Figuring out a marketing strategy right now (not to mention for the next year) seems daunting faced with all the uncertainty.
Thanks to Madden Media, this task just got a little clearer. They presented a marketing roadmap during this wee's Ohio Travel Association’s deep-dive marketing webinar. Using travel data, sentiment research and their own travel index, Madden CEO Dan Janes and VP of Revenue Brett Gordon walked industry members through a step-by-step strategy for rebuilding business. Following the webinar, they participated in a conversation with attendees to help work through some of their marketing questions and opportunities.
Effective marketing during this time is not going to be about turning on your pre-COVID strategies and waiting for guests to respond. Madden suggests a 3-phase approach.
Phase 1: Research and Recovery
Step 1: Research and adjustments to messaging and audiences (Look back at our notes from our last webinar with Meredith marketing for ideas on what guests will be seeking both short-term and in the future)
Step 2: Campaign creative and media planning
Step 3: Campaign optimization and reporting
Phase 2: Occupancy/Attendance Improvement - Audience expansion based on post-COVID profiles, goal is to increase overall occupancy and/or attendance, as well as length of stay
Phase 3: Yield Expansion (Improve Business Revenues, ADR, Sales Tax Revenue) – Refine audience-buying behaviors based on visitor yield
In addition to laying out an overall strategy, Madden provided details for Phase 1: Research and Recovery.
They also walked through the travel-buying cycle, providing suggestions based on research of imagery, content and collaborations to get your visitor experience noticed.
Among the many insights we discovered during the webinar and the Community Chat the following day are the following:
Thank you to our sponsors for making this webinar series possible.