HomeMy WebLinkAbout2009STSRecapVAIL CHAMBER & BUSINESS ASSOCIATION
SAVOR THE SEASON
NOVEMBER 28-DECEMBER 18, 2009
RECAP
EVENT STRENGTHS
32 restaurant participants
3-week long event
impacted an historically slow period of time between Thanksgiving and Christmas
eye-catching graphics for posters and sandwich boards
great restaurant and lodging feedback (please see comment page)
many customer/guest inquiries
EVENT WEAKNESSES/NEED IMPROVEMENT
challenges regarding coordinating restaurant commitments and specials
inconsistent discounting
coordinating advertising under the umbrella of “Holidays in Vail” with very little visibility
no listing on Special Events calendar
needed advertising $ separate of Holidays in Vail to focus on promoting and branding the event
MARKETING
2 TV8 interviews
listing on Plum TV’s “5 things to do in Vail” this week for two consecutive weeks
Vail Daily editorial
Vail Daily Community Calendar
Vail Mountaineer editorial
NRC Broadcasting PSA’s
KZYR PSA’s
AAA online calendar
lodging partner websites
VCBA website and weekly news updates
posters distributed valley-wide
TOV sandwich boards
inclusion in Holidays in Vail advertising
page 2-Savor the Season Recap, cont’d
“Savor the Season” was designed to be an event which would draw local families, second homeowners and Vail Valley guests in to Vail to dine, shop and experience all the wonderful amenities
that Vail has to offer. During an historically slow period for restaurants, we hoped to create more restaurant business leading up to the Christmas holidays. I think we accomplished
that given our feedback from restaurants, lodges and customer inquiries. We give credit to the restaurants for coming up with great specials and fun, festive and innovative ways to
market their menus and drinks!
In regards to lodging bookings or the event being a destination draw, in all honesty, I don’t think so. Attendance numbers and demographics are hard to quantify because one never knows
if a customer goes to a restaurant because of a specific promotion, advertising, a concierge, word of mouth, etc. We were attentive to going “green” as all our paper used was a minimum
of 30% post consumer content and we recycled our sandwich boards from last summer!
The VCBA would like to continue to promote our restaurants during this period of time and additional marketing $ would help us do so. We will pursue sponsorship opportunities and will
always partner with local media to enhance exposure of the event. With 32 participating restaurants, there was obviously a need and interest in getting the word out about great opportunities
for dining in Vail.
All in all, I think the event contributed to a great kick off to the winter restaurant and holiday season! From feedback, we feel that “Savor the Season” had a positive impact on restaurant
business and hopefully those that came in to Vail to dine also did a little shopping. And that can only translate in to increased sales tax revenues to the Town of Vail!