1) Rich Durnan will be there to discuss the collateral we need to create for group marketing efforts. Hopefully, he can help us get to the crux of our idea so we can get it on paper.
2) Sara should have the data compiled, just about ready to copy and distribute -- Verifying progress
3) Need some photos (very high resolution) for Ouray Website. We are looking for photos with people AND scenery AND action.
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Saturday, December 13, 2008
Dec 10 Meeting Minutes
Sara said she would compile all the data. Please make sure she has all your assignments in the next day or two and we can data collection phase 1 finished.
When Sara completes the book (hoping it to be by next Wednesday), there will be one page per venue and then some matrix that has the big deal things so you don't have to know everything about everything from the matrix. Sara and I talked about the format that she will present next week.
Nikki Campbell has joined the group. She is associated with San Juan Hut System and she is also starting her own business... Intimate Affairs which is an event planning business.
Nikki thinks that SJ Huts has a really excellent contact list that might work for drumming up some group business.
I spoke with Rich Durnan and he is going to come to the meeting on next Wednesday. We will talk to him about what we want in terms of group collateral. He proposed $40/hr...
We talked about the promotional items... Joyce is interested in a very nice water bottle, then telling contacts that we can't wait until they come to Ouray and fill it with some delicious Weehawken Springs water... There is interest in some totes too. We think we need something very clever to really stand out with our small budget. Keep thinking about this...
Town of Ridgway has appproved $1000 for the matching for the TV Commercials.
Anyway, let's meet with him and see if he is going to help us meet our goals.
Let me know if there is a problem getting group data compiled.
When Sara completes the book (hoping it to be by next Wednesday), there will be one page per venue and then some matrix that has the big deal things so you don't have to know everything about everything from the matrix. Sara and I talked about the format that she will present next week.
Nikki Campbell has joined the group. She is associated with San Juan Hut System and she is also starting her own business... Intimate Affairs which is an event planning business.
Nikki thinks that SJ Huts has a really excellent contact list that might work for drumming up some group business.
I spoke with Rich Durnan and he is going to come to the meeting on next Wednesday. We will talk to him about what we want in terms of group collateral. He proposed $40/hr...
We talked about the promotional items... Joyce is interested in a very nice water bottle, then telling contacts that we can't wait until they come to Ouray and fill it with some delicious Weehawken Springs water... There is interest in some totes too. We think we need something very clever to really stand out with our small budget. Keep thinking about this...
Town of Ridgway has appproved $1000 for the matching for the TV Commercials.
Anyway, let's meet with him and see if he is going to help us meet our goals.
Let me know if there is a problem getting group data compiled.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
October 29 Meeting Minutes
Today, we met with Durango TV personnel. The group outlined some work that we can have done for a fee... update DVD, create new footage.
Team agreed that we need to submit Region 10 grant to create a group/event video that we can use as collateral to market small to midsized meetings. It will be professionally produced and include goals, dates and targets (meeting planners, small businesses in GJ or Montrose or Delta or Durango)
Jen is going to start making a mockup of the tri-fold brochure that we could use to market meetings. Concepts include pictures of venues, size, options... suggested the "UnMeeting Meeting" or the "Unconventional Conference".
Still working on the info from the matrix. People working to complete assignments.
Next Meeting, Karen gone, but at the Secret Garden, Wed, Nov 5th, 9:30am
Team agreed that we need to submit Region 10 grant to create a group/event video that we can use as collateral to market small to midsized meetings. It will be professionally produced and include goals, dates and targets (meeting planners, small businesses in GJ or Montrose or Delta or Durango)
Jen is going to start making a mockup of the tri-fold brochure that we could use to market meetings. Concepts include pictures of venues, size, options... suggested the "UnMeeting Meeting" or the "Unconventional Conference".
Still working on the info from the matrix. People working to complete assignments.
Next Meeting, Karen gone, but at the Secret Garden, Wed, Nov 5th, 9:30am
Monday, October 27, 2008
October 22 Meeting Minutes
We went over the matrix of properties and added more categories of information that we need to collect.
Susie added a few more indoor venues.
We agreed we would try to start collecting information for each of the venues. Karen made assignments and sent out via email on 10/27.
Thoughts for consideration:
After Parties -- when a group comes to town, we need to have things for them to do... We are going to have to get a plan together there.
When putting things together, we need to collect money for a staff person to help do the planning
We need an event planning checklist. Jennifer said they have one at the VC. She will provide us a format to enhance or use going forward.
Susie added a few more indoor venues.
We agreed we would try to start collecting information for each of the venues. Karen made assignments and sent out via email on 10/27.
Thoughts for consideration:
After Parties -- when a group comes to town, we need to have things for them to do... We are going to have to get a plan together there.
When putting things together, we need to collect money for a staff person to help do the planning
We need an event planning checklist. Jennifer said they have one at the VC. She will provide us a format to enhance or use going forward.
Monday, October 6, 2008
Group Tourism - Oct 6
This was the first meeting on the topic.
We will meet each Wednesday Morning, 9:30am. Tentatively, we will use the Secret Garden as the venue.
Next Meeting: October 15th.
Minutes:
Attendees: Lora, Karen, Joyce, Sara, Tracy, Jennifer, Ralph
Lora discussed her experiences with busses:
Karen mentioned that there is an organization http://www.tourcolorado.com/ that we could join to see if we got more tours. Pricing is around $450 per year it is thought.
SMERFS were discussed. These are groups (Social, Military / Govt, Educators, Religious, Fraternal). The new “advanced SMERF” market now encompasses sports, special interest, ethnic, talent and dance organizations
ONCE CONSIDERED THE DREGS of the meetings market, this highly budget-conscious, will-gladly-meet-on-weekends market has gained a new cachet in recent years: facilities and bureaus around the country are courting SMERF meetings following the drop in deep-pocket corporate meetings and a falloff in attendance at professional and trade association meetings. As one respondent in our survey put it: “SMERF meetings, many of them, are not as heavily driven by business needs but more by social and personal ties, so in that sense these types of meetings are more recession-proof than most.”
We agreed we would fill out the venue section of the plan.
Diverged on how to communicate when groups are in town to take advantage of the customer appreciation concept.
Joyce suggested researching meeting planners international.
Karen suggested researching colorado association of non profits
We need to define what we mean by groups
We need to define who gets appreciation form
We will meet each Wednesday Morning, 9:30am. Tentatively, we will use the Secret Garden as the venue.
Next Meeting: October 15th.
Minutes:
Attendees: Lora, Karen, Joyce, Sara, Tracy, Jennifer, Ralph
Lora discussed her experiences with busses:
- inherited from mother
- very itinerary based
- Elder hostel is biggest and they do ride rails, geology & hiking
- Hot Springs Inn busses referred by Lora
- Her bus business is down, few bookings for Sept 2009
- Very structured tours, "herded"
- Bus people are not big shoppers and are not typically higher income
- Takes a long time to get new itineraries developed (2-3 years)
Karen mentioned that there is an organization http://www.tourcolorado.com/ that we could join to see if we got more tours. Pricing is around $450 per year it is thought.
SMERFS were discussed. These are groups (Social, Military / Govt, Educators, Religious, Fraternal). The new “advanced SMERF” market now encompasses sports, special interest, ethnic, talent and dance organizations
ONCE CONSIDERED THE DREGS of the meetings market, this highly budget-conscious, will-gladly-meet-on-weekends market has gained a new cachet in recent years: facilities and bureaus around the country are courting SMERF meetings following the drop in deep-pocket corporate meetings and a falloff in attendance at professional and trade association meetings. As one respondent in our survey put it: “SMERF meetings, many of them, are not as heavily driven by business needs but more by social and personal ties, so in that sense these types of meetings are more recession-proof than most.”
We agreed we would fill out the venue section of the plan.
Diverged on how to communicate when groups are in town to take advantage of the customer appreciation concept.
Joyce suggested researching meeting planners international.
Karen suggested researching colorado association of non profits
We need to define what we mean by groups
We need to define who gets appreciation form
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Agenda April 23th
Let's plan to do an Executive Summary of our Plan, at least a straw man about what everyone wants to be sure it brought to the attention cuz no one will read as much as we wrote.
I want to get this wrapped up ASAP!!! If all goes as in my plan, this will be the END of our meetings!!! OK, End may be too big a word... but, let's say we will go on hiatius until next fall or unless we need one. No more wednesday long, long, meetings...
At this point, Lora, Joyce, and Jennifer can't make it. I hope the rest of you can.
Best,
Karen
I want to get this wrapped up ASAP!!! If all goes as in my plan, this will be the END of our meetings!!! OK, End may be too big a word... but, let's say we will go on hiatius until next fall or unless we need one. No more wednesday long, long, meetings...
At this point, Lora, Joyce, and Jennifer can't make it. I hope the rest of you can.
Best,
Karen
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Meeting Minutes - April 16th
Today, we walked through the first 65 pages of our Marketing Plan.
A few points:
1) We need to list lodging explicitly with various private homes
2) In Baby Boomer Target Market segment, we need to discuss our ADA Compliance challenge, especially to historic buildings but we need to set the bar high and provide a vision to ensure that we do move more in that direction over the long haul.
3) Sue Hillhouse and Dianne Correll will call on the Facilities so we can complete the chart
4) We need a matrix that shows the organizations and where/how we partner
5) Should mention that CDC is organizing organizations and this is a nice tie in.
6) Barb to put together a poster/flyer/rack card: "Arts with Altitude" and highlight all the activities in that one month time period Late July through August...
7) Karen , Joyce, and John to meet to put together sections 7 (alternate strategies) and 8 (our marketing strategy).
8) We called Ralph and he agreed to getting section 6 by next wednesday...
We all feel like we are getting close. Two more weeks or so and we should be able to put a fork in it. It won't be perfect, but, it will be done!!!!!
To those of you in the blogosphere, we will send out the plan once we have it finished.
Thanks everyone. This plan wouldn't be possible without all the hard work of the meeting attenders. (Sue Hillhouse, Susie Opdahl, Joyce Linn, John Ast, Sara Sharpe, Dianne Correll, Lori Slawitchka, Barb Wade, Tracy Lockhard, Rick Noll, Ralph Huesing). I know it has been hard to keep up this pace and momentum, but, we are just about done. This is an incredible team and everyone should know how valuable and great the input has been. Even without the plan, I feel like a very diverse group of people has really contributed to some fantastic ideas going forward. We have accomplished a great deal but it did take a lot of your time and once again, you gave it to us. Thanks also to the city for the use of its facilities. Give yourselves a round of applause!
Best,
KA
A few points:
1) We need to list lodging explicitly with various private homes
2) In Baby Boomer Target Market segment, we need to discuss our ADA Compliance challenge, especially to historic buildings but we need to set the bar high and provide a vision to ensure that we do move more in that direction over the long haul.
3) Sue Hillhouse and Dianne Correll will call on the Facilities so we can complete the chart
4) We need a matrix that shows the organizations and where/how we partner
5) Should mention that CDC is organizing organizations and this is a nice tie in.
6) Barb to put together a poster/flyer/rack card: "Arts with Altitude" and highlight all the activities in that one month time period Late July through August...
7) Karen , Joyce, and John to meet to put together sections 7 (alternate strategies) and 8 (our marketing strategy).
8) We called Ralph and he agreed to getting section 6 by next wednesday...
We all feel like we are getting close. Two more weeks or so and we should be able to put a fork in it. It won't be perfect, but, it will be done!!!!!
To those of you in the blogosphere, we will send out the plan once we have it finished.
Thanks everyone. This plan wouldn't be possible without all the hard work of the meeting attenders. (Sue Hillhouse, Susie Opdahl, Joyce Linn, John Ast, Sara Sharpe, Dianne Correll, Lori Slawitchka, Barb Wade, Tracy Lockhard, Rick Noll, Ralph Huesing). I know it has been hard to keep up this pace and momentum, but, we are just about done. This is an incredible team and everyone should know how valuable and great the input has been. Even without the plan, I feel like a very diverse group of people has really contributed to some fantastic ideas going forward. We have accomplished a great deal but it did take a lot of your time and once again, you gave it to us. Thanks also to the city for the use of its facilities. Give yourselves a round of applause!
Best,
KA
Friday, April 11, 2008
Thursday, April 3, 2008
Meeting Minutes - April 2nd
Followup
San Juan Skyway brochure --> no progress, next time.
Historical Walking Tour --> no progress, next time.
Pricing of both --> Still trying to get pricing
Bags --> Pricing -->
Folks are not THAT excited about bags. Ouray Trail run has bags and so does Imogene. They are such litter. We determined that we liked the idea of water bottles with Ouray logo instead... Barb to get pricing...
Karen to discuss the need for bags with the retail committee chair and at the OCRA meeting to see if they are interested.
Champion of Heritage DB --> Sue Hillhouse is going to try to do this with Don Paulson. She will get with him.
Are we happy with brand concept? -- Everyone seems content for now.
How committee operates in writing --> UGH, another writing task -- Still to do (Karen)
New Stuff
Barb showed the ad for the Telluride Watch Adventure Guide. Everyone is pleased iwth the look and she used the new slogan.
We then passed out writing assignments:
1) Overview/ Executive Summary (TBD)
2) Current Marketing Situation (Barb Wade)
3) Market Analysis part (Karen for size/environment) (Lora for Market Segmentation)
4) Customer/Prospect Analysis -- Tracy
5) Competitor Analysis (Joyce & Dianne); SWOT Analysis (Karen)
6) Marketing Objectives & Issues & Vision (Ralph)
7) Alternative Marketing Strategies (Joyce & Dianne)
8) Marketing Strategy (John & Rick)
Other : Rick --> Ouray Facts
9) Budgets (TBD)
10) Action Plan & Timetable (TBD)
11) Implementation controls (TBD)
Next week, we will not meet, we will get most written and circulate via email.
Sue Hillhouse will be primary editor and champion Heritage DB. She will also begin work on some of the collateral that we need.
San Juan Skyway brochure --> no progress, next time.
Historical Walking Tour --> no progress, next time.
Pricing of both --> Still trying to get pricing
Bags --> Pricing -->
Folks are not THAT excited about bags. Ouray Trail run has bags and so does Imogene. They are such litter. We determined that we liked the idea of water bottles with Ouray logo instead... Barb to get pricing...
Karen to discuss the need for bags with the retail committee chair and at the OCRA meeting to see if they are interested.
Champion of Heritage DB --> Sue Hillhouse is going to try to do this with Don Paulson. She will get with him.
Are we happy with brand concept? -- Everyone seems content for now.
How committee operates in writing --> UGH, another writing task -- Still to do (Karen)
New Stuff
Barb showed the ad for the Telluride Watch Adventure Guide. Everyone is pleased iwth the look and she used the new slogan.
We then passed out writing assignments:
1) Overview/ Executive Summary (TBD)
2) Current Marketing Situation (Barb Wade)
3) Market Analysis part (Karen for size/environment) (Lora for Market Segmentation)
4) Customer/Prospect Analysis -- Tracy
5) Competitor Analysis (Joyce & Dianne); SWOT Analysis (Karen)
6) Marketing Objectives & Issues & Vision (Ralph)
7) Alternative Marketing Strategies (Joyce & Dianne)
8) Marketing Strategy (John & Rick)
Other : Rick --> Ouray Facts
9) Budgets (TBD)
10) Action Plan & Timetable (TBD)
11) Implementation controls (TBD)
Next week, we will not meet, we will get most written and circulate via email.
Sue Hillhouse will be primary editor and champion Heritage DB. She will also begin work on some of the collateral that we need.
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Agenda April 2nd
1) Follow up on:
San Juan Skyway brochure
Historical Walking Tour
Pricing of both
Bags --> PRicing
Champion of Heritage DB
Are we happy with brand concept?
How committee operates in writing --> UGH, another writing task
2) Marketing Plan assignments & Group discussion on what should be here.
Outline satisfaction:
2. Current Marketing Situation Analysis – summarizes environmental trends
- Key attractions, facilities, and people/organizations
• Products/Experience
• Infrastructure
o Community Calendar
o Visitor Center
o ADA
- History and evolution of tourism business
- Key joint venture/cooperative partners
- Definition of area/customers served
- Strengths
- Weaknesses
- Obstacles
Include: -->
a. write up spreadsheet including: (1) Rankings, seasonality, how we scored them; (2) categories of assets, asset listings; (3) timelines for things we were going to do
3. Market Analysis (Karen)
- Market size
Competitors
Market trend (growth, flat)
- Marketing Environment
• Economic
o Economic Growth
o Interest Rates
o Exchange Rates
o Inflation Rates
o Disposable income
• Social/Cultural – demographic & cultural aspects – affect customer needs and size of potential market
o Health consciousness
o Age Distribution
o Career Attitudes
• Political/Legal – Define both formal and information rules
o Tax Policy
o Employment Laws
• Technology
• Environmental
• Infrastructure
• Who is coming, why are they coming, what are they looking for (OOTs)
- Market Segmentation & Target Market – Explains the segmentation, targeting, and positioning decisions and analyzes the market and segments to be targeted through the marketing strategy.
Geographies
Demographics
Psychographics (characteristics, behaviors, lifestyles)
• Description
• Percent of Sales
• What they want
• How they use product
• Support Requirements
• How to reach them
• Price sensitivity
4)
. Customer/Prospect Analysis – Understanding Visitor Motivations
- Customer/Prospect Decision Process
- Concentration of customer base for particular products/experiences
- Critical Benefits
- How choices are made between competitors (pass throughs or stayovers)
• What is Ouray’s competitive Edge?
- Sensitivity to price, quality, service, and value
- To what are they attracted
- Value Drivers
5. Competitive Analysis
- Identification of key competitors
• Market Position
• Strengths
• Weaknesses
• Market Shares
- SWOT analysis
• Strengths – resources & capabilities that can be used as basis for developing competitive advantage
o Strong Brand
o Good Reputation among customers
o Cost Advantages
o Natural Resources
• Weaknesses
• Opportunities – external environment
o Unfulfilled customer need
• Threats – Changes in external environment
o Disposable Income decreasing
o Infrastructure within town aging (pool, public facilities)
o Tax Structure (property taxes, statutory city)
o Ability to attract/maintain workforce (affordability)
o Mountain Resort Competition
o Shifts in consumer tastes
o Weather
o Wild fires
o Pine Beatles?
San Juan Skyway brochure
Historical Walking Tour
Pricing of both
Bags --> PRicing
Champion of Heritage DB
Are we happy with brand concept?
How committee operates in writing --> UGH, another writing task
2) Marketing Plan assignments & Group discussion on what should be here.
Outline satisfaction:
2. Current Marketing Situation Analysis – summarizes environmental trends
- Key attractions, facilities, and people/organizations
• Products/Experience
• Infrastructure
o Community Calendar
o Visitor Center
o ADA
- History and evolution of tourism business
- Key joint venture/cooperative partners
- Definition of area/customers served
- Strengths
- Weaknesses
- Obstacles
Include: -->
a. write up spreadsheet including: (1) Rankings, seasonality, how we scored them; (2) categories of assets, asset listings; (3) timelines for things we were going to do
3. Market Analysis (Karen)
- Market size
Competitors
Market trend (growth, flat)
- Marketing Environment
• Economic
o Economic Growth
o Interest Rates
o Exchange Rates
o Inflation Rates
o Disposable income
• Social/Cultural – demographic & cultural aspects – affect customer needs and size of potential market
o Health consciousness
o Age Distribution
o Career Attitudes
• Political/Legal – Define both formal and information rules
o Tax Policy
o Employment Laws
• Technology
• Environmental
• Infrastructure
• Who is coming, why are they coming, what are they looking for (OOTs)
- Market Segmentation & Target Market – Explains the segmentation, targeting, and positioning decisions and analyzes the market and segments to be targeted through the marketing strategy.
Geographies
Demographics
Psychographics (characteristics, behaviors, lifestyles)
• Description
• Percent of Sales
• What they want
• How they use product
• Support Requirements
• How to reach them
• Price sensitivity
4)
. Customer/Prospect Analysis – Understanding Visitor Motivations
- Customer/Prospect Decision Process
- Concentration of customer base for particular products/experiences
- Critical Benefits
- How choices are made between competitors (pass throughs or stayovers)
• What is Ouray’s competitive Edge?
- Sensitivity to price, quality, service, and value
- To what are they attracted
- Value Drivers
5. Competitive Analysis
- Identification of key competitors
• Market Position
• Strengths
• Weaknesses
• Market Shares
- SWOT analysis
• Strengths – resources & capabilities that can be used as basis for developing competitive advantage
o Strong Brand
o Good Reputation among customers
o Cost Advantages
o Natural Resources
• Weaknesses
• Opportunities – external environment
o Unfulfilled customer need
• Threats – Changes in external environment
o Disposable Income decreasing
o Infrastructure within town aging (pool, public facilities)
o Tax Structure (property taxes, statutory city)
o Ability to attract/maintain workforce (affordability)
o Mountain Resort Competition
o Shifts in consumer tastes
o Weather
o Wild fires
o Pine Beatles?
Meeting Minutes - March 26th
1) Heritage DB --> We discussed this item again. We still do not have a champion and we need one. The champion will help get folks involved and get the assets posted. The purpose of this effort is twofold: a) get historical assets cataloged in the State Historical Society DB to help identify monetary needs and b) allow visitors to Colorado to create their own itineraries that match their own interests.
2) Calendar --> The calendar project is going well. Some groups are already trained. Training for remaining groups is being scheduled by Barb Wade. This should be done in the very near future.
3) Barb Wade was not ready to show any mock ups for the San Juan Skyway tour. She was going to work to find pricing and email out the details.
4) We discussed branding. The main idea that we felt made Ouray unique was the proximity of the mountains to the town. We are toying with "Embraced by Mountains" and think that might work in our advertising if we add additional phrases like "of Culture" "of Adventure", "of History"...etc...
5) Bag pricing --> paper with handle --> 38 cents per bag for quantity of 5000. These would be used to stuff for town promotion during events.
6) Karen wanted to get a PR Consultant to help with some of the big work at hand. She recommended that we use Ore Communications out of Delta. This group is representing SWCTR, Mesa Verde Country, Delta County and Montrose. She thinks we could get a big bang for the buck. Delta County swears by her. Group agreed that this was a very effective use of the money for at least a one year contract. Will reevaluate before renewal.
7) Ralph was to send the money that weehawken is spending on ads.
8) Everyone agreed that we need to start making assignments for writing.
Karen was going to put the outline together and make assignments. Coming soon!
9) People want the definition of this committee to be put into writing. They want to see how it will operate and how OCRA will work with groups. Karen is going to do this. Ultimately, the reason this committee will work is that it will be a holistic approach to marketing the community, rather than 7 separate groups each singing a different song.
2) Calendar --> The calendar project is going well. Some groups are already trained. Training for remaining groups is being scheduled by Barb Wade. This should be done in the very near future.
3) Barb Wade was not ready to show any mock ups for the San Juan Skyway tour. She was going to work to find pricing and email out the details.
4) We discussed branding. The main idea that we felt made Ouray unique was the proximity of the mountains to the town. We are toying with "Embraced by Mountains" and think that might work in our advertising if we add additional phrases like "of Culture" "of Adventure", "of History"...etc...
5) Bag pricing --> paper with handle --> 38 cents per bag for quantity of 5000. These would be used to stuff for town promotion during events.
6) Karen wanted to get a PR Consultant to help with some of the big work at hand. She recommended that we use Ore Communications out of Delta. This group is representing SWCTR, Mesa Verde Country, Delta County and Montrose. She thinks we could get a big bang for the buck. Delta County swears by her. Group agreed that this was a very effective use of the money for at least a one year contract. Will reevaluate before renewal.
7) Ralph was to send the money that weehawken is spending on ads.
8) Everyone agreed that we need to start making assignments for writing.
Karen was going to put the outline together and make assignments. Coming soon!
9) People want the definition of this committee to be put into writing. They want to see how it will operate and how OCRA will work with groups. Karen is going to do this. Ultimately, the reason this committee will work is that it will be a holistic approach to marketing the community, rather than 7 separate groups each singing a different song.
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Agenda March 26th
1. Follow up on prior meeting
Heritage DB Questions?
Bicycle Tour of Colo Questions?
Calendar Questions?
Barb Wade to show San Juan Skyway concept
Barb Wade to show Montrose Press / Plain Dealer insert (VFRs)
Barb Wade to show Historical Walking Tour concept
Other?
2. New Business
Branding Continuation --> Catchy Slogans?
Ralph to discuss his ideas
Karen To show her idea
Others?
Are they platitudes? Do they evoke emotion?
3. Other New Business
PR Professional -- Discussion --> Press Releases and Media Tours
4. Want buy in for local ad campaign -- Montrose Press, Plaindealer, Telluride Watch, Telluride Airport 30 seconds
Heritage DB Questions?
Bicycle Tour of Colo Questions?
Calendar Questions?
Barb Wade to show San Juan Skyway concept
Barb Wade to show Montrose Press / Plain Dealer insert (VFRs)
Barb Wade to show Historical Walking Tour concept
Other?
2. New Business
Branding Continuation --> Catchy Slogans?
Ralph to discuss his ideas
Karen To show her idea
Others?
Are they platitudes? Do they evoke emotion?
3. Other New Business
PR Professional -- Discussion --> Press Releases and Media Tours
4. Want buy in for local ad campaign -- Montrose Press, Plaindealer, Telluride Watch, Telluride Airport 30 seconds
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Meeting Minutes - March 19th
1) Southwest Travel Region Update:
Discussed the meeting and in particular the historical database. We are in need of a champion that will recruit the volunteers necessary to get Ouray's assets into this database.
Karen to send out login info and .pdf copy of pages and latest Quality Standards to group so that we know what is required for each page. We also need to get into contact with Historical Preservation Committee for City.
Will provide Tom Hillhouse, Jim Opdahl and Ralph Huesing to the SW Travel Region so that they can contact them about the 18K in grant money.
SWCTR is coming to Ouray for next get together. Will contact Mel and try to get meeting at Wright Opera House.
Scenic Byway: Must contact Ken Francis to see if he would pay for some signage. We want a Scenic Byway sign AND America Byway signs on both sides of town (North = at the Welcome to Ouray sign and South= at or near the SOA sign). ---- Followup -- I talked with Charlie Berger (Beautification) and he is going to talk to CDOT at meeting on March 28th about getting those signs posted. The signage is free according to Charlie. He thinks there are existing poles where they could be placed...
2) Ralph and Joyce gave a Retail Report.
6 Galleries
4 Jewelery Stores
5 working artisans
He commented about wanting the VG in 2009 to make shopping, ARts & Culture more prominent. All his comments were well received and Ralph will be a member of the VC Committee next year.
3) Feast Update
148 paid admissions, 8 students. 40 people came from out of town. They are coming again next march.
4) VFRs-- Joyce introduced the "Ouray Hosts" program Idea. Discussion around feasibility and implementations... Need more time to discuss / hash out.
Events - We do not do enough to recognize any events. We are going to get someone to work with / contact event organizers. We want the imogenerun.com to link back to ouraycolorado.com, we want banners welcoming runners.
Discussed Bicycle Tour of Colorado logistics. Rick to send out all he knows on topic to group. We will have to make sure that Restaurants know how many people and times to be ready. The Chamber ED might be able to assist in some of this coordination.
Karen to get with Beautification to see where we stand on getting banners across the roads-- they do not have poles going in right now but Charlie will talk to CDOT when they meet in March (3/28) about what it takes. Charlie also offered that they used to have poles and banners but they don't exist now. Mike Kern might be a good person to talk to as there were some issues with banners tearing when Semis went through town and the back draft rustled them.
Plastic Bags - we need to figure out how to get free stuff to put in them & we need to stuff them.
Proposed Packages for Coloradoinfo.com:
Family, Romantic, Adventure, Fall Foliage --> Joyce showed the details of each package and then we agreed that we were going to offer less and do two emails... one in September and one in mid-April.
Ouray Open House: --> Increase awareness in immediate region about shops, restaurants, and lodging, organizations and volunteer opportunities... Didn't discuss much.
Calendar discussion
Categories were agreed upon: Classes & Clinics
Music, Arts & Culture
Community
Social Events
Pool Closings
US Holidays
People that will have access to update events are Weehawken, OCPEG, Elks, Rick & Chambers. Others will funnel items through the Chamber.
Barb to start to meet with others to ensure proper training.
Discussed the meeting and in particular the historical database. We are in need of a champion that will recruit the volunteers necessary to get Ouray's assets into this database.
Karen to send out login info and .pdf copy of pages and latest Quality Standards to group so that we know what is required for each page. We also need to get into contact with Historical Preservation Committee for City.
Will provide Tom Hillhouse, Jim Opdahl and Ralph Huesing to the SW Travel Region so that they can contact them about the 18K in grant money.
SWCTR is coming to Ouray for next get together. Will contact Mel and try to get meeting at Wright Opera House.
Scenic Byway: Must contact Ken Francis to see if he would pay for some signage. We want a Scenic Byway sign AND America Byway signs on both sides of town (North = at the Welcome to Ouray sign and South= at or near the SOA sign). ---- Followup -- I talked with Charlie Berger (Beautification) and he is going to talk to CDOT at meeting on March 28th about getting those signs posted. The signage is free according to Charlie. He thinks there are existing poles where they could be placed...
2) Ralph and Joyce gave a Retail Report.
6 Galleries
4 Jewelery Stores
5 working artisans
He commented about wanting the VG in 2009 to make shopping, ARts & Culture more prominent. All his comments were well received and Ralph will be a member of the VC Committee next year.
3) Feast Update
148 paid admissions, 8 students. 40 people came from out of town. They are coming again next march.
4) VFRs-- Joyce introduced the "Ouray Hosts" program Idea. Discussion around feasibility and implementations... Need more time to discuss / hash out.
Events - We do not do enough to recognize any events. We are going to get someone to work with / contact event organizers. We want the imogenerun.com to link back to ouraycolorado.com, we want banners welcoming runners.
Discussed Bicycle Tour of Colorado logistics. Rick to send out all he knows on topic to group. We will have to make sure that Restaurants know how many people and times to be ready. The Chamber ED might be able to assist in some of this coordination.
Karen to get with Beautification to see where we stand on getting banners across the roads-- they do not have poles going in right now but Charlie will talk to CDOT when they meet in March (3/28) about what it takes. Charlie also offered that they used to have poles and banners but they don't exist now. Mike Kern might be a good person to talk to as there were some issues with banners tearing when Semis went through town and the back draft rustled them.
Plastic Bags - we need to figure out how to get free stuff to put in them & we need to stuff them.
Proposed Packages for Coloradoinfo.com:
Family, Romantic, Adventure, Fall Foliage --> Joyce showed the details of each package and then we agreed that we were going to offer less and do two emails... one in September and one in mid-April.
Ouray Open House: --> Increase awareness in immediate region about shops, restaurants, and lodging, organizations and volunteer opportunities... Didn't discuss much.
Calendar discussion
Categories were agreed upon: Classes & Clinics
Music, Arts & Culture
Community
Social Events
Pool Closings
US Holidays
People that will have access to update events are Weehawken, OCPEG, Elks, Rick & Chambers. Others will funnel items through the Chamber.
Barb to start to meet with others to ensure proper training.
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Videophilia
Watch this video. It could be a serious Threat to our success in marketing our destination.
There is a ton of information on this study at this website.
Click on the Media Link.
There is a ton of information on this study at this website.
Click on the Media Link.
Friday, March 14, 2008
Byways Information
Link for great information on America's Byways:
http://www.bywaysresourcecenter.org
They have great information on grants, collecting information, marketing. Definitely worth reading at your leisure.
http://www.bywaysresourcecenter.org
They have great information on grants, collecting information, marketing. Definitely worth reading at your leisure.
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Random thoughts at 3am
Many places have historic buildings. But, the visitor asks:
1) What is worthy of my time?
2) Can I get there and back safely?
3) Will I have fun?
It takes engaging interpretation and quality packaging to turn Ouray's heritage assets into visitor ready experiences. Without such assets heritage assets will remain mute and under appreciated by locals.
Challenges & Opportunities
1) There is increased reliance on new modes of information gathering and decision making including: social networks, personal recommendations, online opinions, independent guidebooks, and amateur travel writers.
2) Conveying themes in a way that makes sense to a visitor
Historic Interpretation
1) buy books online from ocra site (or business member)
Sales Pitches
1) Identify prospective visitors before they make the travel plans and shape communications and information delivery to prompt interest in coming to Ouray first and foremost and then influencing their length of stay
Tracking Visitors
1) Track past visitors and invite their return, especially during shoulder seasons
2) Requested info from Kathy Elmont on Pool Visitation
Benefits
1) Tourism is a low impact form of economic development that delivers quality of life benefits as well as jobs and wages.
Online & Electronic Media
Electronic communication tools offer terrific value: they are cheap and effective
Travelers are using the web as a primary information source
Strategies:
PR Tactics
Other
Visitors who can easily navigate to their destinations, even in difficult terrain, and who receive polite and enthusiastic service from hospitality workers, remember their trips as pleasant sojourns. Those for whom visitor centers provide all they expect--well organized information on attractions, ticket information, and clean bathrooms--will return in the future, affording Ouray repeat opportunities to guide their activities and extend their stays. Even more importantly, good experiences create strong, happy trip memories and generate positive word-of-mouth referrals to Ouray, just a surely as misleading directions and rude service translate into complaints shared with friends and family.
Training for Front-line Hospitality Workers
Front-desk staff, cashiers, gas station attendants, and others who don't smile or can't answer simple questions about local attractions accurately alienate visitors and prompt them to move on concluding there is nothing to do. Successful hospitality training is fun, paid staff activity and free for businesses. Key actions with this strategy are:
1) What is worthy of my time?
2) Can I get there and back safely?
3) Will I have fun?
It takes engaging interpretation and quality packaging to turn Ouray's heritage assets into visitor ready experiences. Without such assets heritage assets will remain mute and under appreciated by locals.
Challenges & Opportunities
1) There is increased reliance on new modes of information gathering and decision making including: social networks, personal recommendations, online opinions, independent guidebooks, and amateur travel writers.
2) Conveying themes in a way that makes sense to a visitor
Historic Interpretation
1) buy books online from ocra site (or business member)
Sales Pitches
1) Identify prospective visitors before they make the travel plans and shape communications and information delivery to prompt interest in coming to Ouray first and foremost and then influencing their length of stay
Tracking Visitors
1) Track past visitors and invite their return, especially during shoulder seasons
2) Requested info from Kathy Elmont on Pool Visitation
Benefits
1) Tourism is a low impact form of economic development that delivers quality of life benefits as well as jobs and wages.
Online & Electronic Media
Electronic communication tools offer terrific value: they are cheap and effective
Travelers are using the web as a primary information source
Strategies:
- Take advantage of permission based marketing (marketing that includes obtaining customer consent to receive information from us) via the web. A simple tactic such as sending a gorgeous photo via email without an advertising message can evoke powerful nostalgia and yearning
- ouraycolorado.com --> eye towards thematic --> reduce visual clutter
- Roam internet, track how travel sites are presenting Ouray. Review blogs, shops, photo sites, wikipedia are presenting positive perspective
PR Tactics
- Finding travel writers -- Join organizations like "International Federation of Travel Writers" or other trade organizations to gain access to members contact information and stay abreast of the trade.
- prweb.com
Other
- Hospitality skills training
- Ouray product training
- Local brochure development for Montrose Press
- Leading indicators, lagging indicators???
- Annual surveys of visitors? ways to collect data annually, share data, reporting trends to members --> requires long term commitment to repository.
- How to distinguish from day trippers & overnighters
- http://wrdc.usu.edu -- has downloadable guides on measuring and assessing impacts of tourism on local communities
Visitors who can easily navigate to their destinations, even in difficult terrain, and who receive polite and enthusiastic service from hospitality workers, remember their trips as pleasant sojourns. Those for whom visitor centers provide all they expect--well organized information on attractions, ticket information, and clean bathrooms--will return in the future, affording Ouray repeat opportunities to guide their activities and extend their stays. Even more importantly, good experiences create strong, happy trip memories and generate positive word-of-mouth referrals to Ouray, just a surely as misleading directions and rude service translate into complaints shared with friends and family.
Training for Front-line Hospitality Workers
Front-desk staff, cashiers, gas station attendants, and others who don't smile or can't answer simple questions about local attractions accurately alienate visitors and prompt them to move on concluding there is nothing to do. Successful hospitality training is fun, paid staff activity and free for businesses. Key actions with this strategy are:
- Free admissions for front-line staff to area attractions
- "Be a tourist in your own town" day
- Trivia contests, treasure hunts to get folks to do homework
- Invite visitors to identify especially helpful people and celebrate their good service
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Attraction/Asset Packaging
0) What are the Top Primary Attractions? What are the Top Secondary Attractions?
1) What attractions are unique to your community?
2) How do primary attractions fit together? Do they create a strong unifying theme or does the attraction diversity lack a central focus?
==================================================================
1) What is the primary attraction package for Ouray?
2) Does your attraction package appeal to a particular market niche?
3) Are there any major concerns with increasing visitors to these attractions?
1) What attractions are unique to your community?
2) How do primary attractions fit together? Do they create a strong unifying theme or does the attraction diversity lack a central focus?
==================================================================
1) What is the primary attraction package for Ouray?
2) Does your attraction package appeal to a particular market niche?
3) Are there any major concerns with increasing visitors to these attractions?
Agenda March 12th
1) Calendar Details -- Barb Wade to discuss progress with groups, answer questions
2) Ralph to share his survey idea with group so that we can start to get that into place to see how effective our Basecamp Ouray email blast has been. We won't send out the questionnaire now, but, will wait a few months. It is going to help us focus our Ouray Introduction to potential visitors.
3) Need someone to coordinate with coloradoinfo.com so that we can get a newsletter out to their list in Late April, Early May.
4) Going back to our asset rankings... need to address timelines where we have ideas or things we need to improve... we also need to package our best assets together.
5) We need to start to look at our Competition and what they offer that we don't. To that end, I am bringing a bunch of collateral materials to the meeting and want folks to take some time to look at it. What we are focusing on here is "What is Ouray's Competitive Edge".
We will hopefully have some lovely prose from Lora that summarizes our chart so far.
Thanks!
Karen
2) Ralph to share his survey idea with group so that we can start to get that into place to see how effective our Basecamp Ouray email blast has been. We won't send out the questionnaire now, but, will wait a few months. It is going to help us focus our Ouray Introduction to potential visitors.
3) Need someone to coordinate with coloradoinfo.com so that we can get a newsletter out to their list in Late April, Early May.
4) Going back to our asset rankings... need to address timelines where we have ideas or things we need to improve... we also need to package our best assets together.
5) We need to start to look at our Competition and what they offer that we don't. To that end, I am bringing a bunch of collateral materials to the meeting and want folks to take some time to look at it. What we are focusing on here is "What is Ouray's Competitive Edge".
We will hopefully have some lovely prose from Lora that summarizes our chart so far.
Thanks!
Karen
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
Meeting Minutes March 5th
Attendees: Lora, Barb Wade, Sarah Sharp, Susie Opdahl, Karen Avery, Ralph Huesing.
1) Went over the calendar with some details. There is more to work out, but, the basic elements are there. You can view it on http://www.ouraycolorado.com/Calendar
as it is live. Barb will be in contact with various groups on how to use in the next week or so. She is also working color coding. We are really trying to make it the Community Calendar.
2) Talked about Basecamp Ouray Email. Ralph suggested that we come up with a survey to send to folks after a few months to determine if they ever came to Ouray or Colorado to see how much the leads from colorado.com help find tourists. Ralph is going to take a stab at creating that survey now.
3) We still need someone to coordinate with coloradoinfo.com so that we can get a newsletter out with them in Late April, Early May.
4) We ranked attractions/assets on the worksheet. I have some work to do to get the seasonality loaded. We will go through that list next week, pick the assets we plan to "package", address timelines where we have ideas or things that need to be improved.
Thanks for coming!
1) Went over the calendar with some details. There is more to work out, but, the basic elements are there. You can view it on http://www.ouraycolorado.com/Calendar
as it is live. Barb will be in contact with various groups on how to use in the next week or so. She is also working color coding. We are really trying to make it the Community Calendar.
2) Talked about Basecamp Ouray Email. Ralph suggested that we come up with a survey to send to folks after a few months to determine if they ever came to Ouray or Colorado to see how much the leads from colorado.com help find tourists. Ralph is going to take a stab at creating that survey now.
3) We still need someone to coordinate with coloradoinfo.com so that we can get a newsletter out with them in Late April, Early May.
4) We ranked attractions/assets on the worksheet. I have some work to do to get the seasonality loaded. We will go through that list next week, pick the assets we plan to "package", address timelines where we have ideas or things that need to be improved.
Thanks for coming!
Monday, March 3, 2008
Agenda March 5th
Hi,
We have to finish up some work that has been delayed.
1) Competition
We need to complete the map more fully. Right now, we have a list of locations. We need to think about what are the strengths and weaknesses of our competition and get those mapped. In this brainstorming session, we are really trying to help figure out what is our competitive edge. In towns that are like us, how are we unique? In places where we do not look the same, what do they have as weaknesses that we could use as strengths?
2) Classification of Assets:
Primary - Influence a traveler's decision
Secondary - enhance tourist experience but not part of selection process
Few attractions stand alone. Most travelers have limited time so they try to combine as much as possible in to one destination visit. The drawing power tends to be stronger when there are a bunch of attractions that are complementary... "Attractions Package"
For each attraction (Asset), we need to assess :
We also need to discuss some procedural items:
1) Assignments of writing
2) Research outside of the meeting
3) Calendar Follow-up
We have to finish up some work that has been delayed.
1) Competition
We need to complete the map more fully. Right now, we have a list of locations. We need to think about what are the strengths and weaknesses of our competition and get those mapped. In this brainstorming session, we are really trying to help figure out what is our competitive edge. In towns that are like us, how are we unique? In places where we do not look the same, what do they have as weaknesses that we could use as strengths?
2) Classification of Assets:
Primary - Influence a traveler's decision
Secondary - enhance tourist experience but not part of selection process
Few attractions stand alone. Most travelers have limited time so they try to combine as much as possible in to one destination visit. The drawing power tends to be stronger when there are a bunch of attractions that are complementary... "Attractions Package"
For each attraction (Asset), we need to assess :
- Attraction Quality -- Good, visitor friendly condition? How does it rate in areas of appearance, hospitality, operations?
- 4=Superior
- 3=Good
- 2=Average
- 1=Poor
- Authenticity - Does the attraction reflect the cultural or economic heritage of the community?
- 4=Authentic
- 3=Somewhat Authentic
- 2=Minimally Authentic
- 1=Not Authentic at all
- Uniqueness - Is it unique in a 150 - 300 mile radius?
- 4=National/Int'l Significance
- 3=Regional Attraction
- 2=Average
- 1=Lots of similar sites
- Drawing Power - what geographic area do/will the customers come from?
- 4=Multi-state
- 3=Metropolitan Area
- 2=Regional
- 1=Local & Adjacent
- Activities - Are there varying and changing set of activities?
- 4=Lots of Activities
- 3=Some Activity Options
- 2=A few activity options
- 1=No activity Options
We also need to discuss some procedural items:
1) Assignments of writing
2) Research outside of the meeting
3) Calendar Follow-up
Sunday, March 2, 2008
Meeting Minutes February 27th
I showed a link to http://www.durango.org. They have a great calendar site I thought and so we talked about how interesting it is to have the filters.
I then demonstrated a way that we can use google calendar. We could filter calendar print outs by group / category. The implementation looked very promising. The group was very positive and thought that this method would really work. There are many details to get worked out in terms of process and we will need some sort of outreach so that we can get all the groups involved. Lora and Barb were to discuss technical details with Caleb.
An aside:
-------------
Many of the technical details have been worked out. Caleb has a working prototype in a development environment but it needs a smidge more work and Barb is writing the "How Tos" so that we can get everyone playing. She is setting up the necessary permissions, etc. to get this done. Within the next week or so, this will be operational is what we think.
Thanks Caleb, Barb, and Lora. Barb will update us at the next meeting in more detail.
We discussed further psychographics and what need we were fulfilling. I will send out the brainstorms shortly.
The Folks from CAC came by and discussed the program they do for us on our behalf. They run coloradoinfo.com, coloradosummerinfo.com, and coloradowinterinfo.com. On a typical day, they have 650 unique site visitors. They send out a newsletter to their email list. This service is free (sort of) and requires time and energy and giveaways to make it happen.
I think we need 2 people to get with Rennie and get one out in late April or Early May. I would be willing to put up some lodging or maybe Lora would too. Perhaps we can get some tickets to the museum, a couple of pool passes and put together a weekend getaway. Who will volunteer to get this done?
CAC also distributes our Ouray Visitor's Guide in DIA, along the I-70, and I-25 corridors, at trade shows. They provided the statistics in a handout.
Meeting adjourned.
I then demonstrated a way that we can use google calendar. We could filter calendar print outs by group / category. The implementation looked very promising. The group was very positive and thought that this method would really work. There are many details to get worked out in terms of process and we will need some sort of outreach so that we can get all the groups involved. Lora and Barb were to discuss technical details with Caleb.
An aside:
-------------
Many of the technical details have been worked out. Caleb has a working prototype in a development environment but it needs a smidge more work and Barb is writing the "How Tos" so that we can get everyone playing. She is setting up the necessary permissions, etc. to get this done. Within the next week or so, this will be operational is what we think.
Thanks Caleb, Barb, and Lora. Barb will update us at the next meeting in more detail.
We discussed further psychographics and what need we were fulfilling. I will send out the brainstorms shortly.
The Folks from CAC came by and discussed the program they do for us on our behalf. They run coloradoinfo.com, coloradosummerinfo.com, and coloradowinterinfo.com. On a typical day, they have 650 unique site visitors. They send out a newsletter to their email list. This service is free (sort of) and requires time and energy and giveaways to make it happen.
I think we need 2 people to get with Rennie and get one out in late April or Early May. I would be willing to put up some lodging or maybe Lora would too. Perhaps we can get some tickets to the museum, a couple of pool passes and put together a weekend getaway. Who will volunteer to get this done?
CAC also distributes our Ouray Visitor's Guide in DIA, along the I-70, and I-25 corridors, at trade shows. They provided the statistics in a handout.
Meeting adjourned.
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Customer Needs we might satisfy
- I need peace and quiet: I want to get away from it all and get in touch with nature.
- I need thrills and adventure: I want to break out of my boring environment and do something exciting and maybe a bit risky!
- I want to make a memory with my family: The kids are growing up, and I want to have special family trips they will remember for a lifetime. Maybe they will even bring their own kids one day…
- I am just here for business, but I want to see the area: If this place is good, maybe I will bring my family back here sometime!
- I just need to fill up my car and my stomach: Perhaps I will come back another time, or at least recommend it to someone else.
- I need a place to retire someday: I am thinking about where I want to spend my next years, and I want to find a place that meets my needs.
Classification of Attractions
We completed a brainstorming session on the assets in our community or region. Now, let’s start thinking how we can move forward.
Thinking about attractions in terms of quality, authenticity, uniqueness, drawing power, and activity options immediately suggest that all attractions are not created equal. Some have more potential than others to draw tourists.
Primary attractions → Attractions that influence a traveler’s decision about where to go. They are often the main reason for visiting an area, and are intricately linked to the image of the destination and promoted in marketing campaigns.
Secondary attractions → Attractions that enhance the tourist experience, but are not part of the major destination selection process.
What are the primary attractions? We need a table to rank them on the adjectives.
What are the secondary attractions? We need a table to rank them of the adjectives.
Once we identify the primary set of attractions, we can combine them with complementary secondary attractions to develop specialized “packages” or “itineraries”. Then, we can market to different special interest markets. The more diverse the attractions mix, the more success we will have on repeat visitation.
We must consider seasonality here as well.
Thinking about attractions in terms of quality, authenticity, uniqueness, drawing power, and activity options immediately suggest that all attractions are not created equal. Some have more potential than others to draw tourists.
Primary attractions → Attractions that influence a traveler’s decision about where to go. They are often the main reason for visiting an area, and are intricately linked to the image of the destination and promoted in marketing campaigns.
Secondary attractions → Attractions that enhance the tourist experience, but are not part of the major destination selection process.
What are the primary attractions? We need a table to rank them on the adjectives.
What are the secondary attractions? We need a table to rank them of the adjectives.
Once we identify the primary set of attractions, we can combine them with complementary secondary attractions to develop specialized “packages” or “itineraries”. Then, we can market to different special interest markets. The more diverse the attractions mix, the more success we will have on repeat visitation.
We must consider seasonality here as well.
Agenda February 27th
Tourism depends in a large part on attractions and activities that are related to the natural environment and cultural heritage of the region. After last meeting agreed we would spend time thinking/demonstrating figuring out how to solve communication issues as we sort of had one of those aha moments... Folks think they tell others about the events and activities but the receivers of information are not processing it. We must figure out how we align our communications strategy between industry (hotels, restaurants, shops) and activities (arts, culture, museum) and city (public parks, facilities, infrastructure).
Brainstorm:
How to communicate the diverse functions/activities and happenings in and around Ouray in an effective and timely manner.
Folks from CAC (Colorado Activity Centers) will be dropping by and talking to group about what they do and how they do it.
Thanks,
Karen
Brainstorm:
How to communicate the diverse functions/activities and happenings in and around Ouray in an effective and timely manner.
- Vehicles: calendars, newspapers, posters, flyers, weekly cards for examples
- Ownership and Accountability
- Training & process implementation
Folks from CAC (Colorado Activity Centers) will be dropping by and talking to group about what they do and how they do it.
Thanks,
Karen
Meeting Minutes Feb 20th
Karen emailed everyone the diagram of the brainstorms, Who are our customers and an Initial SWOT analysis night of Feb. 25th. If you don't have it, email her directly and she will send it to you. Her email is boxcanyonlodge@gmail.com
Who are our customers?
• Retreat (Businesses, Church, Alternative Lifestyle)
• 2-day stay passing through on way to other major attractions within 500 miles
• VFR (family and friends)
• 3-5 day stay – 1-2 hr drive (visitors from Grand Junction, Montrose, Durango)
• DINKS (dual income, no kids)
• OMs (older mature-retired or semi-retired)
• Recreational enthusiasts/professionals
Daily happening card – Event Calendar
• Bandon, OR, example
• Even includes garage sales and everything that was happening that day/week
• Calendar provided by the newspaper in OR on a weekly basis
• Incredibly effective way to communicate information
• Could be done in Ouray in the Plaindealer or with story boards in lodging or other ways
Comment: “Shopping locally is not appreciated in any way, shape, or form”
• Only consistent for 6 weeks from July 1 through mid-August
• All the restaurants are closed on Tuesdays for meals
• Shop schedules are erratic
Lack of professionalism in hospitality
• Overhead costs make it difficult to keep consistent help
• Hobby businesses interested in their own families, understandably
• Inconsistent messages to customers
City doesn’t have enough money
• Heavy reliance on volunteers
• Suspicion that spending not officially scrutinized (fountain on 6th Avenue)
• Questions about why we’re doing certain projects
• Unexpected costs like excessive snow removal
A few strengths
• Christmas Day to church in jeans
• Step back in time
• Winter climate for winter activities
• Not too many pine beetles . . . yet
• Air quality, water quality
• Economic – in-state travel increases in a weakening economy
Great opportunities to learn something
• Historical
• Workshops and performing arts (not well packaged or bundled with other services)
• Places for kids to go to take a class
• Lack of data regarding needs and level of demand
• Yoga classes – numerous, but not well publicized
Comments about sharing, gathering, and responding to information:
“Every lodging place could have a board in the lobby with the daily activities in Ouray. Using a centrally located kiosk instead of signs on Duckett’s windows or emails could be more effective.”
• May require city approval
• Requires cooperation and manpower to support and update
• Business owners must be informed
• Strong need to share more information back and forth along with data collection
• Use collective information from retail, restaurants, and lodgers
• Utilize restaurants to publicize (True Grit has John Wayne history on back of menu.)
• Retailers could provide survey forms with their notes and observations
• Some business owners just want to run their business and not get involved in information gathering or community related growth (education of the benefits to everyone needed)
Cultural, historical
• Not enough theatre – in a mountain town should be available all summer
• History of buildings not valued by business owners (not all interested in maintaining historical appearance of their own business)
• Should have a blurb about each building at the site (St. Elmo has a good example about the history of the hotel.)
• Town and city government not perceived to value the arts
• Again not communicating cultural and historical information effectively
Other, miscellaneous comments
• Salida does an excellent job of publicizing their art and culture.
• I don’t read the newspaper because I don’t get anything out of it.
• The newspaper should have an arts page
• Perception of OCRA is mixed; some view it as a lodging focus, others see it as focusing major support on all businesses that are OCRA members, but not ignoring non-members
• Events conflict on the schedule without people knowing (avalanche presentation was scheduled at the same time as another activity.
• People have been sent for pizza to a restaurant by a lodging owner only to find out the restaurant had been closed when it had promised to be open.
COMMUNICATION, COMMUNICATION, COMMUNICATION
• The root cause of many of our community issues
Who are our customers?
• Retreat (Businesses, Church, Alternative Lifestyle)
• 2-day stay passing through on way to other major attractions within 500 miles
- Grand Canyon, Taos, Yellowstone, all of CO, Utah parks
• VFR (family and friends)
• 3-5 day stay – 1-2 hr drive (visitors from Grand Junction, Montrose, Durango)
• DINKS (dual income, no kids)
• OMs (older mature-retired or semi-retired)
• Recreational enthusiasts/professionals
- Photography, rock climbing, ice climbing
Daily happening card – Event Calendar
• Bandon, OR, example
• Even includes garage sales and everything that was happening that day/week
• Calendar provided by the newspaper in OR on a weekly basis
• Incredibly effective way to communicate information
• Could be done in Ouray in the Plaindealer or with story boards in lodging or other ways
Comment: “Shopping locally is not appreciated in any way, shape, or form”
• Only consistent for 6 weeks from July 1 through mid-August
• All the restaurants are closed on Tuesdays for meals
• Shop schedules are erratic
Lack of professionalism in hospitality
• Overhead costs make it difficult to keep consistent help
• Hobby businesses interested in their own families, understandably
• Inconsistent messages to customers
City doesn’t have enough money
• Heavy reliance on volunteers
• Suspicion that spending not officially scrutinized (fountain on 6th Avenue)
• Questions about why we’re doing certain projects
• Unexpected costs like excessive snow removal
A few strengths
• Christmas Day to church in jeans
• Step back in time
• Winter climate for winter activities
• Not too many pine beetles . . . yet
• Air quality, water quality
• Economic – in-state travel increases in a weakening economy
Great opportunities to learn something
• Historical
• Workshops and performing arts (not well packaged or bundled with other services)
• Places for kids to go to take a class
- Telluride Summer Academy
- Voyager Youth Program
- Tracy Imhoff drop-in classes for kids
- Proposed program for kids at Weehawken
• Lack of data regarding needs and level of demand
• Yoga classes – numerous, but not well publicized
Comments about sharing, gathering, and responding to information:
“Every lodging place could have a board in the lobby with the daily activities in Ouray. Using a centrally located kiosk instead of signs on Duckett’s windows or emails could be more effective.”
• May require city approval
• Requires cooperation and manpower to support and update
• Business owners must be informed
• Strong need to share more information back and forth along with data collection
• Use collective information from retail, restaurants, and lodgers
• Utilize restaurants to publicize (True Grit has John Wayne history on back of menu.)
• Retailers could provide survey forms with their notes and observations
• Some business owners just want to run their business and not get involved in information gathering or community related growth (education of the benefits to everyone needed)
Cultural, historical
• Not enough theatre – in a mountain town should be available all summer
• History of buildings not valued by business owners (not all interested in maintaining historical appearance of their own business)
• Should have a blurb about each building at the site (St. Elmo has a good example about the history of the hotel.)
• Town and city government not perceived to value the arts
• Again not communicating cultural and historical information effectively
Other, miscellaneous comments
• Salida does an excellent job of publicizing their art and culture.
• I don’t read the newspaper because I don’t get anything out of it.
• The newspaper should have an arts page
• Perception of OCRA is mixed; some view it as a lodging focus, others see it as focusing major support on all businesses that are OCRA members, but not ignoring non-members
• Events conflict on the schedule without people knowing (avalanche presentation was scheduled at the same time as another activity.
• People have been sent for pizza to a restaurant by a lodging owner only to find out the restaurant had been closed when it had promised to be open.
COMMUNICATION, COMMUNICATION, COMMUNICATION
• The root cause of many of our community issues
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Communication
I receive an email daily from Telluride regarding ski conditions. A PDF is attached with the current run conditions and in the body of the email is additional info - IE weather forecast and daily events - I wonder if we can modify this to work for us????
I've attached a "snap shot" of the email. If you click on the image it will enlarge to a readable format.
Monday, February 18, 2008
Ouray & Tourism
Native Americans came to Ouray to hunt, escape the heat, enjoy the beauty and use the hot springs. Chief Ouray had a winter home here next to the Wiesbaden Hot Springs. The spectacular scenery and the transportation system built to service the mines made the San Juans a natural tourist destination. The "Rainbow Route", which took passengers by stage from Ouray to Ironton and then by train to Silverton, Durango, Rico, Telluride, Ridgway and back to Ouray, was billed as the "most magnificent mountain trip in the known world." Today the "San Juan Skyway" is a National Scenic Highway and still among the most magnificent mountain trips you can take. By the turn of the century, Ouray was already becoming a tourist town called the "Gem of the Rockies" and "The Switzerland of America."
Sunday, February 17, 2008
What is Ouray's brand?
Here are various definitions of what a "Brand" Are as copied from here
Maybe a better definition is:
"A brand is a collection of perceptions in the mind of the consumer."
Some interesting articles on Branding -- How are we going to use these information pieces for our benefit? Even more interesting is that these are about Estes Park, a much larger but very similar destination.
http://brandingwire.wordpress.com/2007/07/07/backgrounder-estes-park-co/
http://www.lonelymarketer.com/2007/07/09/my-experience-with-the-estes-park-brand/
http://www.conversationagent.com/2007/07/take-a-walk-in-.html
http://lgbusinesssolutions.typepad.com/solutions_to_grow_your_bu/2007/07/getting-a-rocky.html
http://customersrock.wordpress.com/2007/07/09/coming-back-for-more-in-estes-park-colorado/
The Dictionary of Business and Management defines a brand as:
"a name, sign or symbol used to identify items or services of the seller(s) and to differentiate them from goods of competitors." |
Maybe a better definition is:
"A brand is a collection of perceptions in the mind of the consumer."
Why is it best? Well, first of all it is easy to remember, which is always useful! But it is also best because it works to remind us of some key points:
- This definition makes it absolutely clear that a brand is very different from a product or service. A brand is intangible and exists in the mind of the consumer.
- This definition helps us understand the idea of brand loyalty and the 'loyalty ladder'. Different people have different perceptions of a product or service, which places them at different points on the loyalty ladder.
- This definition makes it clear how to build a brand. A brand is built not only through effective communications or appealing logos. A brand is built through the total experience that it offers.
Some interesting articles on Branding -- How are we going to use these information pieces for our benefit? Even more interesting is that these are about Estes Park, a much larger but very similar destination.
http://brandingwire.wordpress.com/2007/07/07/backgrounder-estes-park-co/
http://www.lonelymarketer.com/2007/07/09/my-experience-with-the-estes-park-brand/
http://www.conversationagent.com/2007/07/take-a-walk-in-.html
http://lgbusinesssolutions.typepad.com/solutions_to_grow_your_bu/2007/07/getting-a-rocky.html
http://customersrock.wordpress.com/2007/07/09/coming-back-for-more-in-estes-park-colorado/
February 20th Agenda
Meeting on Wednesday February 20
9am - 12pm
Customer Analysis & SWOT Analysis
- Customer/Prospect Analysis – Understanding Visitor Motivations
- Customer/Prospect Decision Process
- Concentration of customer base for particular products/experiences
- Critical Benefits
- How choices are made between competitors (pass throughs or stayovers)
- What is Ouray’s competitive Edge?
- Sensitivity to price, quality, service, and value
- To what are they attracted
- Value Drivers
SWOT analysis for our locale
Strengths – resources & capabilities that can be used as basis for developing competitive advantage
- Strong Brand -- What is our BRAND?
- Good Reputation among customers
- Cost Advantages
- Natural Resources
Opportunities – external environment
- Unfulfilled customer need
- Disposable Income decreasing
- Infrastructure within town aging (pool, public facilities)
- Tax Structure (property taxes, statutory city)
- Ability to attract/maintain workforce (affordability)
- Mountain Resort Competition
- Shifts in consumer tastes
- Weather
- Wild fires
- Pine Beatles or other detractor to natural beauty
Movies filmed in and around Ouray
At the last marketing meeting, we spoke about movies filmed in and around Ouray County. Here are a few, although I know there are many more. There is a prof at Western State that has given an Evenings of History talk on this subject. With a few phone calls I could probably come up with a full list. For now, however:
1950 A Ticket to Tomahawk - With Dan Dailey, Anne Baxter, Rory Calhoun, Marilyn Monroe
1950 A Ticket to Tomahawk - With Dan Dailey, Anne Baxter, Rory Calhoun, Marilyn Monroe
1951 Across the Wide Missouri - Clark Gable
1956 Tribute to a Bad Man - James Cagney
1962 How the West Was Won - Spencer Tracy, Gregory Peck, James Stewart, Debbie Reynolds, John Wayne et al.
1964 Unsinkable Molly Brown - Debbie Reynolds
1965 Sons of Katie Elder - John Wayne and Dean Martin (based on a real Ridgway family)
1968 True Grit - John Wayne, Glen Campbell, Kim Darby
1969 Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid - Paul Newman
1978 Avalanche - Rock Hudson and Mia Farrow (final scene shows a clip of Farrow hanging off the Camp Bird Mine Bridge
1987 - Over the Top, Sylvester Stallone. Opening has 18-wheeler driving through mountains. Red Mountain.
Alferd Packer: The Musical (1996) 7.1/10 (4676 votes)
...aka Cannibal! The Musical (1996) (USA: video title)
Durango Kids (1999) 4.5/10 (142 votes)
Sunchaser, The (1996) 5.9/10 (1168 votes)
Alferd Packer: The Musical (1996) 7.1/10 (4676 votes)
...aka Cannibal! The Musical (1996) (USA: video title)
Durango Kids (1999) 4.5/10 (142 votes)
Sunchaser, The (1996) 5.9/10 (1168 votes)
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
February 13th Minutes
We started with a reminder to add information to the blog regarding the SW Travel Region itineraries. They are due by next Wednesday so ideas before that would be appreciated. Sue Hillhouse suggested the Mesker Brothers iron work on the buildings in town.
Karen updated us on the contacts from colorado.com that we are sending an extended newsletter to. She'll post the topics on the blog so that we can help write.
Karen also informed us of the Cultural/Historical database from the CTO.
Holdover from last meeting: Karen & Lora compiled data from their hotels about where visitors come from. CO was number 1 by a landslide (no surprise!), the other top states are TX, AZ, CA, NM, UT.
We started on today's agenda. We spent a good amount of the time brainstorming lists of Key Attractions, Facilities & Organizations the we can partner with. Karen emailed the brainstorm as a .pdf document to the group. If you would like it and did not receive it, email her at boxcanyonlodge@gmail.com and she will email it to you.
Ralph suggested that it is important that we research the surrounding communities to see what they have to offer and what we can capitalize on that is specific to Ouray. Barbara offered to gather printed materials from the communities in the SW region and others said they would do research online.
Karen then asked us to develop a history of tourism for Ouray. Lora & Sara offered to work on that. Karen will also call Phil Icke to see if he can help. Tracy suggested that each of us take 15 minutes to do some research and then post our findings on the blog.
Our To-Do List for next meeting: Help write 2-3 sentences for the subjects in the SW Travel Region Itineraries, Help with content for colorado.com newsletter (Karen will have it on the blog), Consider "What Need Are We Trying To Meet", Research info on history of tourism in Ouray and marketing info on surrounding towns.
Karen updated us on the contacts from colorado.com that we are sending an extended newsletter to. She'll post the topics on the blog so that we can help write.
Karen also informed us of the Cultural/Historical database from the CTO.
Holdover from last meeting: Karen & Lora compiled data from their hotels about where visitors come from. CO was number 1 by a landslide (no surprise!), the other top states are TX, AZ, CA, NM, UT.
We started on today's agenda. We spent a good amount of the time brainstorming lists of Key Attractions, Facilities & Organizations the we can partner with. Karen emailed the brainstorm as a .pdf document to the group. If you would like it and did not receive it, email her at boxcanyonlodge@gmail.com and she will email it to you.
Ralph suggested that it is important that we research the surrounding communities to see what they have to offer and what we can capitalize on that is specific to Ouray. Barbara offered to gather printed materials from the communities in the SW region and others said they would do research online.
Karen then asked us to develop a history of tourism for Ouray. Lora & Sara offered to work on that. Karen will also call Phil Icke to see if he can help. Tracy suggested that each of us take 15 minutes to do some research and then post our findings on the blog.
Our To-Do List for next meeting: Help write 2-3 sentences for the subjects in the SW Travel Region Itineraries, Help with content for colorado.com newsletter (Karen will have it on the blog), Consider "What Need Are We Trying To Meet", Research info on history of tourism in Ouray and marketing info on surrounding towns.
2008 Holiday Calendar (Tentative)
November 15, 16: Holiday Arts & Crafts Bazzaar
November 16th PAT Pasta Bar
November 29th : Light UP Ouray: Parade: 12-day of Xmas Theme
December 6th: Nutcracker Sweets
December 7th: Nutcracker Sweets
December 12th (Friday): Full Moon Ski & Soak
December 13th : Gingerbread Houses
December 13th: Yule Night: Nativity, Carolling, Santa
December 20th: Hayrides, Main Street Caroling
Ouray Visitor Guide says December 9th: Christmas Concert
November 16th PAT Pasta Bar
November 29th : Light UP Ouray: Parade: 12-day of Xmas Theme
December 6th: Nutcracker Sweets
December 7th: Nutcracker Sweets
December 12th (Friday): Full Moon Ski & Soak
December 13th : Gingerbread Houses
December 13th: Yule Night: Nativity, Carolling, Santa
December 20th: Hayrides, Main Street Caroling
Ouray Visitor Guide says December 9th: Christmas Concert
Monday, February 11, 2008
Itineraries with SW Colo Travel Region
Here are the itineraries being developed in conjunction with the SW Colo Travel Region:
We need to compile 3-5 sentences that will whet the appetite for the traveller. We will need corresponding photos for the things we choose.
Ideas needed soon, sentences & photos needed in the next week or so.
The obvious suggestions are:
- Scenic Byways
- Craving recreation at high elevation? Travel to the top of the world and back in time on the San Juan Skyway. Discover history and high times in the streets, gold mines, and railway stations of towns like Durango, Ouray, and Telluride. Enjoy rafting and water sports on the Animas River, or fish and boat on McPhee Lake, the second largest lake in Colorado. The byway is your open invitation to five million acres of the San Juan and Uncompahgre National Forests. Experience the ancestral homes of the Puebloan Indians at Mesa Verde, once voted the number one historic monument in the world. Enjoy it all on this 236-mile sampler of the best the southwest has to offer.
- Colorado Heritage Timeline: Native American Culture, Mining,
Frontier Life, Ranching, Viticulture - The Red Mountain area was one of Colorado’s richest and most productive mining districts. During its heyday, approximately 3000 people lived in the mining towns of Red Mountain, Ironton, Guston, Chattanooga and numerous cabins and dugouts scattered throughout. To service the numerous mines, a wagon road connecting the district to Ouray and Silverton was completed in 1885, and the Silverton Railroad traversed the rugged pass by 1889.
Although most of the physical features of the district have disappeared, the area contains several excellent examples of mining headframes, cabins, boarding houses and railroad features that represent a very important part of our heritage.
- Transportation Heritage: Railroads, trails, tramlines, stagecoaches
- The road we know today as the Million Dollar Highway was started in 1880 by the Ouray and San Juan Wagon Road Company. In 1882 Ouray County took over construction from the Engineer Pass turnoff to Ironton but not much progress was made. In 1883 Otto Mears bought the wagon road company and finished the toll road to Red Mountain. His tollbooth was at the very narrow crossing of Bear Creek Falls. A year later he completed a second toll road from Silverton to Red Mountain thus completing the Ouray to Silverton Road. The road reverted to Ouray and San Juan Counties in 1900 when the toll road charter expired. The Million Dollar Highway got its name in 1922 during the conversion of the road for auto traffic when it was noticed that the separate contracts to rebuild the Ouray to Red Mountain Pass portion of the road totaled almost exactly a million dollars.
- Architecture: Residential, commercial, industrial, pre-historic
- The town of Ouray is a real treasure for a Victorian architecture buff. Here one can stay in the award-winning, beautifully restored Beaumont Hotel, 1887, or the authentic St. Elmo Hotel,1898, stroll the Ouray National Register Historic District and dine in a historic restaurant. Containing a large collection of Mesker Brothers iron facades, the Main Street beckons history lovers and shoppers alike. Off Main Street you will find beautifully restored "painted ladies" of the Queen Anne, Edwardian, Italianate,and Dutch Colonial Revival styles, historic churches, and the "best little Museum in the West."
- Brothels and Outlaws of the Old West
- Ouray had two red light districts that flourished in the 1880s and 1890s as well as in the early decades of the 20th century. The earliest district was located along Main Street north of 8th Ave where John Vanoli operated the Gold Belt Theater and several other “Female Boarding Houses.” The Goldbelt provided first class entertainment in addition to its second floor cribs.
The second red light district in Ouray stretched along second street between 7th and 8th avenues. By 1908 the number of separate houses of ill repute had reached 16 which included The Temple of Music, the Bon Ton and the Bird Cage where liquor, gambling, prostitution and loud music continued far into the night. - Ouray ordinances specifically prohibited houses of prostitution but they were thriving businesses for more than 30 years. The prosperity of these establishments rose and fell with the mining industry. Most prostitutes did not stay in Ouray long but there was a constant supply to replace those who left. A significant number also committed suicide or were killed by customers. A lucky few married local men and became respectable.
- Native American presence on the Colorado Landscape
- The Uncompahgre Band of Utes had a special relationship with Ouray’s copious hot springs, which they called “sacred miracle waters.”
They came here for ceremonial and healing purposes, even bathing their beloved horses in the steaming waters. In the late nineteenth century, the famous and controversial Chief Ouray built a small adobe “summer home” at hot springs where the Wiesbaden Spa is now located.
- Preservation and Stewardship: Land use, sites, stabilization projects and visitor ethics
- The Red Mountain Project began in 1998 as a regional effort to protect 10,500 acres of scenic and historic landscapes, preserve numerous historic mining and railroad sites, and provide enhanced recreation and interpretive opportunities along the San Juan Skyway.
- The goal of this project is to acquire from willing sellers 10,500 acres of historic landscapes and structures within and around the historic Red Mountain Mining District. Once purchased, they are being added to the adjacent Uncompahgre and San Juan National Forests and Ouray County Parks for public use and enjoyment through perpetual conservation easements. In the meantime historic structural assessments, stabilization projects, installation of interpretive signs and improvements to historic trails for recreational use are ongoing.
We need to compile 3-5 sentences that will whet the appetite for the traveller. We will need corresponding photos for the things we choose.
Ideas needed soon, sentences & photos needed in the next week or so.
The obvious suggestions are:
- Scenic Byways: SAN JUAN SKYWAY
- Colorado Heritage Timeline: Native American Culture, Mining, Frontier Life, Ranching, Viticulture USE A LOCAL MINE
- Transportation Heritage: Railroads, trails, tramlines, stagecoaches THE MILLION DOLLAR HIGHWAY OR OTTO MEARS
- Architecture: Residential, commercial, industrial, pre-historic THE BEAUMONT
- Brothels and Outlaws of the Old West: YOU COULD TALK ABOUT THE TUNNEL UNDER TOWN
- Native American presence on the Colorado Landscape THE USE OF THE HOT SPRINGS BY THE NATIVES WOULD BE GREAT
- Preservation and Stewardship: Land use, sites, stabilization projects and visitor ethics. POINT TO A SITE THAT IS GETTING SOME PRESERVATION OR TALK ABOUT THE WATER USE AND YOUR BOTTLING PLANT OR EAGLE HABITAT ALONG THE RIVER.
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Agenda February 13th
Meeting on Wednesday February 13
9am - 12pm
Section 2: Situation Analysis
Current Marketing Situation Analysis – summarizes environmental trends
- Key attractions, facilities, and people/organizations
- Key joint venture/cooperative partners
- Definition of area/customers served
- Strengths
- Weaknesses
- Obstacles
9am - 12pm
Section 2: Situation Analysis
Current Marketing Situation Analysis – summarizes environmental trends
- Key attractions, facilities, and people/organizations
- Products/Experience
- Infrastructure
- Community Calendar
- Visitor Center
- ADA
- Key joint venture/cooperative partners
- Definition of area/customers served
- Strengths
- Weaknesses
- Obstacles
Outline Description
The Marketing Plan Outline will be in 11 Sections. The Sections will be as follows:
1. Overview/Executive Summary
2. Current Marketing Situation Analysis - Summarizes environmental Trends
3. Market Analysis -
4. Customer & Prospect Analysis - Understanding Visitor Motivations
5. Competitive Analysis
6. Marketing Objectives & Issues - Outlines specific marketing objectives to be achieved and identifies issues that may affect the organization’s attainment of these objectives.
7. Alternative Marketing Strategies – Alternatives considered before arriving at final strategy
8. Marketing Strategy
- Philosophy on how to best reach target
- Relationship to four P’s
9. Budgets & Projections
10. Action Plan Timetable
11. Implementation Controls - Indicates how progress toward objectives will be measured and how adjustments will be made to keep programs on track.
We will not necessarily do each step in order but we will take a topic and finish it each week... or at least get close to finishing it each week.
Before each topic, there will be an expanded outline uploaded for your use to get the juices rolling and folks are encouraged to add comments.
Thanks,
Karen
1. Overview/Executive Summary
2. Current Marketing Situation Analysis - Summarizes environmental Trends
3. Market Analysis -
4. Customer & Prospect Analysis - Understanding Visitor Motivations
5. Competitive Analysis
6. Marketing Objectives & Issues - Outlines specific marketing objectives to be achieved and identifies issues that may affect the organization’s attainment of these objectives.
7. Alternative Marketing Strategies – Alternatives considered before arriving at final strategy
8. Marketing Strategy
- Philosophy on how to best reach target
- Relationship to four P’s
9. Budgets & Projections
10. Action Plan Timetable
11. Implementation Controls - Indicates how progress toward objectives will be measured and how adjustments will be made to keep programs on track.
We will not necessarily do each step in order but we will take a topic and finish it each week... or at least get close to finishing it each week.
Before each topic, there will be an expanded outline uploaded for your use to get the juices rolling and folks are encouraged to add comments.
Thanks,
Karen
Thursday, February 7, 2008
February 6th Meeting Minutes
Attendees: Ralph Huesing, Sue Hillhouse, Diann Correll, Tracy Lockard, Lora Slawitschka, Debbie Clapsadl, Sara Sharpe, Barbara Wade, Joyce Linn, Rick Noll, Karen Avery, John Ast
Set Meeting Times/Meeting Place:
San Juan Room, Ouray Community Center: Wednesdays 9am - 12pm.
Next Meeting February 13th.
We discussed the Longwood Study : Here are the ideas that floated while reading/discussing the data.
Focus on pleasure trips, not business (2006)
Concerns
Potential for bundling
“House guest” potential - Locals bring guests
Shuttle service to/from Telluride
Things we have here that are not in survey
Spending
Trip to state is fairly lengthy
Under 7% of CO tourists took advantage of pre-paid packages
Visitors – where from, why did you come here, how long are you staying, need data
Ouraycolorado.com on cellular phone; Caleb has already started work on this and he is farther along than we knew. Some of ouraycolorado.com is popping up on cell phone.
Using internet, not travel agency
Outdoor vacationers, most originate in state, below average expenditure (less than $65 per day)
Entertainment and climate are low priority
Bring out mining history, Indian heritage
Rest stop/restrooms with videos
Once they get here we need to engage them to stay, go to museum, stay for dinner
Embrace the stuff that’s “hokey”
Cultural heritage – HUGE (57%)
Supplement in newspaper on what to do with visitors
June negatives
June positives
Do we collect any data at the visitors center?
Publicize history – Smokin Joe, Chief Ouray, historical events, stay longer ideas
Hospitality Training -- Make every local tourist friendly
Important for the person at the front desk to know what’s going on
Four wheel – not in a growth mode?
Birdwatching
Eating and drinking – fastest growth area in Ouray
Promote history of hot springs pool
Walking tour with MP3 player – Telluride uses
Can we capitalize on mining history?
What goes into planning a trip to Ouray? (50% plan trip 3 months in advance)
We should be charging $200 per night
Need more itineraries.
__________________________________________
Actions/ To Dos...
Need web sessions from 2007. Karen/Lora/Barb will start to gather.
Visitor Statistics: Karen to share Box Canyon Lodge Stats with folks on Demographics.
Set Meeting Times/Meeting Place:
San Juan Room, Ouray Community Center: Wednesdays 9am - 12pm.
Next Meeting February 13th.
We discussed the Longwood Study : Here are the ideas that floated while reading/discussing the data.
Focus on pleasure trips, not business (2006)
- Overnight visitors rising
- Business
- Friends and relatives
- Pleasure Trips
- Outdoor and ski trips
- CO 9th in nation for outdoor trips
- CO Top ski destination in US
Concerns
- Shorter trips
- Touring trips dropped behind outdoors
- Ensure visitors see beyond cost factor
- CO generally expensive
Potential for bundling
- Ouray pass – pool, mine tour, Box Canyon, etc.
- Entertainment book idea
“House guest” potential - Locals bring guests
- Local role as hosts, 30% stay in private homes
- Provide house guest spending benefits (coupons, discounts, etc.)
- easy, less expensive advertising
Shuttle service to/from Telluride
- Throw in a pool pass
- Connect with ice climbing
- Ski passes at 42% discount
- Package for ski business
Things we have here that are not in survey
- Working Artisans
- Museum – highly recognized as “one of the best”
- Arts organizations
Spending
- Vacationer spending rising up 10%
- 30% stay in private homes
Trip to state is fairly lengthy
- 300 mile radius includes Denver, Salt Lake City, Albuquerque
- ½ the people who come here plan at least 3 months before
- Airline subsidy by Telluride
- Concern that Ouray County may be asked to pay for a portion
Under 7% of CO tourists took advantage of pre-paid packages
Visitors – where from, why did you come here, how long are you staying, need data
Ouraycolorado.com on cellular phone; Caleb has already started work on this and he is farther along than we knew. Some of ouraycolorado.com is popping up on cell phone.
Using internet, not travel agency
Outdoor vacationers, most originate in state, below average expenditure (less than $65 per day)
Entertainment and climate are low priority
Bring out mining history, Indian heritage
Rest stop/restrooms with videos
Once they get here we need to engage them to stay, go to museum, stay for dinner
Embrace the stuff that’s “hokey”
- Coachlight was red light
- Popsicle invented at variety store
- Alvin Ficco ran liquor from Gold Belt to Western
- Tunnels
Cultural heritage – HUGE (57%)
- More often from out-of-state visitors
- History and natural preservation most often mentioned by cultural heritage visitors
Supplement in newspaper on what to do with visitors
June negatives
- Kids not yet out of school
- Jeep trails not fully open
June positives
- Waterfalls, golf, and Trio Soliste
- Need to work on June
- Come before school is out
- Target DINKS – double income, no kids; like adventure
Do we collect any data at the visitors center?
- Give the visitors something for their input
Publicize history – Smokin Joe, Chief Ouray, historical events, stay longer ideas
- Need to publicize what to do in Ouray to locals too. Give them ideas for VFRs. Newspaper articles are necessary.
- MP3 Walking Tour
Hospitality Training -- Make every local tourist friendly
- Work to be more accommodating
- Know more about shops, restaurants, attractions
- Word of mouth huge -- how to capture that good feeling, personal experience
Important for the person at the front desk to know what’s going on
Four wheel – not in a growth mode?
Birdwatching
Eating and drinking – fastest growth area in Ouray
Promote history of hot springs pool
Walking tour with MP3 player – Telluride uses
Can we capitalize on mining history?
What goes into planning a trip to Ouray? (50% plan trip 3 months in advance)
- Tabletop exercise
- Planning guide on web
- Chronology of planning activities and materials
- What to do in the rain?
We should be charging $200 per night
Need more itineraries.
__________________________________________
Actions/ To Dos...
Need web sessions from 2007. Karen/Lora/Barb will start to gather.
Visitor Statistics: Karen to share Box Canyon Lodge Stats with folks on Demographics.
Saturday, February 2, 2008
New Data Sources & Current Events
This section of the blog should be used to collect information, links, comments related to Current Events and News articles that have appeared recently that everyone should know about.
It would be nice if we could post the links themselves so that people could read the resource. If that is not possible, then, post the periodical, date, time, title, and the summary of the article.
Thanks,
It would be nice if we could post the links themselves so that people could read the resource. If that is not possible, then, post the periodical, date, time, title, and the summary of the article.
Thanks,
Comments on the Longwood Survey
This section of the blog should be used to collect comments people have on the Longwood Survey Data.
Thanks,
Karen
Thanks,
Karen
How to Post a Comment
So, to make a comment follow these instructions:
- In a web browser, go to http://ouraymarketing.blogspot.com
- Find the Topic that you want to discuss on the Right Hand Side (let's say I chose Mission Statement)
- Click on that link (Mission Statement)
- Then, the Mission Statement page comes into the browser window
- At the bottom of the statement, there is a section that says "X Comments" where X = some number.
- Below that is a link that says "Post a Comment"
- Click on that link (DO NOT TRY TO EMAIL THE COMMENT> IT DOESN"T WORK AT THIS TIME.
- A page comes up that says "Post a Comment"
- In the box entitled "Leave your comment", type in all your comments, ideas... (I suggest you type it somewhere else in case you have some sort of problem and it doesn't get saved. We don't want to lose ideas!
- Complete your typing or cut and paste (control-C copies to the clipboard and control-V pastes from your clipboard -- if you need help here, just email me and I can help you out)
- Choose an identity... Most Always you should PICK Nickname and enter your real name here in the blank. Make sure you select the radio button. After you are happy with your comment, be sure to click PUBLISH your comment so that it is uploaded to the blog.
Friday, February 1, 2008
February 6th Meeting Agenda
Location: San Juan Room: 1:30 - 5:30pm Feb 6th.
Agenda:
1) Group Governance and Organization -- 30 minutes
meeting times and places
how we are organized
who is going to get involved
rules & expectations
2) Discuss Outline -- 15 minutes
Just highlight the comprehensive nature of the plan
3) Start Level Setting with Longwood Study Slides --> as long as we can take it.
My plan is to fast track the slides and skip ones that are Colorado Vs. National .....
You can pull down the slides and see them in advance if you want to read it.
Agenda:
1) Group Governance and Organization -- 30 minutes
meeting times and places
how we are organized
who is going to get involved
rules & expectations
2) Discuss Outline -- 15 minutes
Just highlight the comprehensive nature of the plan
3) Start Level Setting with Longwood Study Slides --> as long as we can take it.
My plan is to fast track the slides and skip ones that are Colorado Vs. National .....
You can pull down the slides and see them in advance if you want to read it.
January 30 Meeting Minutes
January 30th Meeting Synopsis -- > QA
I discussed the same presentation about Vision/Mission and Team Goals as before. No comments came during the prezzo but at the end, there were a few:
A. There was a question about the Democratic National Convention in Denver this summer and what were we planning to do there...
I called a friend at the Denver Metro Convention and Visitors Bureau and the DNC is a closed convention. There are very specific rules and the delegates are not going to be barraged with tons of information. A very limited amount of information will be provided and it is being paid for with big bucks. They will send me some very specific guidelines and rules but do not look to get Ouray noticed there. Furthermore, she said that this convention doesn't have really any PRE/POST. What she was trying to say was that there weren't going to be any trip extensions. Now, on the bright side, she did mention that although the DNC is well publicized, there are actually 12-15 conventions per year in Denver that are similar in size, just not media coverage and publicity. She is going to be sending me some information on how we can hook up with the media planners and most of those conventions have much more PRE/POST activity that may be interesting as we consider a move into attracting those types of guests. I will forward the information I receive when I get it.
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B. There were some discussions/questions on what time period this Marketing Plan would cover.
In this part, much of the 2008 ads have already been placed (i.e. the AAA tour book, the Colo State Guide, the Ouray Visitor Guide) but there are still SOME dollars for periodicals that can be considered going forward but much of our work will concentrate on Summer 2009 too. But, in general, I see this plan as working 2008 partially and 2009 definitely and looking forward, til 2012.
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C. There are discussions around the time commitment, missed meetings due to prior travel commitments, etc.
This group had thoughts that maybe we could send out emails of the topics and we could make some meetings mandatory for all group members and some meetings could be for smaller groups. We need to get together as a large group and determine how we want to handle this. It seems like it *might* work, but, I do have some concerns on the consistency aspects. Let's discuss in one big meeting and set the ground rules.
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D. There was a question about do you want reps from all groups.
YES, I think we need that for the perspectives (it will make a better plan) and I think we need it for buy-in. If this is going to work, we need everyone to have some skin in the game.
I discussed the same presentation about Vision/Mission and Team Goals as before. No comments came during the prezzo but at the end, there were a few:
A. There was a question about the Democratic National Convention in Denver this summer and what were we planning to do there...
I called a friend at the Denver Metro Convention and Visitors Bureau and the DNC is a closed convention. There are very specific rules and the delegates are not going to be barraged with tons of information. A very limited amount of information will be provided and it is being paid for with big bucks. They will send me some very specific guidelines and rules but do not look to get Ouray noticed there. Furthermore, she said that this convention doesn't have really any PRE/POST. What she was trying to say was that there weren't going to be any trip extensions. Now, on the bright side, she did mention that although the DNC is well publicized, there are actually 12-15 conventions per year in Denver that are similar in size, just not media coverage and publicity. She is going to be sending me some information on how we can hook up with the media planners and most of those conventions have much more PRE/POST activity that may be interesting as we consider a move into attracting those types of guests. I will forward the information I receive when I get it.
-----------------------------------------
B. There were some discussions/questions on what time period this Marketing Plan would cover.
In this part, much of the 2008 ads have already been placed (i.e. the AAA tour book, the Colo State Guide, the Ouray Visitor Guide) but there are still SOME dollars for periodicals that can be considered going forward but much of our work will concentrate on Summer 2009 too. But, in general, I see this plan as working 2008 partially and 2009 definitely and looking forward, til 2012.
----------------------------------------
C. There are discussions around the time commitment, missed meetings due to prior travel commitments, etc.
This group had thoughts that maybe we could send out emails of the topics and we could make some meetings mandatory for all group members and some meetings could be for smaller groups. We need to get together as a large group and determine how we want to handle this. It seems like it *might* work, but, I do have some concerns on the consistency aspects. Let's discuss in one big meeting and set the ground rules.
----------------------------------------
D. There was a question about do you want reps from all groups.
YES, I think we need that for the perspectives (it will make a better plan) and I think we need it for buy-in. If this is going to work, we need everyone to have some skin in the game.
January 23 Meeting Minutes
Suggested we start a blog that relates just to this group. --> Great Idea --> I will get that done and give you info in the next day or so.
B. There were some discussions around the Mission Statement and the Vision Statement.
This needs more comments from the group as a whole --> PERFECT for the Blog. Give me 1 more day and we can start refining this part even further.
B. There were some discussions around the Mission Statement and the Vision Statement.
This needs more comments from the group as a whole --> PERFECT for the Blog. Give me 1 more day and we can start refining this part even further.
Mass Tourism vs. Sustainable Tourism
Mass Tourism
- Large Scale
- Short Term
- Absent Owners
- Price Conscious
- Growth Oriented Development
- Large Tourist Groups
- Imported Lifestyles
- Loss of Historic
- Built around Resort Amenities
- Small Scale
- Long Term
- Local Owners
- Value Conscious
- Managed Development
- Mod. To Small Groups
- Local Lifestyles
- Preservation of Historic
- Built around Community Environment & Culture
Ouray Marketing Team Goals
Ouray Marketing Team Goals
- To work together as a team, to respect opinions and view of others
- To be reliable & accountable for our own team participation
- To work together on assigned tasks & challenges, accepting each member’s thoughts
- To stay in touch, keeping the communication lines open offering support & help to all members should they not be able to partake in a discussion
- To be successful as a team & as individuals
Ouray Marketing Mission Statement
Ouray Marketing Mission Statement
Ouray Marketing, a public-private partnership, shall develop a comprehensive marketing plan that aligns with the State plan, that includes an outreach program connecting Ouray to other cities in the Southwest Region, that consistently seeks grants and additional funding sources to help market the town and the region, that increases lodging occupancy by 10% each year for the next 3 years, and that increases sales tax revenues by 7% per year for the next 3 years.
Ouray Marketing, a public-private partnership, shall develop a comprehensive marketing plan that aligns with the State plan, that includes an outreach program connecting Ouray to other cities in the Southwest Region, that consistently seeks grants and additional funding sources to help market the town and the region, that increases lodging occupancy by 10% each year for the next 3 years, and that increases sales tax revenues by 7% per year for the next 3 years.
Ouray Marketing Vision Statement
Ouray Marketing Vision Statement
Ouray Marketing, a public-private partnership, shall promote visitation consistent with community desires, site capacity, and conservation ethos so that our community and region prosper and that each visitor creates a unique and superior vacation experience with extraordinary memories.
Ouray Marketing, a public-private partnership, shall promote visitation consistent with community desires, site capacity, and conservation ethos so that our community and region prosper and that each visitor creates a unique and superior vacation experience with extraordinary memories.
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