HomeMy WebLinkAbout03. VLMDAC Minutes February 16 2017 DRAFT FinalVLMDAC
Vail Local Marketing District Advisory Council
Thursday, February 16, 2017, 8:30am – 11:30am Antlers at Vail
VLMDAC Members Present:
Beth Slifer (Chair)
Phil Metz (Vail Resorts)
Laurie Mullen (Vice Chair) via phone
Skip Thurnauer
Jenn Bruno (Vail Town Council)
Jessie Klehfoth (Vail Recreation District)
John Dawsey (Colorado Mountain Express) (Treasurer)
Michael Holton (Vail Valley Medical Center)
Scott Gubrud (Four Seasons Resort Vail)
Also Present:
Kelli McDonald (Town of Vail)
Kristin Yantis (MYPR)
Melissa Delekta (MYPR)
Melissa Haupt (Emico Media)
Ainslie Fortune (Cactus)
Erin Smith (Cactus)
Caroline Watson (Emico Media)
Chris Romer (Vail Valley Partnership)
Laura Waniuk (Town of Vail)
Sid Boner
Josh Ruark (Sonnenalp)
Kendyl Lee (Vail Resorts)
Sarah Berkheimer (Cactus)
Jack Affleck (Affleck Photography)
Chris Creamer (Bridge Street Ski Haus)
Ellie Bray (Vail Resorts)
Carly West (Bravo Vail)
Missy Johnson (Highline Sports)
January 2017 Monthly Financial Report (Kelli McDonald)
2016 ended with fund balance of 50%, will be spend down in 2017 but still above the 25%.
Financials are in good shape heading into 2017 with strong revenues and sales tax.
Approval of January 19, 2017 Meeting Minutes
Motion/Second/Passed (Dawsey/Thurnauer)
VLMD Goals & Objectives Historical Chart – see slides for details
McDonald & Metz presented background and informed group that partners have met
numerous times and we are well ahead of historical schedule. Metz outlined that the process
has been streamlined and coordinated with change to the persona marketing effort, and his
confidence in the direction and alignment with VLMD and town goals.
Discussion ensued regarding net promoter score and how VLMDAC can positively impact goal
to impact NPS. Additional discussion on possible revision/review of 5-year strategic plan to
determine if changes and updates need to be made, and what progress has been made over
time.
Question: can we increase summer volume to create additional demand (example: Aspen sal es
tax in summer is equal to winter. Why are we so different? Bed base or other demand drivers?)
Houston & Dallas Flights & Visitation (Chris Romer, VVP) – see slides for details
Romer reviewed historic occupancy (measured by intercept study) from key des tination
markets of Houston and Dallas; also reviewed historic flight information from these markets
(provided by Gabe Shalley, Vail Resorts).
Discussion ensued regarding year-over-year changes from key markets and historic occupancy
data, as well as importance of EGE traffic and future funding to increase flight service.
Discussion ensued on market mix & impacts of bed base on overall growth in occupancy and
ADR, as well as importance of continuing to grow international and destination visitation.
Research Update (Chris Romer, VVP) – see slides for details
Romer reviewed coordination with RRC Associates and outreach to lodging partners to
coordinate efforts regarding summer research (event, welcome center, intercept, post stay) to
ensure efforts are streamlined and guests are not ‘over-surveyed’. 2017 research will seek to
build off prior year data, but streamline with feedback from Vail Resorts and Cactus to ensure
research results are actionable. Lodging properties will be leveraged to increase reach via post-
stay studies.
Front Range Household Income (Cactus) – see slides for details
2017 Tactics (All) – see slides for details
Review of strategies (see slides); shift in focus to persona marketing efforts (Dynamic Families,
Active Professionals, Super Boomers) across all partner efforts. Increase in video across all
audiences; will be optimized by channel and efforts are data driven.
Discussion ensued on spending in Dallas & Houston; Dallas is a more mature market for Vail
awareness, and Houston presents an opportunity as a growth market to increase awareness.
All tactical efforts – digital, traditional media, social media (paid & organic), email, content,
public relations – were reviewed by partners in detail (see slides for each persona and details
on associated partner tactics). Partners have targeted efforts based on the personas, and
continue to refine efforts. Travelers are responding best to rich media. Partners continue to
coordinate efforts to ensure communication and to maximize reach.
Discussion ensued regarding social channels and organic vs paid efforts. Different channels will
be used both organically and paid to best target each persona.
Presentation and discussion on group sales (see slides for details) and questions from advisory
council on ROI of CVENT including lost business, lead generation and conversion, and future
business on the books.
$550,000 Fund Balance for 2017 Budget
McDonald provided overview of incremental spend and benefits to keep Vail in a leadership
position moving forward, and the need to continue to reach and exceed 5-year goals. Partners
expanded on incremental dollars allow Vail to expand reach into addressable television and
increase impressions and expand reach both in destination markets and front range, as well as
to focus on video.
Discussion ensued on how to best track ROI on the incremental dollars so we can report back to
Town Council.
Creative Platform (Cactus) – see slides for details
Cactus presented two platforms, designed to elevate the Vail brand and to show the place
through photography and to be a versatile campaign across platform and across persona. Focus
is to connect to visitors on an emotional level and to resonate more. Both concepts are high-
level overviews and will be built out tactically across medium, and are meant to give a feel for
what the selected campaign will look like.
Concept 1: “Like Nothing on Earth” (see slides for creative details). Emotional and emotive, and
elevating tagline to headline, with photography at center focus. Goal is to talk specifically to
personas.
Concept 2: “For Those Who” (see slides for creative details). Re-emphasizing photography and
Vail logo. Goal is to target messaging to each persona.
Discussion ensued; feedback from advisory board was supportive of the use of imagery and
photography. Questions regarding the coordination between summer and winter efforts and
expressed desire to align efforts to show brand consistency; creative direction is aligned from a
brand language standpoint. Consensus of group is that they prefer concept 2 (“For Those Who”)
with some tweaks needed to better resonate with consumers and allows for increased
flexibility across persona/media channel. Depth of campaign for the overarching brand (holistic
approach) is possible with both efforts, but concept 2 (For Those Who) better connects with the
brand and by a more dynamic connection across channel with caveat that double images need
to complement each other rather than compete – use second photo to tell the story of the
brand and ensure a consistent approach.
Cactus to take feedback to the design team to tweak and improve based on feedback.
Other Business
McDonald reminded group of Town of Vail community meeting on March 14 at Donovan
Pavilion (5pm-7pm).
Cactus reminded group that updates will be shared at next meeting.
Upcoming Meetings:
Thursday, March 16, 2017
8:30am-11:30am, Antlers at Vail