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Oktoberfest CSE RecapEvent Recap: Vail Oktoberfest™ Cultural, Recreational & Community Category November 7, 2018 Event Recap: Vail Oktoberfest™ Cultural, Recreational & Community Category Vail Oktoberfest™: Sept. 7-9 & Sept. 14-16 James Deighan Phone: 970.476.6797 jdeighan@gohighline.com 3 • Highlights: • 50,000+ Attendance • 7 Beer pouring stations • 19 Restaurant & Expo displays • Print: 813,900+ impressions • Digital: 200,000+ impressions • PR: 64,435,310+ impressions Overall Event Highlights & Successes 4 • List the top 4-6 successes you want to share with the CSE (consider this a snapshot for your recap). • Vail Oktoberfest continues to provide a safe and enjoyable atmosphere for guests of all ages to celebrate the world-famous tradition of Oktoberfest. • In 2018, we were pleased to see the return of large enthusiastic crowds to the streets of Lionshead and Vail Village for during both weekends of the event. • Return of crowd-favorite contests, such as Stein Lifting, Keg Bowling and Bratwurst Eating, as well as popular Bavarian musicians and dancers each weekend. • Evening entertainment on Friday and Saturday nights followed the normal shift to more mainstream music over the Bavarian music that plays all day. Guests are ready for this change and had high praises for the chosen bands all four evenings with the emphasis being Saturday nights. This excitement was reﬂected in the crowd numbers. • The addition of the ‘Refresh and Reﬁll’ water reﬁll stations brought an all time low for water sales. In an effort to accommodate all guests, water bottles were sold from the bars but staff educated them of their options and reﬁll locations. Reactions were extremely positive of this change. Attendance Estimate 5 • Vail Oktoberfest achieved the expected similar attendance numbers to previous years • How would you impact attendance next year? • Increase targeted marketing efforts to reach consumers who are interested or have attended similar events in other locations. • Collaborate with event partners to cross promote the event through their channels to networks outside of Vail Oktoberfest’s direct reach. • Based on the area of each of the venues, the current attendance is high. With this in mind, we would plan to expand the event footprints to allow for larger attendance within each of the event venues on the days that warrant a need for more space. Visitor Type 6 • Was this the visitor type split you expected? • Yes, the event continues to see a majority of guests are overnight visitors due to the 3-days of activities each weekend and programming that extends into the late evening. • What steps would you take to optimize visitor mix for future events? • Collaborate with local business owners and event participants to promote the event to year-round visitors and out of town guests. • Continue to promote the event within the Vail Valley through grassroots, print and digital marketing efforts. Overnight Visitor Proﬁle: Overnight Visitors & Seasonal Residents Only Only 7 • What measures did you take to encourage attendees to book lodging in the Town of Vail? • Promoted Vail Racquet Club Mountain Resort as an official lodging partner of Vail Oktoberfest 2018. • Promoted additional lodging options through vail.com. • Provided resources and encouraged local lodging community to cross promote and reach out to guests with information about the event. Overall Visitor Proﬁle 8 • Who was your anticipated target demographic? Did you reach your target demographic? • Yes. Vail Oktoberfest reached its target demographic: • Affluent luxury travelers • Cultural enthusiasts • Values: live music, outdoors, and gathering among friends to celebrate the changing of seasons • Beer drinkers and Oktoberfest fans • What would you change to attract that audience next year? • Find additional areas of interest and commonalities among the demographic which can be targeted in advertising efforts. Role/Importance of Event in Intent to Visit Vail 9 • What actions did you take this year to generate the number of overnight guests? • In addition to encouraging guests to stay for the duration of this 3-day event each weekend, Vail Oktoberfest promotes vail.com. • How would you increase the number of overnight Vail guests coming for the event next year? • Continue to promote and create incentives for guests to stay during the week in between Lionshead Oktoberfest and Vail Village Oktoberfest. • We have promoted and brought in a crowd starting on Friday to try and capture the guests earlier and to stay longer. Efforts to enhance these early specials will continue and grow so the concepts is a full weekend event surrounded by stunning Vail accommodations and activities. NPS (Net Promoter Score)/Likelihood to Recommend 10 • Do you think the NPS scores reﬂect the attendee event experience? • The event was enjoyed by all attendees and the vibe was enthusiastic and pleasant, this score seems low in comparison to the experience of our attendees. The survey sample size is low versus the event attendance and overall guest attitude. • What steps would you take to improve the NPS scores for your event next year? • Expand the event footprint to give guests more room to sit and enjoy the day. • Continue to offer VIP experiences to those who wish to have a more intimate experience within the event. Estimated Return on Investment (ROI) & Attendee Expenditures 11 • What did your event do to encourage spending in Vail? • The event is presented as a 3-day weekend, giving guests an incentive to stay overnight in town. • All restaurant partners were local businesses gaining exposure and proﬁting throughout the event and through increased reservations. • Promoted vail.com and Vail Mountain summer activities on event website and marketing materials. Event Strengths & Weaknesses 12 • How did the event exceed expectations? • Attendance continues to grow and show that there is a need and an excitement for Oktoberfest each year. Enough to ﬁll two successful weekends of Vail Oktoberfest. • We brought in additional seating and shade which was immediately utilized proving people that come to the event are there for the day and want to enjoy. Bringing in additional amenities like this in a larger footprint that can accommodate the need is advised. • Both Saturday night bands hit the mark for the demographic. They both brought a fun environment where guests were on their feet dancing and singing along until the very last song. People love the authentic polka during the day but ending on a crowd- pleasing cover band is a must. • Contest participation was at an all time high. Sign-ups are held until the hour before the event but guests continue to talk about their participation being the highlight of their trip. “I do NOTHING like this at home, what fun!” There is potential to grow this portion for the future. • Guest were very positive about the range of authentic food offerings. They all are menus straight from Munich or ones that bring their Bavarian twist to provide a fusion ﬁt for any Oktoberfest guest. Event Strengths & Weaknesses 13 • What are areas for event improvement? • Anticipating good weather, we will continue to increase our venue footprint on Saturday of both weekends allowing for additional stress to be removed from the existing venue. This will mean continuing to add additional: • Staff • Food and beverage stations • Seating • Kids activities • Entertainment/VIP offerings • How did this year’s event compare to last year? • Direct economic impact to TOV was $993,366 higher than in 2016 (no survey in 2017) • 12% increase in overnight visitors since 2016 (no survey in 2017) • Attendance numbers estimated to be approximately equal and slightly higher from 2017 to 2018 • 11% increase in guests with a HHI of $150k+ since 2016 (no survey in 2017) Vail Brand Compatibility The Premier International Mountain Resort Community 14 • How did the event /program support the Vail Brand? • Vail Oktoberfest brings guests with an interest in culture, outdoors and luxury travel to Vail and encourages repeat visitors by creating an enjoyable experience for all. • The event urges attendees to stay for a full week to explore Vail between each weekend of Vail Oktoberfest. • Vail Oktoberfest supports and promotes the local lodging community, Vail Summer activities and vail.com. Brand Positioning: • Town of Vail: The Premier International Mountain Resort Community • Vail Mountain: Like nothing on earth Community Contribution 15 • How did the event impact Vail’s sense of community? • Vail Oktoberfest provides the perfect landscape for visitors and locals alike to join together in the center of town, as was historically tradition, to celebrate the change of seasons in this beautiful mountain setting. • Local businesses and restaurants have access to large crowds of guests in town for the event. • Vail Oktoberfest was once again proud to support local non-proﬁt, Vail Veterans Program. Topline Marketing Efforts 16 • What are the top 3 successful marketing tactics, executions or results from your event/program? • Vail Oktoberfest was promoted through grassroots, print, digital, social, radio and PR marketing efforts. • Print: 813,900+ impressions • Digital: 200,000+ impressions • PR: 64,435,310+ impressions • Please see additional marketing details in the attached report Potential for Growth & Sponsorships/Media Exposure 17 • How do you see the event evolving next year? • Continue to develop and add to the event’s current programming, elevating the experiences, and making the event more widely known. • What sponsors do you plan to target next year? • In 2019, partners similar to the existing sponsors (Spaten Beer, Klement’s Sausage Co., Jagermeister) will be targeted in the following categories: consumer goods products, ﬁnancial institution, airline, and more. • How will you leverage media exposure and extend the marketing reach next year? • Work with existing and new partnerships to promote the event to a wider network. • Use marketing tactics that have been successful in the past to reach likely to return guests (the event has seen a high repeat guest rate). • Continue to use digital platforms to grow and drive interest in the overall event theme, participants and Vail setting. Sustainability Efforts 18 • What measures were taken at your event/program to support the environmentally-friendly goals of the Town of Vail? • Continued to make composting, recycling and trash sorting a priority at the event. • NEW water reﬁll stations (3 total) positioned throughout the venue both weekends. • Proactively worked with restaurant vendors on composting/recycle/waste efforts through one- on-one communication and providing ample boxes to meet their individual needs. • All vendors were required to use compostable service ware. • Trash bins lids were made from recycled coroplast signs that were re-engineered into educational tops. • The use of hard line power so no generators were needed. • Staff carpooling from Denver and within the valley during the event. • Strict no idling policy for all vendors and staff during load in/load out. • Used re-usable table linens at all tents and cleaned as needed. Sustainability Efforts 19 • What waste reduction methods were used during your event/program? • Highline promoted and encouraged the sales of Oktoberfest beer steins as an eco-friendly glassware for beer purchased throughout the event. • Bartenders encouraged reusing service cups and steins for beverages rather than giving out another. • Staff was hired and an integral part of consumer education relating to disposal of event materials. • Vail Oktoberfest and the Town of Vail offered guests complimentary refresh and reﬁll stations to promote reusable bottles. • How could you improve on sustainability efforts for next year’s event? • Continue to implement advanced recycling efforts, such as sorting waste from recycling as well as compost. Event Budget 20 * Event producer to attach detailed budget for recap Item $ Total Event Budget: $279.848.48 CSE Funds: $60,000.00 Cash Sponsorship (not CSE): $187,606.00 In-kind Sponsorship: N/A Marketing Budget: $7,773.71 Proﬁt & Loss: $-32,242.48 How did you use the CSE funds? (marketing, operations, staff, venue, etc.) Operations, Logistics, Marketing Additional Information/Appendix 21 • Appendix A: Event Budget • Appendix B: Marketing Plan • Appendix C: Survey Dashboard PDF