HomeMy WebLinkAbout06. PRReport.2017YearEnd
January 16, 2018
TO: Vail Local Marketing District Advisory Council
FROM: Kristin Yantis and Emily Tracy, Malen Yantis Public Relations
CC: Mia Vlaar, Town of Vail
RE: 2017 Year End Public Relations Report
Year End PR Report
Although we have shifted to focusing more on qualitative measurements, one of the key ways to measure
against our comp set is reviewing number of clips secured to date. Following is a graph that outlines media
coverage of Vail against its comp set for all of 2017. In 2017, Vail had 975 placements, up 31 percent from
2016.
The following illustrates why numbers do not tell the whole story. The qualitative measurements are so
much more important as they tell a bigger story about tone, message, as well as positive and negative
sentiment.
• Aspen
o Extensive coverage throughout the year was negative and focused on disasters including
a summer of unprecendented deaths on Capitol Peak, a mountain biker death, a still-
missing climber and the killing of bears.
o Significant arts coverage included Jazz Aspen Snowmass and Aspen Music Festival .
o Much of the Q4 coverage was two stories that focused on the fall “off season”, “Nine
classic weekend getaways that are better in fall” and “Amazing airfare deals during the
holidaly dead zones.” Both ran in syndication in a variety of outlets.
o Bulk of spring coverage was related to Aspen Food and Wine.
o Numerous wire releases that led to additional coverage.
• Breckenridge
o Summer coverage was heavy on the summer’s wildfire evacuation orders being lifted.
o Most of the coverage throughout the year was the result of two Vail Resorts quarterly
reports being distributed via PR Newsire.
o New Colorado bike tour received decent coverage.
o Mostly regional, as opposed to national, news hits.
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Aspen Breckenridge Park City Steamboat Vail
Placements at Year End
o The majority of Q4 coverage was from a syndicated column, “These destinations aren’t
‘hot,’ but they’re ‘cool’”, which ran in more than 100 publications.
• Park City
o The majority of coverage is adventure related, little coverage about lodging, non-adventure
activities, arts or family experiences.
o Like Aspen, Park City’s new bike share program received coverage.
o A few global hits regarding the 2018 World Salt Symposium in Park City.
o More local and regional coverage versus national.
• Steamboat
o There were several negative stories including pieces on bear deaths throughout the year
and a cylcing fatality in Steamboat.
o Like last year, the coverage is mainly in Colorado publications
o Biking – mountain and road – seemed to be a main message in a lot of the coverage.
• Vail
o Solid mix of local, regional, national and global coverage.
o Unlike the other destinations, Vail’s coverage included many feature pieces that solely
focused on Vail, rather than just mentioning the destination in a roundup.
o Ironcially, Vail had strong summer messaging in Q4 including articles on biking Vail Pass,
celebrating the GoPro Mountain Games and kayaking.
o Peak summer coverage focused on the GoPro Mountain Games and BRAVO’s 30th
anniversary.
o Vail’s art scene was widely acclaimed by a diverse set of publications.
o Epic Discovery continued to be a newsworthy topic last summer.
o Several hotel and event partners distributed information through the wire.
o Goat yoga release was distributed via PR Web and got picked up in 92 outlets. Please
note, for some reason, Cision could not integrate this coverage into its system (the agency
would have to manually input all stories). However, the numbers (number of clips and
impressions) are included in this report.
o Late summer/fall messaging, including leaf peeping and fall dishes, were popular topics.
Vail Sample Media Placements – 2017
• Afar.com – March 2017
Headline: Summer Wellness Retreats in the High County
Link: https://www.afar.com/places/sonnenalp-hotel-vail?context=recent
Note: Result of Sonnenalp outreach.
• Delta Sky Magazine – April 2017
Headline: Beyond the Powder
Link: http://deltaskymag.delta.com/Sky-Extras/Guides/Beyond-the-Powder.aspx
Note: Result of collaborating with Destination Hotels.
• The Denver Post - June 13, 2017
Headline: Savoring the slopes (and skies above) in the summer at Vail’s Epic Discovery
Link: http://www.denverpost.com/2017/06/13/vail-epic-discovery/
Note: Result of hosting the writer summer 2016.
• Forbes.com – June 29, 2017
Headline: 4 Reasons Vail Is the Place to Be This Summer
Link: https://www.forbes.com/sites/breannawilson/2017/06/29/4-reasons-vail-is-the-place-to-bethis-
summer/#4782359017b9
Note: Result of hosting the writer in summer 2016.
• U.S. News & World Report* – June 2017
Headline: Best Small Towns to Visit in the USA
Link: http://travel.usnews.com/rankings/best-small-towns-in-the-usa/
Note: Editor pick.
• Curbed – July 27, 2017
Headline: Why Summer is the New Boom Season for Mountain Towns
Link: https://www.curbed.com/2017/7/27/15965408/ski-resort-summer-vail-aspen-colorado
Note: Placement is a result of the agency’s longstanding relationship with Megan Barber.
• CNN.com – August 11, 2017
Headline: Your Next Colorado Trail Guide: A 300-Pound Llama
Link: http://www.cnn.com/travel/article/colorado-trails-llamas/index.html
Note: Placement the result of MYPR’s long-term promotion of llama trekking in the Vail Valley
• CNN - November 15, 2017
Headline: “8 awesome ways to do Vail year-round”
Link: http://www.cnn.com/travel/article/vail-colorado/index.html
Note: Result of MYPR relationship with reporter Sarah Sekula
Qualitative Media Coverage Statistics
Share of Voice – Extent of Coverage
2017 KPI was to maintain 84 percent “extensive” & “significant” measurement. As of year-end, we
maintained 85.87 percent.
Key Messages Through Q4 2017
Following is how article messaging tracks through Q4 2017. Our goal in 2017 was to continue to grow
the message for both “outdoor activities” and “family.”
2016 2017
• Outdoor Activities 29 percent 30 percent
• Events 22 percent 20 percent
• Hotel/Hotel Packages 15 percent 19 percent
• Family 14 percent 17 percent
• Arts, Music Festivals 19 percent 14 percent
Agency Highlights from 2017
• Hosted more than 40 journalists to group or individual media visits.
• Conducted in-market media visits in New York, Chicago, San Francisco and Mexico City.
• Hosted two Front Range media events in Denver and Boulder.
• Continually updated Vail.com summer media center. Started redesigning the summer media
center, which will debut in January 2018.
• MYPR was the project leader on the summer 2017 influencer program (please see wrap up report
from October 2017).
• Coordinated throughout the year with the team from Vail Mountain pr to ensure that their pr agency
and MYPR were in sync with media targets for press trips and individual visits.
• Hosted annual community partners meetings with Vail Mountain.
• Managed the Mexico pr effort in conjunection with Sylvia Rivera which included the Mexico City
media mission and a press trip to Vail in the summer.
Upon review, please let us know if you have any questions.
Thank you!