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HomeMy WebLinkAbout10. PR Report.Q2.24 August 6, 2024 TO: Vail Local Marketing District Advisory Council FROM: Kristin Yantis & Amanda McNally, MYPR CC: Mia Vlaar & Liz Gladitsch, Town of Vail RE: Q2 Public Relations Report Agency Support The second and third quarters of the year are our busiest as we host events, media trips and continue to pitch and plan these activities. Following are sample tactics in support of the VLMDAC. • Drafted and distributed the Vail food trails press release. • Submitted content for the Travel Classics West media conference in Scottsdale this fall. • Attended the Adventure Travel Trade Association AdventureELEVATE media conference in North Carolina. Met with several media throughout the course of the event, however, the most important contacts were with event producers to become more involved in future conferences including the upcoming ATTA ELEVATE that will take place in Denver in 2025. • Hosted summer Vail PR Partner meetings with community representatives. • Organized and hosted a summer Front Range media kickoff event at the Four Seasons. The event showcased four newsworthy restaurants/chefs in Vail – Makoto, Sweet Basil, Slope Room and Root & Flower. The event had a waiting list with a dozen writers in attendance representing outlets such as Travel & Leisure, 5280, Denver Post, Wine Enthusiast, KDVR, Mountain Living, Colorado Homes & Lifestyles, Colorado Yoga & Life, Spoke & Blossom, 303 Magazine, Conde Nast Traveler, Outside, BBC, Nat Geo, etc. • Ongoing content updates on the DiscoverVail.com media center. • Pitched summer events including Vail America Days. • Set up calls with various community partners that represent hotels and events. • Confirmed CJ affiliate marketing partnership, but awaiting full Ripe launch and partner integration before launching this add-on to the influencer program. • Media, influencer and blogger outreach to secure visits this summer/fall. Ongoing trip planning including travel preference forms, setting up air and ground transportation, lodging and all activities during their visit to Vail. MYPR also meets/hosts these partners during their visits to Vail. • Made all itinerary arrangements for the Mexico press trip. • Hosted individual visits along with the group domestic and Mexico media trips. • Conducted our April LA media mission meeting with approximately a dozen journalists from outlets such as TravelAge Weekly, Robb Report, JustLuxe.com, Travel & Leisure, Thrillist, AFAR and other outlets. • Made all arrangements and conducted the “Kickoff to Summer” satellite media tour with travel expert Jeanenne Tornatore. • Ongoing media outreach/pitching for summer 2024 messages. • Met with select Front Range media to discuss summer 2024 story opportunities. • Client management including monthly VLMDAC meetings, partner meetings, PR one-on- ones with Town of Vail staff, etc. Q2 Media Coverage As a reminder, last year we met with representatives of the VLMDAC board and TOV staff to discuss how to best illustrate PR successes moving forward. We decided to continue providing the content we’ve been sharing e.g. comp set comparisons, number of clips, key message tracking, media reach and sentiment. However, we also agreed to integrate two specific measurements related to our linkage strategy and target media coverage. Following are the two specific measurements that we will track moving forward. • Secure at least a dozen stories that include DiscoverVail.com. o Q2 KPI Update: 2 • Secure at least two dozen stories in outlets noted in our target list. (Please note we are still filling out and refining this list but wanted to provide the working document for your knowledge. And, these are MYPR specific placements – not other content secured by partners such as Bravo!, Mountain Games, etc.) o Q2 KPI Update: 39 (KPI met!) We monitor against our comp set to gauge Vail’s performance versus Aspen and Breckenridge. Please note that, historically, the first quarter of the year garners less summer coverage with the majority of stories running April to September. Links to comprehensive media coverage reports for all three destinations are noted below. Vail Coverage Report Breckenridge Coverage Report Aspen Coverage Report* As a reminder, the Vail report goes into greater detail with reach, key message coverage and top markets for coverage – all items we’ve previously tracked. We do not track for this level of detail in the other comp set reports. • Aspen o Coverage of summer events schedule and specific speakers/performers at various events/festivals. o Jazz Aspen Snowmass Festival coverage. o Several stories talking about Aspen as the most expensive place to travel in the U.S. o *Note there was additional coverage of the Aspen Ideas Festival and Food & Wine that was too extensive to capture for the report. So, Aspen numbers were a bit higher due to specific event coverage. • Breckenridge o Several stories that included Breckenridge’s James Beard Award winning restaurant/chef. o A story about Breckenridge as one of the most underrated towns in Colorado ran in several outlets. o Several stories about 14er rules this summer including Quandary near Breckenridge. o The destination is exploring a public/private partnership to pursue a dark skies initiative. • Vail o Several TV stories from the satellite media tour that Discover Vail conducted in June. o A lot of event coverage including GoPro Mountain Games and previews to BRAVO!, the Dance Festival, etc. o Coverage of Michelin Key hotels. Vail Sample Media Placements • Fox Rochester – June 2024 Headline/Link: Saving some money on your upcoming summer vacation Note: Result of the summer SMT effort. More than three dozen other segments ran multiple times in outlets based in Austin, Las Vegas, Detroit, Houston, Richmond, Colorado Springs, Sacramento, Atlanta, Albuquerque, Chicago, Cincinnati, Charlotte, Denver and more. • Cosmopolitan – April 2, 2204 Headline/Link: The 15 Most Underrated Summer Travel Destinations in the U.S. Note: Result of hosting travel writer Kristy Alpert to a visit to Vail several years ago. The story also ran in a few different outlets. • USAToday 10Best.com Headline/Link: Find adventure at these 7 epic ski resort towns in the summer Note: Result of MYPR’s long-standing relationship with writer Kara Williams. Q2 Media, Blogger & Influencer Visits • June 18-21 - @adventuringeyes • June 20-24 – Summer Press Trip o Leilani Marie Labong – freelance writer for Travel & Leisure, Yahoo Life, MSN, Wall Street Journal, GQ, SF Gate, Yahoo News and others o Justin Caffier – freelance for Vice, Vulture and others o Dorothy Cascerceri – freelance for JustLuxe.com • June 21-25 – Blogger Nichole Iby NicholeTheNomad.com • June 22-26 – Mexico Press Trip o Natalia Chavez Felix – Aire/Quien o Paulina Gomez – Central o Cope – RSVP o Sofia Zuckerman – L’Beaute o Daniel Gonzalez – Life & Style • June 20-23 – Mexican freelance writer Mariana Mijares who contributes to Cosmopolitan, El Financiero Viajes, Cara, Esquire Mexico, Estilo DF and others • June 25-28 - @denverfoodscene Upcoming Q3 Media, Blogger & Influencer Visits • July 15-19 – Freelance writer Bill Newcott on assignment for Saturday Evening Post • July 22-26 – Blogger Melynda Coble Harrison travelingmel.com • Aug. 5-9 – Blogger Katie Williams travelingspud.com • Aug. 10-13 – Mexican celebrity Erika Zaba • Aug. 12-15 - @mycurlyadventures and @myculinaryadventures • August 15 - CTO Global Foodie FAM o AU: Matthew Shea - Luxury Escapes o CA: Katie Bridges - Foodism/Escapism o DE: Cornelia Lohs - Rhein Neckar Zeitung o FR: Tiana Salles - BON o MX: Elena Eguiarte - Food and Pleasure o UK: Neil Davey - The Week Arts and Life / Tempus • Sept. 5-8 – Freelance writer Asonta Benetti who contributes to Food & Wine, Thrillist, VinePair, InsideHook and others • Sept. 12-16 - Fall Press Trip o Kristen Richard – freelance writer for Wine Enthusiast, Food & Wine, Backpacker, 5280 and others. • Sept. 13-16 – Freelance writer Matt Kirouac who contributes to Travel & Leisure, Conde Nast Traveler, Thrillist, AFAR and others Awards & Accolades In 2024, we also will track various awards and accolades that the destination and its events and hotels receive. • USAToday 10Best.com o 10 Best Outdoor Concert Series Events Across the US – No. 1 Hot Summer Nights o 10 Best Glamping Resorts – No. 3 Piney River Ranch • Michelin Keys (Lodging) o Four Seasons Resort Vail o Sonnenalp Hotel Focus for Q3 Following are priority tactics for Q3. • Summer blogger, influencer and media hosting, which includes continual outreach to secure visits, organizing their trips and hosting. • Drafting and distributing fall and winter media tipsheets. • Support for fall Michelin announcement. • Ongoing media pitching to support late summer, fall messaging. • Attend Travel Classics in Scottsdale on behalf of Discover Vail. Develop sponsor materials and appropriate pitches for the event. • Partner planning for 2025. • Assess early season winter support. Upon review, please let us know if you have any questions. Thank you!