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HomeMy WebLinkAbout07. Vail Media Survey, May 2021 May 11, 2021 TO: Vail Local Marketing District Advisory Council FROM: Kristin Yantis & Amanda McNally CC: Mia Vlaar & Liz Gladitsch RE: 2021 Vail Media Survey In April, MYRP launched a media survey to gauge journalists’ knowledge and interest in Vail as a destination. As you know, we have the unique situation of the destination and a multi-destination, international ski corporation sharing the same name. We also wanted to learn how this dynamic provides clarity, confusion or challenges for the brand and our ability to deliver on media needs. The survey was distributed to 75 journalists and we had almost a 50% response rate. There was a mix of in-house editors, freelance writers and media from in-state and out- of-state. These are journalists we regularly speak to so there was an assumption of general knowledge of the destination. This is evident by one of the first questions – only one journalist responded that he/she had not been to Vail. Attached are the general survey results, however, HERE is a link to the survey online so you can link through to media comments which are the most telling. Unfortunately, for some reason, these did not populate in the PDF. Following are a few key observations: • Most responses were very positive when media were asked “what’s the first things you think of when hearing the name Vail?” Most responses were about the village, skiing, Back Bowls, summer in the mountains. However, a few commented about money, expensive and bougie. • Hiking, mountains and biking were the top three responses when asked about the first three things media think of relative to Vail in the summer. • Most writers (73%) believe that Vail offers a unique summer experience but when asked “how” the answers were all over the board – not one particular element of the summer experience stood out. The 27% who said Vail does not offer a distinctive experience provided a lot more insight with answers such as… o Seems like yet another mountain town o Other towns seem to have more festivals and more of a community and town vibe o I think most towns in Colorado offer pretty much the same experience • Media were split almost down the middle (53% yes, 47% no) when asked if their opinion of Vail Resorts impacts their feelings about Vail as a destination. Overwhelmingly, the feedback was the shared name made the destination feel more “corporate.” Following are a few insightful comments: o The corporate nature of Vail Resorts and the fact that they have used Vail specifically in their name to represent all their destination; hard to separate the two and I think it leads to a lot of confusion to those note familiar with the destination and the company. o I would like to see more locally owned businesses thrive in Vail Village, rather than mostly VR operated. I would also like to see the Town of Vail take more initiative in defining itself rather than being defined by VR. I love the mountain and everything VR provides, but I want more identity to be Vail’s, not corporate or stock-holder driven. o To be honest, I’m torn, but I don’t think you can separate the ski resort from the town. It’s not a bad association, but it does imply a degree of corporate sameness over independent spirit. o If I were putting together a listicle or package story, I might be less inclined to include Vail if I’m including multiple other Vail Resorts mountains; I tend to think of them as a unit. • When asked to rate Vail compared to other mountain resorts when it comes to dining, nightlight, performing arts, etc. the destination rated very well with “history” rating the lowest. • Media also were asked to identify other mountain resorts that provide a better vacation experience in the summertime. Following are a few insightful responses: o Aspen has an incredible art scene with Anderson Ranch and its Bauhaus history. Also with Aspen Food + Wine and all the speakers and guest artists they bring in. Telluride does a better job than anyone with creating an amazing on-mountain dining experience like skiing has in Europe (with Alpino Vino and the new Bon Vivant, which is like a giant umbrella on a deck but is a fine dining with French wine experience with incredible views). These on mountain restaurants are for anyone and not super exclusive like Game Creek. o While Vail has ample summer culture, with ballet and concerts at the Ford Amphitheater, for example and other events around town, it’s hard to beat Aspen, with its summer-long music festival and school, musicals and plays from Theatre Aspen, numerous lectures and other thought-providing events at the Aspen Institute, exhibits at the Aspen Art Museum and Anderson Ranch Arts Center and concerts from Jazz Aspen Snowmass. And though Vail does have a strong public art program, Breckenridge has really upped the game with its creative district and ongoing art displays and festivals. o Park City – inclusivity. Vail can seem intimidating and not open to all types of travelers. • When asked how Vail could be more competitive in the summer there were some great answers. Following are a just a few responses but we suggest linking through to this answer in the survey to read all feedback. o Play up the outdoor dining. Hopefully the open container from COVID summer lasts to allow folks to enjoy a beverage in the village. More hiking awareness. Play up alpine gardens and music and dance festivals. o Offer more wonderful funky things like goat yoga (which you already offer). I think Vail has the rep of only the well-heeled and that’s just not true. You need to change the image to a great place for all during the other months with a gazillion things to do. Truthfully, I was astounded I liked it so much! And, it wouldn’t hurt to play up the delicious food. o Vail can seem quite corporate compared to some other mountain towns. I think more fun, easy-going, nature-oriented events could be great. Telluride is funky and Aspen is artistic, but Vail has great access to nature and recreation and going for a more relaxed vibe would be a positive step. Vail also seems more family -oriented than those other mountain towns, so that’s really attractive, plus it’s closer to Denver, which is a plus. Vail can be a day-trip from Denver, but Aspen and Telluride are not. • 62% of media think Vail is always providing new and noteworthy information for media coverage. There were several positive comments about the support media receive from the destination, however, one reporter provided a unique insight, “Vail has been singing the same song for a while now, and I think if more local businesses were able to thrive, there would be new and unique stories that would emerge naturally.” • When asked about Vail hotels providing unique content, programming and packages, 68% of media felt they received this level of information from our properties. • The last question was open ended, where media were asked what Vail could do better, in general. We suggest linking through to read all comments, but following are a few comments from media. o Continue to connect journalists to the heart of Vail – the history, the locals and the wonderful offerings of natures. Promote sustainability even while promoting tourism and how visitors can witness and contribute to making Vail thrive as a true mountain community. o Keep communication open with journalists and host them whenever possible. It’s easy as a journalist to have a destination fall off your radar when you haven’t been in a while. o I think my main advice would be to place a stronger focus and more marketing on things you can only find in Vail and not in Aspen, Tahoe, etc. (this would be true for both summer and winter). Readers always want to know what sets one place apart from another and why they should choose one ski town over another, so saying “here are the things that you can only do in Vail” would be really helpful when I’m pitching coverage. What is Newsworthy? Based on this feedback, we thought it was a good time to revisit what makes a story newsworthy and how we can shift from reporting the news in Vail to making the news that features Vail. It’s important to start from a foundation of understanding what makes a great story. 1. Impact – How is a story going to impact someone’s life? Will buying a product/service or having a certain experience enhance someone’s life? 2. Timeliness – It’s called “news” for a reason. Is something new, first or only? Or, can you tie to something that’s timely in the news right now? 3. Proximity – To the news that’s being created/reported. We are more likely to care about what’s happening in our own backyard. 4. Human Interest – Stories that feature the human condition e.g. rags to riches. Features that make us smile, laugh or think harder about a topic, 5. Conflict – Media gravitate toward conflict. 6. The Unusual, One-of-a-Kind – Think hiking with llamas and goat yoga. Click bait! 7. Celebrity – Famous, semi-famous or infamous, media like celebrity ties because they seem special to the general public. Newsworthy Ideas As we think of shifting to making more news, we’ve developed a few ideas that we believe could make news if offered in Vail or steps the destination could take to start creating more newsworthy buzz. The • Announce regular bands that play at various hike-to locations (similar to Vail Rocks event but throughout town or on surrounding hiking trails – not just Vail Mountain). This supports the town’s access to nature, arts and culture message and welcomes a variety of guests. If the trails are accessible from town or via free bus it supports the message that Vail was purpose built for mountain fun. • Host a series of notable art exhibits on the town’s free electric busses. This drives awareness of the town’s sustainability goal, arts and culture message and welcomes a variety of guests with free transportation. • In July, for National Picnic Month, offer free, reservable picnic spots throughout the town including hike or bike to spots. Encourage local restaurants to offer picnic meals. Pack in, pack out messaging will support sustainability, family- friendly and welcomes a variety of guests. • Host a series of family-friendly farm-to-table lunches or brunches in addition to the farm-to-table dinner series. Sustainable and family-friendly message. • Support plans to bring only lower CO2 flights into the Vail airport. • Eliminate single use plastic in town. • Announce plans to only allow events that do not utilize single use plastic. We know that many of these ideas would take time to develop, but we believe story lines like these may result in more media coverage and further distinguish the Vail brand. Next Steps Short Term: • Share with community PR partners. Assess hosting another PR partners meeting in June. • Assess the idea of hosting a PR Partner Workshop on how to create news. • MYPR will continue to dig deeper for newsworthy angles. • Continue a robust, relationship-based media hosting program. Long Term: • Assess opportunities as part of the branding process. • Work with partner group to identify how we can get more community partners to engage and innovate their messages/offerings. Upon review, please let us know if you have any questions. Thank you. Page 1/10 Vail Med ia Sur vey 2021 Explor e the data behind your survey r esponses. Gain a better per spective of your survey data and uncover insights for fur ther planning. kyantis  |  Vail Media Survey 2021 Visited 46 Started 33 Avg. Time to Complete 9m 12s Completed 33 Completion Rate 100.00% Page 2/10 QU E S T I ON 04 | Y ES O R N O Have you written about Vail in the last 10 ye ars? Answered: 33 Skipped: 0 Yes No0 25 50 75 100 97% 3% A N S W E R CH OI C E S RE S PON S E S RE S P ON S E P E RC E N T A G E Yes 32 96.97% No 1 3.03% Page 3/10 QU E S T I ON 09 | Y ES O R N O Do you believe the destination provide s a unique travel e xperience compared to other mountain re sorts in the spring, summe r and fall? Answered: 33 Skipped: 0 Yes No0 20 40 75 73% 27% A N S W E R CH OI C E S RE S PON S E S RE S P ON S E P E RC E N T A G E Yes 24 72.73% No 9 27.27% Page 4/10 QU E S T I ON 12 | Y ES O R N O Doe s your opinion of Vail Re sorts impact your fe e lings about Vail as a destination? Answered: 32 Skipped: 1 Yes No 0 20 40 75 53% 47% A N S W E R CH OI C E S RE S PON S E S RE S P ON S E P E RC E N T A G E Yes 17 53.13% No 15 46.88% Page 5/10 QU E S T I ON 15 | M ATR IX A s an expe rt in travel, how would you rate the following Vail amenities compared to competitors such Brecke nridge and A spen? Even if you have n't visited Vail rece ntly, we 'd love to know your impressions based on reputation. (1 to 5 – one be ing a less quality experience , 5 outperforms its competitors – n/a inc luded too) Answered: 33 Skipped: 0 Dining Nightlife Village/TownExperience Hotels/LodgingExperience 3% 3% 9% 9% 6% 15% 33% 18% 12% 39% 36% 33% 39% 39% 9% 36% 42% 3% 12% Page 6/10 Outdoor Adventurese.g. hiking, mountainbiking, etc. Summer Li-ServedActivities Performing Arts Public A rt Program Outdo or AdventureEvents such as Go ProMountain Games Scenery 6% 15% 9% 6% 12% 6% 15% 45% 55% 39% 42% 33% 33% 39% 27% 27% 15% 42% 45% 6% 24% 24% 15% 3% Page 7/10 0 25 50 75 100 History 12% 18% 33% 21% 12% 1 2 3 Dining 0 (0.00%)1 (3.03%)5 (15.15%) Nightl ife 0 (0.00%)3 (9.09%)11 (33.33%) Village/Town Experience 1 (3.03%)3 (9.09%)6 (18.18%) Hotels/Lodging Experience 0 (0.00%)2 (6.06%)4 (12.12%) Outdo or Adventures e.g. hiking, mountain biking, etc. 0 (0.00%)0 (0.00%)5 (15.15%) Summer Li-Served A ctivities 0 (0.00%)0 (0.00%)3 (9.09%) Performing Arts 0 (0.00%)0 (0.00%)2 (6.06%) Public Art Pro gram 0 (0.00%)2 (6.06%)4 (12.12%) Outdo or Adventure Events such as GoPro Mountain Games 0 (0.00%)0 (0.00%)2 (6.06%) Scenery 0 (0.00%)0 (0.00%)5 (15.15%) History 0 (0.00%)4 (12.12%)6 (18.18%) Total 1 (0.28%)15 (4.13%)53 (14.60%) 4 5 N /A Dining 13 (39.39%)13 (39.39%)1 (3.03%) Page 8/10 4 5 N /A Nightl ife 12 (36.36%)3 (9.09%)4 (12.12%) Village/Town Experience 11 (33.33%)12 (36.36%)0 (0.00%) Hotels/Lodging Experience 13 (39.39%)14 (42.42%)0 (0.00%) Outdo or Adventures e.g. hiking, mountain biking, etc. 15 (45.45%)13 (39.39%)0 (0.00%) Summer Li-Served A ctivities 18 (54.55%)9 (27.27%)2 (6.06%) Performing Arts 13 (39.39%)9 (27.27%)8 (24.24%) Public Art Pro gram 14 (42.42%)5 (15.15%)8 (24.24%) Outdo or Adventure Events such as GoPro Mountain Games 11 (33.33%)14 (42.42%)5 (15.15%) Scenery 11 (33.33%)15 (45.45%)1 (3.03%) History 11 (33.33%)7 (21.21%)4 (12.12%) Total 142 (39.12%)114 (31.40%)33 (9.09%) Page 9/10 QU E S T I ON 18 | Y ES O R N O Do you perc e ive Vail as consiste ntly oe ring new, unique stor y angles for media c overag e ? Answered: 29 Skipped: 4 Yes No 0 20 40 75 62% 38% A N S W E R CH OI C E S RE S PON S E S RE S P ON S E P E RC E N T A G E Yes 18 62.07% No 11 37.93% Page 10/10 QU E S T I ON 20 | Y ES O R N O In general, do you be lieve that Vail’s hote ls oer unique packages and programming that provide you with c ontent for stories? Answered: 31 Skipped: 2 Yes No0 20 40 75 68% 32% A N S W E R CH OI C E S RE S PON S E S RE S P ON S E P E RC E N T A G E Yes 21 67.74% No 10 32.26%