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HomeMy WebLinkAbout02. a. CRC21_Event Recap_Vail Snow DaysSurveyed Event Recap: VAIL SNOW DAYS Cultural, Recreational & Community Category Wednesday, January 5, 2022 VAIL SNOW DAYS: December 2-5, 2021 Nicole Marsh Phone: 303-591-1689 nicole@imprintgroup.com 2 Overall Event Highlights & Successes 3 •The event came back with great excitement after a year off for COVID-19. •Great Event Partners and activation surrounding the event. Many have already reached out wanting to build upon their activations and come back bigger in years to come. •(2) Nights of sold-out VIP sections •Fun, high-energy talent with great guest experience feedback. •Changing the stage direction back to the west end of the parking lot and adding an interior guest entrance walking lane allowed for a clean and safe entry, better interior guest flow and a safer experience in front of the stage. •All Festival Village expo spaces were filled with a great mix of partners engaging skier and foot traffic alike. •Fun après and after parties in merchant locations, spreading the love into different accounts. Questions from CSE 4 Attendance Estimate 5 Was this the attendance you expected? Our attendance was less than we expected and hoped for at the evening concerts. We tracked the numbers closely as event date approached and while interest was high and people were interacting closely with the marketing, the lack of early season snow deterred quite a few guests. We also had feedback that the different weekend from historic years didn’t work with their current plans. Additionally, the first year this event has been ticketed in quite some time was a change for may locals. Finally, it goes without saying but we also lost some attendance due to fears of COVID and large groups. 0 2,000 4,000 6,000 8,000 FRIDAY CONCERT SATURDAY CONCERT EXPO VILLAGE SILENT DISCO VAIL SNOW DAYS ATTANDANCE 675 7,500 3,230 3,198 How would you impact attendance next year? Retarget artist talent and get a gauge for top touring acts that draw fans. Resubmit for the weekend that Vail Snow Days has historically been scheduled in the past. Geo-target marketing efforts to match desired demographic and regions. We would also launch marketing and ticket sales further in advance for a longer lead time. Continue to work with Event Partners to collaborate on the social/digital push to promote the event and create exciting partner activations to grow programming and reimagine memorable experiences for guests. Visitor Type 6 Visitor Type 7 Was this the visitor type split you expected? The Vail Snow Days guests were nearly a 50/50 split. 48% out of area visitors between overnight and day trip guests to our local contingent. We typically expect more out of area but with a low snow year we didn’t get as many overnight guests as we have come to expect. •Why or why not? Please explain. The weather was gorgeous but didn’t help our cause to get out of town visitors into Vail for “snow” days. This early season event is a great way for out-of-towners to come up for a fun ski weekend, but guests were barely able to ski top-to-bottom which isn’t a great sign for our guest/skier numbers. We did have quite a few out-of-town guests engaging with our marketing and watching the forecast. There were also a few who noted the conflict with the new weekend and expressed frustration that the earlier weekend didn’t fit in their December calendar. •What steps would you take to optimize visitor mix for future events? We will continue to market headliner talent and work with Event Partners to collaborate through their marketing channels to promote the event. We will also continue to geo-target our desired demographic and push for the out-of-town market to heads-in-beds here in Vail. Overnight Visitor Profile: Overnight Visitors & Seasonal Residents Only Only 8 Overnight Visitor Profile: Overnight Visitors & Seasonal Residents Only Only 9 Overnight Visitor Profile: Overnight Visitors & Seasonal Residents Only Only 10 What measures did you take to encourage attendees to book lodging in the Town of Vail? •Lodging packages were promoted through the event website as well as through discovervail.com. These also marketed the other activities going on in Vail during this time in addition to Vail Snow Days signature events. •The event advertising and print pieces included promotional lodging call to action. •Radio sweepstakes with lodging packages encouraging guests to stay and play at Vail 4-star accommodations. Overall Visitor Profile 11 Overall Visitor Profile 12 Overall Visitor Profile 13 Who was your anticipated target demographic? The age range that attended was our anticipated target demo based on the talent and event programming. The majority or our guests were within the ages of 25-44 years old (52%) and the next highest age bracket being 45-54 years (30%). The male/female ratio shows much stronger in the female demographic. •Male 34%/ Female 66% •Ages: 25-44 years 52%, 45-54 years 30% Did you reach your target demographic? Yes, when looking at our marketing channels and our Event Partners and their marketing reach, we hit our push for the 25-44 year old age bracket. These channels were fairly split between male/female targets, so the females came out in stronger numbers. 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 14 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Importance of event in decision to visit Vail Little importance –I was already planning on coming to VailHalf my reasonfor visiting VailMy only reason for visiting Vail44% 10%13%12% 8% 3%2% 6%4% 0% Role/Importance of Event in Intent to Visit Vail 15 What actions did you take this year to generate the number of overnight guests? We collaborated with front range and destination markets for promoting event visitors and overnight guests. We also created lodging packages with Vail merchant partners to allow for stay-and-play options to incentivize guests to come and stay. How would you increase the number of overnight Vail guests coming for the event next year? Continue our traditional methods but capitalize on data from previous years as this event brings in repeat visitors for out of the area. Bringing them back in and expanding to others within their networks. Continue to promote through Event Partners to expand our reach annually. NPS (Net Promoter Score)/Likelihood to Recommend 16 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Not LikelyExtremely Likely NPS (Net Promoter Score)/Likelihood to Recommend 17 Do you think the NPS scores reflect the attendee event experience? All events at Vail Snow Days are designed to create a positive atmosphere and a variety of experiences for guests to enjoy outside of their on-mountain activities. We agree with the guests scores and are flattered that so many ranked the likelihood to recommend as a 10 but we know there is always improvement! We are also happy to note that ALL scores came in at a 5 or higher. What steps would you take to improve the NPS scores for your event next year? •Continue to build out programming to offer a full weekend of activity surrounding the signature concerts. •Continue to collaborate with Event Partners to expand our offerings and develop new activations within our signature experiences to keep repeat guests surprised and interested. •Continue to track top headlining talent to bring into Vail •Continue to make sure the guest flow and experience exceed expectations so they can enjoy a safe and FUN event weekend. Estimated Return on Investment (ROI) & Attendee Expenditures 18 Estimated Return on Investment (ROI) & Attendee Expenditures 19 Estimated Return on Investment (ROI) & Attendee Expenditures 20 What did your event do to encourage spending in Vail? •Our event, evening, hours allowed guests to experience TOV merchants before and after the event hours. •We partnered with local merchants on “Snow Days Live”, a marketing initiative highlighting and cross-promoting with every merchant that was having live music throughout the weekend. •We had event elements in ALL areas of Vail: Ford Park, Vail Mountain, Vail Village, Lionshead. This helps to spread the love with all Vail merchants. •We promoted discovervail.com and Vail winter activities on the event website and marketing materials. •We promoted lodging partners on the event website to encourage overnight guests. •Many of our expo partners were showcasing goods but driving the actual sales to Vail merchant locations. Event Strengths & Weaknesses 21 How did the event exceed expectations? This event is a well-oiled machine bringing a wide variety of visitors to the area. The constant focus is to create unique, memorable experiences for guests which is exceeded through evolving event partnerships, elements, promotions and more. Performaing artisit for Vail Snow Days 2021 included Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats as well as Dierks Bentley with Callista Clark. •New stage placement created a larger and safter front of stage concert experience •New concert interior entry lane allowed for guests to enter safely while getting them into the venue and not front-load the space. •Great partnership with Town of Vail departments to use a positive and collaborative approach to create a safe and successful event •New addition of the Silent Disco to Vail Snow Days was a great way to incorporate Town of Vail guests into the action that don’t prefer the concert setting. Event Strengths & Weaknesses 22 What are areas for event improvement? •Continually work to bring in top-level talent so we can create a bigger crowd following. •Add additional in-town activation during the weekend to increase the quantity of programming. How did this year’s event compare to previous years? •The Festival Village expo partners brought increased vitality to the footprint and increased number of partnerships. •New Silent Disco created a vibrant after party to the streets of Vail all while abiding by noise ordnances. •The concerts were ticketed as opposed to a free model guests have seen in the past. This was great for crowd control but may have hindered some historic guests. Vail Brand Compatibility 23 How did the event support the Vail Brand? •Vail Snow Days produces a clean, polished concert and well executed satellite event components that not only align with the premier mountain resort community of Vail but it also bring in top headliner talent to continually elevate the Vail name. •The ability to ski on one of North Americas top ski resorts, come down to enjoy a lively Festival Village expo area. Then jump to one of Vail Snow Days après parties or Snow Days Live locations before hitting one of Vails merchants for a mouth-watering dinner, all before headliner concerts at Ford Park. Vail truly is like nothing on earth! Community Contribution 24 How did the event impact Vail’s sense of community? •Vail Snow Days brings a collaborative approach working closely with Town of Vail, Vail Mountain, local merchants and hotel properties. •Event management reached out to all venues to promote ALL the live music happening in town as part of the Snow Days Live promotion. •Vail Snow Days offered both ticketed and free options throughout the weekend to provide something available for all guests. •Vail Snow Days promotes on -mountain activity during the day as well as events in different merchant accounts showcasing out local businesses. •Vail Snow Days follows the Town of Vail green guidelines to do our part for a cleaner, more sustainable Vail. Topline Marketing Efforts 25 Include overview of top 3 successful marketing tactics or executions A full advertising, marketing and public relations campaign was executed surrounding Vail Snow Days in local, regional and national media. Placements were made with print, broadcast and digital outlets. •We collaborated with event partners with large marketing reach to utilize their channels for event promotions, sweeps and other event specific campaigns. •Grassroot campaigns for local marketing between print, broadcast and digital. •Concierge outreach campaigns throughout Vail. Making sure our frontline ambassadors know all about the event offerings prior to their guest's arrival. •Marketing efforts targeted to Colorado University campuses to help drive collegiate traffic up the mountain. Marketing plan –Appendix B Potential for Growth & Sponsorships/Media Exposure 26 •How do you see the event evolving or growing next year? Expanding event programming throughout the weekend to increase a full schedule with top headliner talent. Work with event partners to increase unique activations within each event element. •What sponsors do you plan to target next year? (Including existing and potential sponsors) Continue to engage with partners from 2021 but expand into new categories to grow the partnerships in additional areas. •How will you leverage media exposure and extend the marketing reach next year? Bring in new national brands to continue to be part of the marketing mix at Vail Snow Days. Sustainability Efforts 27 What measures were taken at your event/program to support the environmentally-friendly goals of the Town of Vail? •(45) Branded trash/recycle/compost stations through out the different venues. •Custom labeled signs to designate what goes in each waste container •All vendors were required to use compostable service ware •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 reusable table linen •Dedicated event staff collecting and sorting trash •All operations staff brought reusable water bottles are refilled from a refillable jug Sustainability Efforts 28 What waste reduction methods were used during your event/program? •Ordering beverages in aluminum containers where possible •Sorted waste to make sure it went in the correct container How could you improve on sustainability efforts for next year’s event? •Move to a 100% aluminum container event •Get volunteers to work the different waste stations and help sorting the ground trash at the end of the evening. The Town of Vail is committed to the stewardship and protection of our unique mountain environment. In consideration of both our local and global impacts and opportunities, our environmental vision is to demonstrate and promote: renewable energy, resource efficiency, ecosystem protection, and community awareness and education. Event Budget 29 Event Budget –Appendix A Item $ Total Event Budget:1,126,466.00 CSE Funds:300,000.00 Cash Sponsorship (not CSE):367,450.00 In-kind Sponsorship:0.00 Marketing Budget:59,222.00 Profit & Loss:-50,442.61 How did you use the CSE funds? (marketing, operations, staff, venue, etc.) Talent & Marketing Additional Information/Appendix 30 •Appendix A: Event Budget •Appendix B: Marketing Plan •Appendix C: Survey Dashboard THANK YOU