HomeMy WebLinkAbout01. VLMDAC October Meeting PresentationVLMDAC BOARD MEETING
OCTOBER 20, 2022
Agenda
I. INFORMATION UPDATE
•Monthly Financial Report (5 minutes), Carlie Smith, Town of Vail
II. INFORMATION & DISCUSSION UPDATES
•Winter Campaign Updates (15 minutes), Cactus
•Budget Updates & Shifts (5 minutes), Cactus & BAAG
•Town of Vail Updates (5 minutes), Mia Vlaar & Jeremy Gross, Town of Vail
•Other Business
•RFP Presentations (100 minutes)
•Appendix: Website performance and future optimizations, Fall digital media performance
III. MINUTES
•VLMDAC September 15 and October 6 Minute Approval
•Action Requested of Council
VLMDAC Executive Session pursuant to: 1) C.R.S. §24-6-402(4) (e) - to determine positions, develop a strategy
and instruct negotiators, Re: 2022 VLMD Budget (60 minutes)
MONTHLY FINANCIAL REPORT
WINTER CAMPAIGN UPDATES
Updated Creative
Option A Option B
BUDGET UPDATES & SHIFTS
BAAG Budget Request
Requesting $30k incremental BAAG budget for 2022 from contingency
•will allow us to continue roadmap progress at current pace to fund these items:
If additional budget is not approved: BAAG will reduce pace for the remainder of 2022 and the above items will be addressed in 2023
Need for incremental budget is caused by BAAG cost ~10% over budget pace through Q3 2022.
This 10% overage has been primarily driven by:
Cactus 2022 Marketing Budget Shifts
Now that annual plans have been implemented we have reconciled budgets with the following
implications:
•Reduced Influencer consultation - reduced due to fewer than expected influencer contracts
and better tools through MYPR.
•Reduced budget for community toolkit - reduced due removal of planned community roll
out.
•Increase campaign production - added budget to support the multiple phases and
deliverables for 2022.
TOWN OF VAIL UPDATES
RFP’S
Thank you!
Upcoming Meetings:
VLMDAC Executive Session, October 20, 2022
pursuant to: 1) C.R.S. §24-6-402(4) (e) - to determine positions,
develop a strategy and instruct negotiators, Re: 2022 VLMD Budget
(60 minutes)
VLMDAC Monthly Meeting, November 17, 2022;
Grand View Room
APPENDIX
WEBSITE FALL PERFORMANCE
Website Optimizations
We prioritized optimizations on the following sections of the website:
●Villages pages / Lodging page UX revamp
●Things to Do page development
●Groups page development
●Homepage content and visual adjustments - seasonal
Other areas of optimization include the following:
●Adjusting ‘Calendar’ view of events to Sunday - Saturday
●Email iconography updates
●New survey completion page for winter season
●Implementation of missing H1 tags
●Featured Events / content population
Website Optimizations - Villages / Lodging
The challenge: The Villages page currently provides brief intros to each Vail
“neighborhood,” but there isn’t a way to learn more about them or to easily
book a stay in a given location.
The proposed solution: Offer a way for site visitors to learn more about
each village—lodging, dining and shopping options, and curated “things to
do”. Also, provide a clearer connection between the villages information and
how you can filter / find a stay when going to Book Direct.
Our hypothesis: By providing additional context around each of the village
options and creating a more streamlined experience to filter and book trips,
users will engage more information—increased pages per session—and
have a greater likelihood of booking a stay in Vail.
Next steps: Finalize the content and imagery for each page, as well as
receive approvals for development.
○Prepare to conduct an A/B test for the previous and updated versions
of the page
○Add GTM events to our CTAs and core items for tracking
○Monitor pages per session, time on site, and booking metrics
post-launch
Website Optimizations - Things to Do
The challenge: Improve the flow of our user experience so the
‘Things to Do’ in Vail are front and center. Currently, rather than
providing content the audience is looking for, the first action we’re
encouraging is to sign up for the newsletter.
The proposed solution: Adjust the hierarchy of activities and allow
visitors to more quickly view the content they are looking for.
Streamline the filtering experience for seasonal selections, and guide
them toward a smaller sample of options to simplify making choices.
Our hypothesis: When clicking through to this page, visitors are
looking for quick-hit suggestions on what to do during their next visit
to Vail. By starting with featured activities up front, and allowing
visitors to drill down to seasonal specifics upon entry, we’ll see
increased engagement with these activities, pages per session, and
general awareness of the breadth of Vail’s offerings.
Next steps: finalize development of the page for review and launch.
○Add GTM events to determined actions / CTAs
○Track success of our updates compared to previous time
periods and benchmarks
Website Optimizations - Newsletter Modal
The challenge: Upon arrival to the site, visitors are immediately
prompted with an ask to sign up for the Vail newsletter before having
a chance to explore the site. There isn’t an opportunity to explore
around or have a clear understanding of the value that the Vail
communications provide.
The proposed solution: Adjust the modal so that it appears 20
seconds after arrival and update the introductory content that
appears on the modal, explaining why one should sign up for the
newsletter.
The test: Monitor metrics on the homepage for 3-4 weeks after the
updates have been pushed live to see how bounce rate, time on
page, and general newsletter submissions have shifted.
Next steps: Based on metrics, consider clarifying the newsletter’s
value proposition, having the modal appear when exit intent is
showcased, or providing a special offer for those that subscribe.
8/23 to 9/12 (prior to launch) compared to 9/13 to 10/4 (3-week post launch)
●Overall time on page: decreased by 8.93% (38 seconds vs. 35 seconds)
●Bounce rate: improved by 3.79% (71.80% vs. 69.08%)
●General NL submissions: down by 53 total, or 28% (190 vs. 137)
○But, in comparison to the page views per period, the
post-launch submissions are an improvement.
●Page views: down by 49.22% (16,669 vs. 8,465)
Website Optimizations - Groups
The challenge: The current Groups page is misaligned with the
‘Dream’ campaign, and there isn’t a significant amount of traffic
submitting RFPs via the Discover Vail website.
The proposed solution: Adjust the overall user experience (layout,
content, etc.) to match the ‘Dream’ theme that appears throughout
the DV site, calling attention to the unique offerings that Vail can
provide for groups and the ‘Submit RFP’ opportunity in more
prominent locations.
Our hypothesis: By adjusting the look and feel of the Groups page
to align with Vail’s campaign theme, and provide the types of content
that planners are looking for when booking for groups, there will be
an increase of traffic and RFP submissions that originate from the DV
website.
Next steps: Finalize the page for launch, and push live.
○Add GTM events to determined actions / CTAs
○Monitor updates compared to previous time periods and
benchmarks leveraging Google Analytics and previous RFP
submissions
Website Optimizations - General
Additional optimizations and outcomes:
●Adjusting ‘Calendar’ view of events to Sunday - Saturday; align our Vail Events to the commonly-used
week view on other platforms to allow for consistency and familiarity when our users are searching.
●Email iconography updates; provide one new icon that supports winter sports (skis) as well as an
alternate dining icon that is sharper and clearly reflects what it represents.
●New survey completion page for winter season; design a landing page for our ‘winter survey’ participants
to be taken to once it’s completed, providing additional inspiration and activities to look into for planning
their next potential trip.
●Implementation of missing H1 tags; adjust the H1’s that were mistakenly appearing as H2’s in the
backend of the website for overall technical / SEO improvements.
●Featured Events / content population; after the new ‘Events’ set up to avoid duplicate content and training
on how to set these up, troubleshoot instances where blank content was appearing upon click-through to
the detail page of a selected event.
Website Optimizations - October
Additional areas of optimization on which we are focusing for October / November:
●Development / implementation of the updated Villages pages
●Interactive Map - 'Dream Stops' + Villages page exploration
●Homepage hero - remove white space between this and 3 blocks, consider adding a CTA / adjusting
the subhead
●Media Center - kickoff UX conversation
Website Performance
Homepage Performance Comparison:
The below metrics showcase the difference between the homepage
of the VLMD for 7 months after the LIBAD launch vs. the same
7-month timespan for the campaign that ran in 2021:
●Bounce rate: increased by 18.80% (65.72% vs. 80.94%)
●Page views: increased by 60.26% (76,226 vs. 191,835)
●Unique page views: increased by 62.16% (61,330 vs.
162,081)
●Time on page: decreased by 32.63% (57 seconds vs. 43
seconds)
Insights:
●Bounce rate: increase could be attributed to
the larger number of visitors to the site.
●Time on page: decrease could be attributed to
the change in layout / shifting to more visuals
as opposed to being more content-heavy.
Website Performance Cont’d
HotJar Indicators - launch of LIBAD branding / homepage
updates through 10/6/2022:
●Mobile Observations:
○The hamburger navigation, ‘Discover Events’ and ‘Explore Activities’
blocks, and ‘Newsletter sign-up’ sections saw a high level of clicks /
engagement.
○Considerations: swap out the ‘Unwind in Vail’ block with a more
seasonal alt as it received lower engagement than the others. Adjust
the ‘Events’ component to reduce the height a bit, and shift the
‘Sustainability’ block up with a clearer value proposition / call to action.
●Desktop Observations:
○‘Explore Vail’ and ‘Things to Do’ were the most popular nav items, and
the ‘Uncover Inspiration’ carousel continues to see high engagement.
○Considerations: swap the ‘Sustainability’ block up and clarify the value
proposition. Also, shorten the copy length on the ‘What Makes Vail
Special’ section.
●Tablet Observations:
○A high level of engagement continues to be seen on the ‘Newsletter
sign-up’ area at the bottom of the homepage.
○Considerations: Add a CTA to the hero space as many users think it’s
clickable.
FALL DIGITAL MEDIA PERFORMANCE
Paid Media Summary (4/1-9/30)
Net Digital Spend Impressions Clicks Cost-Per-Click
$783K 59M 481K $1.63
+69% YOY +52% YOY 129% YOY -34% YOY
While budget has decreased YOY, shifts in our strategic approach continue to yield increases in clicks,
driven primarily by paid search & social.
96% of Total Budget Spent (Digital & Traditional)
$1,010,000
Budget
Channel Breakdown
Clicks by Channel
Cost-Per-Click YOY
Click-Through-Rate YOY
●SEM and Paid Social continue to drive the highest
volume of clicks to DiscoverVail.com.
●Video performance has increased month-over-month,
now representing 8% of total clicks (up from 4% in June)
●Overall, CPC continues to be significantly lower YOY
across channels, while CTR continues to increase
Fall Creative Performance (8/15-10/9)
Display CTR Native CTR
Fall native creative performed strongly (0.30% CTR vs 0.22% for native prior to 8/15). However,
guests were less engaged with the display creative (under the CTR benchmark of 0.09%), leading to
a 12% decrease in overall CPC from August to September.
Fall Creative Performance (8/15-10/9)
Display Top Performers Native Top Performer
0.07% CTR
0.07% CTR 0.41% CTR
Fall Creative Performance (8/15-10/9)
Social Newsfeed
Top Performer
Social Story
Top Performer
0.66% CTR 0.65% CTR