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Home My WebLink About02. VLMDAC August Meeting MinutesPublic Notice Vail Local Marketing District Advisory Council Thursday, August 17, 2017 Antlers Lodge Caribou/Pronghorn Room 8:30 – 11:00AM VLMDAC Members Present: Laurie Mullen (West Vail Liquor) Jenn Bruno (Vail Town Council) John Dawsey (CME - Treasurer) Phil Metz (Vail Resorts) Beth Slifer (Slifer Designs) Scott Gubrud (Four Seasons) Skip Thurnauer Also Present: Kelli McDonald (Town of Vail) Carlie Smith (Town of Vail) Yann Benjamin (Vail Resorts) Hannah Eflin (Vail Resorts) Lorena Melott (Vail Resorts CenRes) Kristin Yantis (MYPR) Chris Romer (VVP) Laura Waniuk (TOV) Mia Vlaar (East West DH) Meggen Kirkham (SITE) Ainslie Fortune (Cactus) Joe Cleary (Resort App) Jack Affleck (Jack Affleck Photography) Satchele Burns (Deadline) AGENDA: • July 2017 Monthly Financial Report, (5 minutes), Carlie Smith Smith provided financial overview; currently dipping into fund balance (but less than expected). Sales tax revenues up 3.3% in June. July is forecast to be up as well. • Approval of July 20, 2017 Meeting Minutes, (5 minutes) Motion/Second/Passed (Thurnauer/Mullen/Unanimous) • Photo and Video Shoot Update, (20 minutes), Satchele Burns, Jack Affleck, Cactus, SITE Kirkham provided overview of photo/video shoot. This was a high-level brand photo shoot (professional actors, etc) with incremental budget. Photos were designed to match personas and was directed by Cactus. Highlights were families (hiking, town moments), active professionals (hiking, happy hour, town), super boomers (hiking, golf). Weather problems caused challenges with planned photos. Affleck shared that this was a huge production; team needed to be flexible to get the needed shots. Affleck walked group through each photo by persona. Photos were shared in presentation. Burns walked group through videos by persona. Videos were shared. Cactus updated group on photo and video footage. Photo and video were coordinated. Discussion ensued: Thurnauer inquired about benefits/feedback on using professional models? Affleck was complimentary of professional models, but presents challenges due to scheduling and weather concerns. Professional talent will ‘go the extra mile’ and is ‘the only way to do it’. Level of detail is another level that you can’t get with local or regional talent. Note boomer golf was not shot due to weather. Additional cost (estimated $10-15k) would be required and would need to shift costs from special events to photo; alternative is waiting until next summer. Consensus is to try to get this done this summer, but to try to schedule before fall (pre-Labor Day preferred). Motion to approve shift in $15k in funds earmarked summer golf/second/passed (Mullen/Metz/unanimous) • Creative and Digital Media Update, (10 Minutes), Cactus Cactus provided update. No new media to share – everything is in market and has been shared with group in the past. Fortune provided update on shifts and optimization; shift to Sojourn to maximize budget and improve performance. Video performance was very strong, especially among dynamic families (up 10%). Paid search seeing strong performance (managed by Vail Mountain marketing team); click through over 6%. Social performance strong especially among front range. See presentation for complete overview of creative performance, video completion rate, impressions, paid search overview, etc. by persona. Discussion ensued: questions from board on mid-week ad performance, offer performance, etc; full reporting will occur after all campaigns are completed. • Social/Web/Email Update, (10 minutes), VR Eflin provided update on summer content (social media overview). Complete statistics in presentation. Engagement remains very strong across channels; content highlights spotlighted by McDonald to highlight content views (5.3 million) and importance of social media influencer program led by MYPR moving forward. Coordination among partners is key to continued growth and success of these programs. Lil’ Buck example of MYPR working with Vail Valley Foundation was spotlighted and used as a case study of how these programs can work, with Burns creating video and Vail Marketing getting content posted immediately. Slifer complimented entire team of partners for the positive momentum and solid results. Discussion ensued: what is driving engagement? Emphasis on video – small, quick clips drive engagement and improved performance. Quick videos build credibility – they are authentic, not advertisements. Sample videos were shared with group. Feedback was positive. Discussion: how is user generated content utilized? Very little currently. More videos planned through summer and fall including dining, camping, on-mountain, fall foliage. Discussion: why camping focus? Different activities and showcase of destination to active professionals will include stand-up paddling as well. Email send scheduled on 9/13 to include fall lodging offer. Exploring option of October email as well. Desire to work closer with Vail Resorts next year to ensure fall messaging is included in email campaign and doesn’t get bumped from schedule for winter messaging. Discussion ensued on coordination between VRI and VLMD to ensure proper emphasis on fall business. Request to include year-over-year results for impressions and other metrics. Motion to have vendors provide recommendations (Motion / Second / Pass) (Mullen/Dawsey/Unanimous) • Mid-Summer Research Report, (20 minutes), VVP Romer updated group on mid-summer research update from RRC Associates. Key highlights include international business (6% of visitation), Net Promoter Scores (NPS) are strong in general. Note that past studies had shown some slippage in NPS over several years, with a turnaround in 2015. This positive result has continued in 2017 with NPS scores at 84 season to date (intercept only, not web follow up). The geographic origins of summer visitors remain similar to those observed in past years. In addition to Colorado, the most identified states of origin include: Texas, Florida, Illinois, Missouri, California and Mexico (up this year). Approximately 30 percent of respondents are on their first visit to Vail. This segment of visitors will be investigated further in the final report. Complete mid-season intercept study was sent in board packets, and was included in the presentation. Discussion ensued: OTA decrease, direct bookings increase, vacation rental impact on traditional lodging occupancy, comparison to last year, visitor mix. • Aspen Trip Update, (10 minutes), TOV McDonald provided overview of peer city visit to Aspen and ran through agenda and schedule. Numerous meetings scheduled with Aspen stakeholders. Dawsey to send note to group after checking with CME operations re: Glenwood bridge project and expected traffic delays. • 2018 VLMD Budget and Operating Plan, (75 minutes), All Complete details available in presentation. All partners provided 2018 budget and operating plan. Cactus provided 2017 recap (including incremental spend and results) & overview of overarching goals, objectives, strategies, budget breakout. Personas were reviewed, and new tactical approach was utilized in 2017 to prioritize high-performing efforts. Complete overview of efforts from the incremental funding; discussion related to group business and allocation compared to total budget. Goals and year to date results shared. Discussion: how are we tracking compared to 5-year goal? Can partners provide this information ASAP to provide for entire board for next week? McDonald and Kirkham to handle. 2018 budget recommendation: $350k reduction in total budget. No significant changes in overall allocation, some shifts in tactical efforts to focus on new initiatives. 2018 budget shifts reviewed. Comments: changes & adjustments need to be presented from a point of confidence. Recommendations allow Vail brand to maximize results and shifting to where our audience is located. Discussion on elimination of special event funding line item; desire for VLMDAC to fine tune this (historically USA Pro Cycling Challenge and has been placeholder the past few years). Town currently in discussion with Colorado Classic cycling program for 2018 and discussion ensued around bringing this event to Vail in 2018. Insights and trends reviewed including mid-summer research recap and macro travel trends. Each audience persona has unique message points. Mobile continues to be a driver & visuals need to be provided throughout experience (pre, during, and post). 2018 strategies review; no significant changes, but adding content marketing plan. See slides for complete details. Discussion re: alignment with flight markets and extension of Dallas service through fall. Partners each reviewed 2017 highlights and 2018 strategies as outlined in presentation. Discussion ensued on Vail App; what is the role (advertising), what are the KPI’s (business participation? Reach?); are they a partner and who manages it? 2018 budget reviewed in detail with descriptions and details. Next steps: reduce deck to make appropriate for VLMD presentation. This should be wrapped up by McDonald’s departure. • Other Business McDonald thanked group as this is her last meeting. She has been involved with this group for 18 years. Advisory group and partners all expressed sincere thanks for her efforts. • Adjournment Motion/Second/Pass (Slifer/All/Passed) • Upcoming Meetings: o VLMDAC Meeting, September 21, 2017, 8:30 – 11:30 AM, Antlers o VLMD 2018 Operating Plan Presentation, September 19, 2017, Time TBD, Town Council Chambers o VLMD 2017 Budget Resolution, October 17, 2017, Time TBD, Town Council Chambers