in a commissioned Conversion Study of North Olympic Peninsula visitor TOURISM ADVERTISING EFFECTIVENESS AND CONVERSION. P a g e | 11 Section 2. Proposal Questions. Please confine your answers to no more than one page for each question. 1. Tell us about your promotion, facility, event or activity and why you think it will increase tourists traveling to and staying in Jefferson County. - (Also include a general description of the promotion, facility, event or activity (its purpose, history, etc), and describe your organization’s track record.) TCC has built on its long standing track record of driving tourist to Jefferson County through promotional campaigns by adding, targeted and response metrics tracked, shoulder season marketing campaigns. Examples include: TCC lead a holiday season trifecta of joint marketing with area lodging. “Enjoy 12-days of Olympic Peninsula Christmas” With Chevy Chase Beach Cabins & Spa package “Year Round Olympic Peninsula Enjoyment Awaits” With Elk Meadows Farm Stay & Play package “Resolution to Relax” with Inn at Port Ludlow package Priced at average of .00873 ¢ / impression these three campaigns generated 75,000 unique “Enjoy Olympic Peninsula” views. Campaign Dates Gender Hood Canal - Stay & Play (Elk Meadow) Stay - Soak & Glow (Chevy Chase) Make A Resolution to Enjoy & Relax (Inn Port Ludlow) Total Dec. 1-10 Dec. 11-24 Dec. 25-31 Male Female Reach 50 18.5 9.1 22.4 250 81.5 90.9 77.6 2015-16 Holiday blitz will include Port Townsend’s “Holiday Lighting” efforts. 21,384 21,144 32,432 74,960 P a g e | 12 TCC’s “Endless Summer” campaign preceded and leveraged OPTC’s “Relax” media campaign by launching Labor Day weekend in the Portland metro market via a full page ad in Portland Monthly and over 1,100 actions through their 50,000 subscribers to “Tripster” eNews , and continuing through October and November into WA State Ferry and through Experience WA’s targeted digital platforms. QR code on ferry digital gives rich data with every ad interaction. Additional 2015 TCC Marketing Gallery at: http://www.enjoyolympicpeninsula.com/2015-tccmarketing-gallery/ 2. If this is a continuing promotion, facility, event or activity, what is the same as or different than 2015? TCC proposes to continue focusing on elevating the shoulder seasons in order for the travel season to be extended beyond the traditional Memorial Day to Labor Day peak. Partnering with local lodging partners and maximizing the media penetration and collaborative Spring and Fall marketing of OPTC will continue to be TCC’s primary marketing target. Culinary Tourism, Olympic Music Festival and Festival By The Bay are three Jefferson County targeted marketing partners TCC has identified as adding to the focused messaging of our 2016 marketing efforts. Continually increased marketing investment in: Digital marketing, dedicated FAM support, and collaborative emphasis on the numerous adventure trails which make our Olympic Peninsula so Enjoyable! P a g e | 13 3. Describe how you intend to market/promote your promotion, facility, event or activity to potential tourists who reside outside Jefferson County. a.) TCC promotes all events as opportunities for visitors to Enjoy the Olympic Peninsula. Based upon, strategic, data based decision making, TCC seeks to position the Jefferson County tourism conversations so that the message optimally reaches our best visitors. We have a white labeled community events calendar feed on the TCC EnjoyOlympicPeninsula.com site. We are proposing addition of a Jefferson County UTrip personalized itinerary discovery and trip planner widget on the EnjoyOlympicPeninsula site. These enable TCC curated and visitor / partner generated news and events to be automatically and sustainably added as content to the TCC web and social media platforms. TCC promotes all events, the larger conversation we want to engage tourist in is framing Enjoy Olympic Peninsula as the Canal to Coast – Sea to Summit year-round “playground” for: No matter your mood – plenty to Enjoy & Do… Relax & Play World class overnight experiences Delicious culinary journeys A new adventure opportunity at every turn, and on each new visit. b.) The timeline for the tourism promotion activity you are proposing (e.g. May through July, 2016) TCC focuses on two major promotional campaigns each year: Spring Campaign, which usually runs approx. April through July; Fall Campaign, which usually runs Sept though December. As detailed above these are in collaboration with OPTC as well as Jefferson County target focused in our traditionally strong drive markets. Also, TCC takes advantage of individual promotional opportunities at other times of the year. c.) Target Audience NorthStar Research has helped identify four specific visitor persona’s frequenting the Olympic Peninsula: 1) Adventurer, 2) Romantic, 3) Family Traveler & 4) Foodie. TCC is well equipped with positioning our “From Canal to Coast – and – Sea to Summit”, Plenty to Enjoy & Do messages for all of these visitor persona’s. It’s further proposed that the enhanced metrics received from Jefferson County’s collaboration in a scholarly Conversion Study will enable Jefferson County to specifically measure an manage our areas unique visitors. LTAC is encouraged to allocate the requested banked capacity from existing Lodging Tax revenue reserves for this purpose. P a g e | 14 d.) Promotion methods you intend to use to reach the target audience. TCC continues to promote use of Digital Media, especially Social Media, Print, Web Promotions, FAM (Familiarization) Tours to host Travel Writers, articles on Blogs, eBlasts, Giveaways that are donated by Lodgings Jefferson County, and all opportunities that come our way for advertising. In addition, TCC will return to publishing: the Jefferson County Lodging List in the Leader’s Getaway Guide that is distributed along the I-5 Corridor and in King County communities; the exceptionally popular Jefferson County Activity Map which includes the Jefferson County Lodging List; actively participate in: Olympic Peninsula Travel Planner; Jefferson County Bike Map; Olympic Peninsula Waterfall Trail Brochure, Olympic Culinary Adventure map and the Olympic Peninsula website, which also includes listings of all Jefferson County lodgings. e.) Describe how you will promote overnight stays at Jefferson County lodging establishments. See (d) above. f.) If you intend to collaborate with another agency or non-profit to provide these services, please state the name of the organization and describe the nature of the collaboration: TCC partners with the City of Port Townsend, Clallam and Mason Counties as well as the Lake Quinault Lodging Association of Grays Harbor County for our major Spring and Fall Campaigns, and OPTC (Olympic Peninsula Tourism Commission) is a minor partner in those campaigns. These partnerships increase our the promotional ability by much more than the dollars expended to take advantage of economies of scale in the radio, television, web, and magazine industries. TCC provides significant, and growing, leadership in the collaboration between an eleven-entity partnership called Olympic Peninsula Tourism Commission (OPTC), which includes Clallam County, Port Angeles, Forks, Sekiu, Sequim, Port Townsend, and others, which also does advertising, promotions, and an amazing amount of outreach to travel writers worldwide. 4. How will you measure the effectiveness of your promotion, facility, event or activity? Also, describe how you will document and report to the County the economic impact from your event/facility. (State law requires the County to report annually to the State Department of Community Development and Economic Trade about the number of lodging stays and economic benefit from tourists generated by use of Lodging Tax proceeds for tourism promotion.) TCC advocates LTAC’s support of the banked capacity for collaboration in a scholarly Conversion Study which will further enable Jefferson County to specifically measure and manage our areas unique visitors. The conversion index resulting from this study will further help TCC identify and more accurately interpret the current analytics derived from visitor counts from the Dean Runyan Report on tourism in the Counties of Washington State; Google Analytics reports from our P a g e | 15 websites and olympicpeninsula.org; Visitor Center counts, LTAC income reports, and additional reports that are pertinent to this industry. 5. What economic impact can we expect in Jefferson County from your proposed promotion, facility, event or activity? All the promotions, advertising, web traffic, social media messaging, etc., have had a very strong and positive effect in bringing tourists to Jefferson County as evidenced by the growing Hotel/Motel Lodging Sales Tax reports distributed by Jefferson County. While supporting existing campaigns, TCC’s 2016 LTAC funding proposal plans to shine additional spotlight marketing upon Jefferson County tourism assets and experiences thanks to the Jefferson County emphasis of the “Enjoy Olympic Peninsula” branding and supplemental campaigns. a.) Actual or estimated number of tourists at your event/facility last year (2015): Based upon our 2014 Jurisdiction Lodging Tax Reporting Form totals and our earlier detailed forecast of 14.92% gains for 2015 we anticipate reporting overall tourism at 627,135. Of that 482,336 traveled to some part of Jefferson County in excess of 50+ miles. b.) Estimated number of tourists who will attend your event/facility this year (2016): Economy continues to strengthen, especially as gas prices fall. Canadian dollar is weak, so focus on Portland and Puget Sound drive market will lead 2016 efforts. The TCC proposals are improved and more proactive than even before. Leading to estimates of 6-8% growth for Jefferson County over current levels. c.) Projected economic impact in Jefferson County from your event/facility (e.g. number of tourists who will stay overnight in Jefferson County-based lodging establishments; economic impact for Jefferson County restaurants, community facilities, amenities, events, and businesses). Without access to direct visitor tallies – thanks to intelligence from a targeted Conversion Study - TCC relies on tourism reports by other entities such as Dean Runyan Associates who apply a state-wide Visitor Spending index of 18% against 2014 data; (LOS = 2.1, $108 ADR, 2.5 ppl. / party, % of travel dollar = Accommodations – 17.6% Food Service – 31.0% Food Stores – 12.4% Transpo. & Gas – 10.1 % A&E, Recreation – 11.8% Retail Sales – 13.1% Other Travel – 4.1% ) for estimated 2015 Total Visitor Spending of: Unincorporated. Jefferson Co. Port Townsend JEFFERSON TOTAL $ $ $ 35,039,636 41,175,683 76,215,319 P a g e | 16 6. Describe your organization’s area of expertise. Do you provide a unique service? TCC is uniquely equipped to most professional and comprehensively manage the tourism marketing challenges of the entire Jefferson County. Chaired by Bill Roney, Manager of Olympic Peninsula Gateway Visitor Center, the TCC board represents every corner of the county: Quilcene & Brinnon= Bonnie Story and Joy Baisch (2nd Bud Schindler) West End = Kyle Forgey and Marsha Massey Port Ludlow = Debbie Wardrop (2nd. Shannon Meyers), and Bill Roney. (2nd.Bill Tennent) Port Hadlock/Tri-Area = Brian Hageman and Allison DuRoi (Note addresses and contact information can be provided LTAC if necessary) Our advisors, and 100% participatory “TCC friends”, constitute the best and the brightest in regional tourism, including: Christina Pivarnick – WA Tourism Alliance, City of PT Marketing Director Teressa Verraes – Executive Director, East Jefferson County Chamber / Managing Director Port Townsend Visitor Center Christy Kisler – Co-Owner Finnriver Farms & Cider Kathleen Kler – County Commissioner (Again, addresses and contact information can be provided LTAC if necessary) Since June 2014 TCC continues with the contracted Marketing Coordinator services of Steve Shively. Adding his extensive state and regional tourism and marketing experience to TCC has greatly improved our strategic service and delivery. TCC bands together all of east Jefferson County to be able to take part in partnerships with other entities on the Olympic Peninsula and to be able to promote and advertise the Olympic Peninsula as a whole. As a larger group, we are able to take advantage of economies of scale in promotional and advertising opportunities that would not be available to any small entity. Most of the promotions that we do would not happen without the TCC. Not only is TCC at the table, leveraging existing partnerships in order to capitalize upon economy of scale promotional opportunities, TCC is also proactively involved with communicating and connecting the full visitor story across Jefferson County. Lodging Tax revenues fund tourism and TCC. Yet TCC knows that promotion of only lodging properties doesn’t paint the - wholly compelling - story to potential tourist. TCC weaves together itineraries that inspire and encourage travelers to enjoy the bounty and beauty of the Olympic Peninsula. “From Canal to Coast and from Sea to Summit”, there are unique Olympic Peninsula adventures and activities awaiting every traveler. TCC works year round to help tell these compelling stories to our enjoyment ready travelers! Thank you for your continued support! P a g e | 17 Section 3. Background Information about Your Organization Attach the following items to your proposal in the order listed: (Note: To be considered by the Committee, all of the listed information must be included with your proposal.) Attachments: 1. Proposed 2016 promotion, facility, event or activity budget including income and expenses. 2. 2015 Budget and Actual income and expense year to date statement(s). 3. List of names and addresses of the organization’s Board of Directors as of the date the proposal is filed. Also, if the proposal is for the marketing of an event and there is a chairperson for the event (either volunteer or paid), list that individual’s name, address and phone number. 4. If you desire, you may provide samples of promotion materials such as brochures or promotional materials (maximum of five). Additional 2015 TCC Marketing Gallery is at: http://www.enjoyolympicpeninsula.com/2015-tcc-marketing-gallery/ Note: Staff will verify Incorporation status of the non-profit agencies who submit service proposals by checking the Washington Secretary of State’s on-line corporation records. P a g e | 18 Attachment 1.: Proposed 2016 promotion, facility, event or activity budget including income and expenses. 2015 Actual Advertising Collateral Lodging List Placement in Getaway Guides Changes to Lodging List for Act. Map Reprint Opportunities(ex. Coho Ad) Reprint JeffCo Activity Map 2016 Proposed Difference $15,800 $1,000 $500 $2,000 $4,000 $17,800 $3,000 $500 $2,000 $4,000 $2,000 $2,000 $0 $0 $0 Regional Adventure Trail Map Projects $2,000 $2,000 $0 Brochure Reprint (Waterfall Trail / OP TP) $5,200 $5,200 $0 Web Hosting, Domain Reg. & Social Media Sub. $700 $700 $0 Ad Creative Services $400 $400 $0 Advertising - Marketing $47,025 $54,100 $7,075 Spring/Fall Campaigns $13,000 $13,000 $0 Digital Marketing $11,100 $11,100 $0 FAM Tour Support $2,000 $2,000 $0 Olympic Culinary Loop $4,000 $4,000 $0 Oly Peninsula Tourism Summit Collaboration $2,000 $2,000 $0 $925 $1,000 $75 $6,500 $12,000 $5,500 $7,500 $9,000 $1,500 $27,000 $27000 $27,000 $27000 $0 $0 WTA Participation Year-Around Campaign "Endless Summer" (Saga City) + "Featured Ads" (WSF Digital) Olympic Peninsula Tourism Commission OPTC Note: 4 areas represented: Pt. Ludlow, Pt. Hadlock, Quilcene/Brinnon, West End Professional Services $19,800 $21,100 $1,300 Coordination of Marketing, Budget, etc. $18,000 $18,000 $0 $1,500 $2,100 $600 $300 $0 $300 $700 $0 $700 $109,626 $120,000 $10,374 Travel, Postage, Copies, Office Expenses, etc. Conference Calling Professional Services (501c6 costs) TOTAL TCC Budget P a g e | 19 Attachment 2.: 2015 Budget and Actual income and expense year to date statement(s). P a g e | 20 Attachment 3.: List of names and addresses of the organization’s Board of Directors www.EnjoyOlympicPeninsula.com TCC board as of October 27, 2015 Quilcene & Brinnon Bonnie Story, Quilcene Museum PO Box 877, Quilcene 98376 360-437-2842, [email protected] Joy Baisch, Elk Meadows Farmstay (2nd Bud Schindler) 3485 Dosewallips Road, Brinnon, WA 98320 360.796.4886, [email protected] West End Kyle Forgey, Kalaloch Lodge 157151 Hwy 101, Forks 98331 360-962-2275, [email protected] Marsha Massey, OPVB PO Box 670, Pt Angeles 938362 360-452-8552, [email protected] Port Ludlow Debbie Wardrop (2nd. Shannon Meyers), Resort at Port Ludlow 70 Breaker Lane, Port Ludlow, 98365 360.437.7070, [email protected] Bill Roney. (2nd.Bill Tennent), OPGVC P.O. Box 65478, Port Ludlow, WA 98365 360.437.0120, [email protected] Port Hadlock/Tri-Area Brian Hageman, c/o Fort Flagler State Park 10541 Flagler Road, Nordland 98358 360.385.1259, [email protected] Allison DuRoi, Beach Cottages on Marrowstone 10 Beach Drive, Nordland, WA 98358 360.531.3220, [email protected] TCC Marketing Coordinator Steve Shively, S3 Solutions 2023 E. Sims Way #308, Port Townsend, WA 98368 360.440.7006, [email protected]