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Home My WebLink About01. VLMDAC May Meeting PresentationVLMDAC BOARD MEETING MAY 18, 2023 Agenda I. MONTHLY FINANCIAL REPORT (5 minutes), Carlie Smith, Town of Vail II. MINUTE APPROVAL o Action Requested of Board III. INFORMATION & DISCUSSION UPDATES ● Website Roadmap (20 minutes) 970 Design VI. FIRST SUPPLEMENTAL REQUEST, (100 minutes), Town of Vail and Partner Group o Action Requested of Board V. INFORMATION & DISCUSSION UPDATES ● DMO Structure (10 minutes) Carl Ribado ● Mexico Media Mission (10 minutes), MYPR and Sylvia Rivera ● Late Winter Campaign Results (5 minutes), Miles Partnership ● Other Business ● Adjournment FINANCE UPDATE MINUTE APPROVAL 2023 WEBSITE ROADMAP 2023 Website Roadmap Original Goal: The website was originally built to support an existing campaign primarily focused on capturing data. Although data capture remains a primary goal, the responsibility of the website is shifting into the official resource for promoting and attracting visitors to the Vail Valley. Our DISCOVERY workshops are informed by qualitative and quantitative research to help us create the project road map. By identifying high-level insights and intimately learning about your business, culture, goals and objectives, we can enter the design phase with a guiding strategy. Primary Proposed Goals 1 2 3 4 5 6 Establish Discovervail.com as the official website of Vail Engage website visitors with compelling content and thoughtful user journeys Enhance accessibility and usability Support marketing campaigns Build upon existing data capture opportunities Safeguard the Discover Vail brand and Incorporate the Stewardship Roadmap. Establish Discovervail.com as the Official Website of Vail Discover Vail shares a name and brand with the resort company and the town of Vail, which means the discovervail.com website is often the third place someone might visit. As we continue to develop our brand, our larger goal should be to become the official resource for promoting and attracting visitors to the Vail Valley. 1 KPIs: ●Increased Website Traffic ●Increase in Unique/Returning Visitors ●Increased Pages per Session ●Decreased Bounce Rate The Why •A natural step towards becoming a formal DMO •Follows priorities Engage Website Visitors with Compelling Content and Thoughtful User Journeys By focusing on captivating brand-aligned visuals with informative and unique content, Discover Vail can earn the trust of our visitors to increase engagement. Thoughtful UX/UI design ensures that every page is designed to bring various users through the website. Other opportunities to increase engagement are optimizing the site to better facilitate trip planning and creating excitement to experience Vail. 2 KPIs: ●Longer Session Duration a.Time on Site b.Time on Page ●More Pages per Session ●Increased Website Traffic ●Reduced Bounce Rate The Why •Requested by the board to Optimize Visitation •Make website more effective in attracting visitors •Website suffers from high bounce rate (66% YTD / 71%Apr) Enhancing Accessibility and Usability There are several ways the discovervail.com website could improve its accessibility and usability. Focus this year will be primarily on two areas. Optimizing website performance, navigation, and structure, ensuring intuitive menus and logical information hierarchy for easy user flow, and fixing the user experience through development improvements. 3 KPIs: ●See engagement metrics ●Page speed and other core vital optimization metrics ●Compliance score The Why •Poor Performance Scores •Website suffers from high bounce rate (66% YTD / 71%Apr) •Website was not built to accessibility compliance standards Support Marketing Campaigns The Discover Vail website needs custom landing pages for all paid advertising and pages determined to be critical based on user traffic or organizational goals. These pages will be customized to provide relevant information, compelling content, and clear calls to action that encourage visitors to engage further or convert. The website should also be designed to track and measure the performance of the ads, allowing for optimization and refining of the campaign based on user behavior and conversion data. 4 KPIs: ●Develop more conversion tracking goals for these campaigns that demonstrate high levels of interest in visitation a.Visit the book-direct page b.Sign up for the newsletter c.Visit one of the travel tools pages (?) The Why •Optimize ad spend dollars •Increase lower funnel conversion tactics Build Upon Existing Data Capture Opportunities Capturing data from website visitors remains crucial for discovervail.com. It allows the VLMD to understand our visitors better and tailor our marketing campaigns accordingly. As we move into summer, we will further explore data capture and conversion tracking opportunities. 5 KPIs: ●New sources of visitor data for everyone to use ●More accurate data The Why •Support partners •Support VLMD Priorities to Grow Database and Build Guest Relationships Safeguard the Discover Vail Brand and Incorporate the Stewardship Roadmap The discovervail.com website is vital in communicating our brand and is the central hub for brand engagement. Often a gateway for the Vail visitor it is important the site is designed and functions to position Vail as The Premier International Mountain Resort Community. In addition to safeguarding current brand positioning goals, the website should begin to prepare for some evolutions to the brand by educating the guest on Vail’s community values. 6 Why ●In accordance with the town council action plan, position Vail as the Premier International Mountain Resort Community. ●Request from the board to incorporate outcomes of the Stewardship Roadmap ●Vail suffers from some clarity around brand purpose and brand values Our Roadmap Forward Projects Completed: Discovery Development Improvements Homepage Redesign and Rebuild In Progress: Events Templates (Example: 4th of July) Incorporate Stewardship Roadmap Full Scope: Management, technical support, in-person meetings, partner collaboration Strategic Visioning Project ManagementDiscovery Our Roadmap Forward Full Scope: Remaining Scope: Navigation & User Journeys Reimagine 'Things to do' UX/UI Blog Page Redesign Winter Homepage Custom Campaign Landing Pages Performance Improvements Management, technical support, in-person meetings, partner collaboration Strategic Visioning Project ManagementDiscovery Our Roadmap Forward Full Scope: Management, technical support, in-person meetings, partner collaboration Strategic Visioning Project ManagementDiscovery Remaining Scope: Navigation & User Journeys Reimagine 'Things to do' UX/UI Blog Page Redesign Winter Homepage Custom Campaign Landing Pages Performance Improvements Supplemental Scope: WCAG 2.0 AA Accessibility Compliance Rebuild Calendar Google Analytics 4 Transition “Not” Bucket List Project Interactive Vail Map (phase 1 and addition of hiking and possible walking tour) Integrate Hikevail.net Youtube Integration + Media Library Supplemental Scope FIRST SUPPLEMENTAL REQUEST Indicates change from 5/18First Supplemental Request May 18 1st Supplemental Request Presented to Board VLMDAC: Review and approve or approve with amendments June 1 Publish 1st Supplemental Request to Town Council Packet Town of Vail Staff June 6 Present to Town Council VLMDAC Chair and Town of Vail Staff Presentation to VLMD at Town Council Chambers - 1pm Indicates change from 5/18 Additionally, all have added Annual Ongoing Cost Revenues $5,271,500 ●Total Amended Lodging Tax Revenue of $5,235,500; $735,500, or 16% from 2023 Original Budget ●Lodging revenues forecasted based on YTD actuals (through March), April flat with 2022, and the remainder of year down 10% ●Amended lodging tax revenues of $5,235,500 is down $178.8K or 3% from 2022 actuals ●Proposing to increase investment income by $35,000 Expenditures $5,456,790 (excluding $1.4M transfer to GF) ●Total Amended Budget of $5,456,790; $756,790 or 16% increase over original budget ●$1,172,286 increase, 27% increase from 2022 Actuals ●New Requests will also have an estimated ongoing impact of $185K/year Fund Balance $2,316,747 ●2023 Amended Budget utilizes $185,290 of fund balance in addition to the $1.4M transfer to TOV General Fund ●Estimated fund balance at the end of 2023 is $2,316,747; 44% of annual revenues; $1.0M over 25% min First Supplemental Request First Supplemental Request Revenue Adj: +$735K Lodging Tax Rev; 3% Decrease from 2022 Actual Expenditure Adj: +756.8K; 16% increase from 2022 Actual New Fund Balance: $2.3M; $1.0 available 25% min Brand Platform Develop a comprehensive brand platform for the Vail Local Marketing District “Discover Vail” brand. • Vision of Destination ○Brand Position, Values, Messaging/Voice, Identity •Logo •Brand standards and style guide Budget: *$100,000 // Annual Ongoing: $0 (RFP Published with $60k-$100k range but have to budget high) Priority Pillar: Optimize Visitation, Grow Database + Build Relationship & Destination Stewardship KPI: Comprehensive Brand Platform that will lead campaigns and strategy for all initiatives for 2024 and beyond Updated Detail & Budget 2024 Campaign The existing budget accounts for further evolving the Life is But A Dream campaign and nothing including budget for a new brand shoot. This is seeking a strategic, creative and digital-first marketing agency to develop a comprehensive summer 2024 advertising campaign. Budget: 100,000* // Annual Ongoing: $0 *RFP Published with $85k-$100k range but have to budget high) Priority Pillar: Optimize Visitation, Grow Database + Build Relationship & Destination Stewardship KPI: Comprehensive Brand Platform that will lead campaigns and strategy for all initiatives for 2024 and beyond Updated Detail & Budget CTO International Press Trip Colorado Tourism Office Global Music Press Trip. Partner with CTO on August press trip to expand media reach to other international markets such as UK, Australia, Canada, France, Germany and Mexico. ●6 international media on assignment from UK, Australis, Canada, France, Germany and Mexico. ●2 CTO Reps ●One night lodging, group activity, meals, concert tickets Budget: $6,000 // Annual Ongoing: $0 Priority Pillar: Brand Positioning KPI: Stories that result from the trip No changes Video Content Enhancements Based on the outcome of the video audit, several next steps emerged: ●Revamp existing YouTube channel - set-up and maintenance Budget: $11,900 // Annual Ongoing: $8,400 Priority Pillars: Brand Positioning, Grow Database & Build Guest Relationships KPI: ●Increase brand awareness ●Increase content and engagement with social media channels ●Implement creative strategy for all content moving forward ○Align video with overarching content strategy and social strategy ●Continue to build existing video and raw asset library Updated Detail & Budget Video Content Enhancements Based on the outcome of the video audit, several next steps emerged: ●Produce new video series for short-form content Budget: $150,000 // Annual Ongoing: $0 Priority Pillars: Brand Positioning, Grow Database & Build Guest Relationships KPI: ●Increase brand awareness ●Increase content and engagement with social media channels ●Continue to build existing video and raw asset library Updated Budget: Concept 1 The Discovery Series unlocks the richness of experiences the destination has to offer. From exquisite culinary to over-the-top lux services, this short-form series captures the fantasy of Vail. Vail is a destination unlike any other – a wealth of natural beauty and exciting outdoor adventures all 4-seasons. Over-the-top luxury experiences and services, some of the finest cuisine and accommodations on the planet. This social-first series explores those heightened and unique experiences that make Vail truly one-of-kind. The series is centered thematically around different content pillars – articulated in the Discover ____ title of each episode, wherein _____ can be any number of on-brand adjectives – joy, connection, wellness, etc. This gives the series flexibility in crafting content to align with other initiatives and grow easily over time. The Discover Series: Synopsis No Change: Concept 1 Crafted for social media, the nuances of each platform will be taken into consideration in driving creative direction. ●Instagram Reels: feature clips from one location for 15-30s and include light on-screen copy that provides insight into the experience that a future traveler would find interesting ●YouTube: Group locations by topic and create listicle or itinerary-driven content to create longer-form 16x9, 60-90s content. Prioritize locations we have little to no existing assets of so that we could continue to expand Discover Vail’s library of assets. ●Location planning would take into consideration content we’re developing for the website ●Videos we post to IG will have a more authentic, POV nature so that when repurposed as targeted social ads within meta, the videos don’t look like a commercial within the viewer’s feed. 24 vertical videos (15-30s) - 8 YouTube (60-90s) 8 shoot days - 2 shoots @ 4 days each (summer and fall) The Discover Series: Strategy No Change: Concept 1 Social Media Content Enhancements Provide organic social media consultation to evolve social media strategy in line with audit recommendations; implement social media tools to aid in content creation and organization ●Organic social media consultation: $44,450 ○Strategies & best practices; Ongoing content calendar, UGC, boosting ●Additional time for social media manager: $1,400 ●Sprout Social - publishing and scheduling tool: $4,550 ●CrowdRiff - current budget covers this tool to replace manual UGC program ○Allows us to fill content library with authentic, up-to-date, relevant visuals Budget: $50,400// Annual Ongoing: $65,000 Priority Pillars: Brand Positioning, Grow Database & Build Guest Relationships KPI: ●Social media engagement - likes, comments, shares, video views Updated Detail & Budget Website Content Enhancements Opportunities for additional consultation based on outcome of content audit and continued collaboration with 970 ●Collaboration and consultation: $15,400 ○Seasonal landing pages, Bucket list, general consultation, etc. ●Alt tagging project: ○AI solution + cost of plugin: $1,000 ○Branded tagging of most visited pages: $2,800 Budget: $19,200 // Annual Ongoing: $17,800 Priority Pillars: Brand Positioning, Grow Database & Build Guest Relationships KPI: ●Number of strategic content pieces and enhancements ●Website accessibility score Updated Detail & Budget Content Creation for CRM Segmentation Miles to customize content for additional segmentation in e-newsletter strategy ○Additional customized content and imagery for increased segmentation Budget: $7,840 // Annual Ongoing: $13,440 Priority Pillars: Brand Positioning, Grow Database & Build Guest Relationships KPI: ●Email open rate, click rate, unsubscribe rate Updated Detail & Budget Updated Budget and NEW Website Enhancements Budget: $111,250 // Annual Ongoing: $9,700 Priority Pillars: Establish Official Vail website, Increase website engagement, Improve accessibility and usability, Support marketing campaign, Improve data capture, Safeguard the brand KPI: Web analytics metrics established for each scope Supplemental Scope Estimated Cost Estimated Ongoing Cost (annual) WCAG 2.0 AA Accessibility Compliance $15,000 $2,400 (annual cost to cover a monthly audit and adjustments) Rebuild Calendar $15,000 N/A Google Analytics 4 Transition $4,000 N/A “Not” Bucket List Project $10,000 $1,000 Interactive Vail Map (phase 1 as presented in April meeting) $39,000 $6,300 (Based on usage: this assumes we use google maps api and every visitor that comes to the site sees at least one map. It might be a slight over estimate but traffic to site might grow and some people might see multiple maps.) Interactive Vail Map 2 (addition of hiking and possible walking tour) $15,000 Integrate Hikevail.net $8,500 N/A Youtube Integration + Media Library $7,500 N/A Audience Analysis Tool - Background Developed a VLMD Dashboard (Destimetrics, paid media, ADARA, lodging, etc.) in partnership with Cactus in 2022 (using Tableau) Updated Detail Charts above are dashboard examples Audience Analysis Tool - Background Also currently publishing a monthly email metrics dashboard used for CRM reporting and optimization (using Tableau) Updated Detail Charts above are dashboard examples Audience Analysis Tool - Background Database tracking metrics published monthly as well in order to monitor and analyze database growth (using Tableau) Updated Detail Charts above are dashboard examples Audience Analysis Tool - Background ●Earlier this year, did ad-hoc analysis to assess email engagement metrics by demographic and interest data from Epsilon ●Identified audiences that are more/less engaged with email content ●Using this one-off analysis to inform CRM strategy and audience selection Updated Detail Tableau Audience Analysis Tool One-time investment to create a dashboard (using Tableau) that will be provided to partner group to provide insights on performance (email engagement) by customer segment to help inform targeting across channels on an ongoing basis. Benefits: ●Up-front development creates efficiency in ongoing analysis (~2 year payback in just analytics time saved) ●CRM engagement to inform paid media targeting for improved performance ●CRM engagement to inform PR targeting to understand influencer fit and value for our audience Budget: $14,750 // Annual Ongoing: $1,000 Priority Pillars: Optimize Visitation, Grow Database KPI: Provide additional customer data insights to help improve targeting in Media, PR and web (in addition to CRM). Measured through improved engagement in each of these channels. Updated Detail Roadmap Evolution - Background ●Began our partnership in late 2020 with the development of a 3-year “Data-Driven Marketing Roadmap” ●Roadmap built based on assessment of capabilities at that time and began with a high-level plan for each time period Updated Detail with Background Roadmap Evolution - Background ●Beyond the high-level goals, a detailed (living, evolving) plan was developed and tracked against for the past 3 years Updated Detail with Background Roadmap Evolution - Background ●This will lead us to a new assessment of capabilities at the end of 2023 Maturity Model Assessment Late 2020 Maturity Model Assessment Projected end of 2023 (per 2020 criteria) Updated Detail with Background Roadmap Evolution - Background ●Our data-driven marketing capabilities have evolved a lot in 3 years ●But available capabilities and business needs have also evolved since 2020 ●So we need to develop an updated plan to continue growing our database and our utilization of data to drive customer behaviors ●A roadmap update is in BAAG’s 2023 contract, but assumptions were made in August/September of last year ●Since that time, we have: ○Taken on new partners that have different capabilities and tools than previous partners ○Began evolving to become a DMO ○Identified that new strategic direction needs to be determined for the partner group Updated Detail with Background Data-Driven Marketing Roadmap Evolution Update data-driven marketing roadmap with consideration for movement to DMO plus new strategic direction coming by Q3 as well as capabilities of new partners and tools. This supplemental ask is for incremental budget to account for changes that have happened since original budget ask. Budget: $21,250 // Annual Ongoing: $0 Priority Pillars: Optimize Visitation, Grow Database KPI: Align data-driven marketing capabilities growth over time with the strategic direction of the Town of Vail and VLMD. Success is measured by efficiency of spend in future years. Updated Detail DiscoverVail.com Chatbot Rapidly create and demo to the partner group and the VLMDAC what a Town of Vail AI bot could do when imbued with the voice and tone of our brand content style. It will be given the knowledge of Discover Vail and the entire history of the town to answer visitor questions and help them plan their visit. Budget: $2,950 // Annual Ongoing: Unknown Priority Pillars: Build Relationship / Grow Database KPI: Create a usable demonstration of the capabilities of OpenAI and ChatGPT technology as a potential leverage and differentiation point. Get ahead of our competitive set and align with developing OTA creations. Inform future budget requests as necessary. Updated Detail & Budget DMO Alignment and Structure SMG Consulting to examine the current Economic Development department and involved boards and commissions structure and process to contemplate weather the marketing, events and guest services operations may function more efficiently in the model of a destination marketing organization (DMO). $20,000 investment with a 50/50 split with Town of Vail Budget: $10,000 // Annual Ongoing: $0 Priority Pillars: Optimize Visitation and Destination Stewardship KPI: Create a process that will better integrate VLMD to other entities related to Marketing in the Town of Vail and outside partners. NEW Michelin The Michelin program is being brought to the state of Colorado including five areas: Denver, Boulder, Vail/Beaver Creek and Aspen Snowmass. This is the first of a three year program. The program will elevate local culinary experiences, encourage staff recruitment and retention, elevate sustainability efforts and overall culinary image of the state and the areas within the state. Budget: $59,000 // Annual Ongoing: $50,000 Priority Pillars: Brand Positioning KPI: Strengthen effort to position Vail as the premier international mountain resort destination Updated Budget Rove Colorado Consortium Data Program that includes: ●Near Mobile Location Data ●AirDNA ●Short Term Rental Data ●Dean Runyan Economic Impact ●State level data (TBC) ●Platform training and technical support See full overview in packet materials: Rove_Colorado Consortium Data Program Budget: $19,500 // Annual Ongoing: $19,500 Priority Pillars: Grow Database, Build Relationship, Destination Stewardship KPI: Provide new capabilities to leverage mobile data for marketing efforts. Success is measured by growth of database and improved engagement metrics across channels. NEW Key Data Key Data is a data platform that pulls live occupancy and ADR twice a day, aggregating all the vacation rental lodging market data within Vail into a single, holistic dashboard. Budget: $20,000 // Annual Ongoing: Unknown Priority Pillars: Grow Database, Build Relationship, Destination Stewardship KPI: Access to metrics and filters to find the data needed right when you want it. NEW For full overview reference packet: Key Data Vail Overview Supplemental Request Summary Brand Platform (RFP)$100,000 $0 2024 Campaign (RFP)$100,000 $0 CTO International Press Trip $6,000 $0 Video Enhancements $11,900 $8,400 Video: YouTube/Social specific Series $150,000 $0 Social Media Enhancements and Management $50,400 $65,000 Content: Website Support $19,200 $17,800 Content Creation for CRM Segmentation $7,840 $13,440 Web: WCAG 2.0 AA Accessibility Compliance $15,000 $2,400 Web: Rebuild Calendar $15,000 $0 Web: Google Analytics 4 Transition $4,000 $0 Web: “Not” Bucket List Project $10,000 $1,000 Web: Interactive Vail Map Phase 1 $39,000 $6,300 Web: Interactive Vail Map Phase 2 $15,000 $0 Web: Integrate Hikevail.net $8,500 $0 Web: Youtube Integration + Media Library $7,500 $0 Tableau Audience Analysis Tool $14,750 $1,000 Data-Driven Marketing Roadmap Evolution $21,250 $0 DiscoverVail.com Chatbot $2,950 Unknown DMO Alignment and Structure $10,000 $0 Michelin $59,000 $50,000 Rove $19,500 $19,500 Key Data $20,000 Unknown Dream Trip Reappropriation from 2022 $50,000 $0 TOTAL $756,790 $184,840 Supplemental Item First Supplemental Request Future Annual Cost Estimates Supplemental Item First Supplemental Request Future Annual Cost Estimates DMO STRUCTURE MEXICO MEDIA MISSION LATE WINTER CAMPAIGN UPDATE Late Winter Reporting The Late Winter 2023 effort ran from 3/20 - 4/23/23 (closing day) and used a multi-media approach of Digital Display and Native, Paid Search, Paid Social, and digital placements on Colorado.com Important to note that we should be cautious making comparisons to the early winter campaign due to varied mindsets at the two times of year Late Winter Reporting Decreased spending from $93k for early winter to $38k lead to more efficient results ●5.7:1 vs 3.9:1 revenue to media cost ●During the campaign timeframe, digital tactics drove: - 12,153 Hotel Searches 256 Hotel Bookings $221.3k Hotel Revenue Note: we are unable to track specifically which of these activities resulted in April-specific bookings Late Winter Reporting ●Linking to a 3rd party booking results page created challenges for the campaign ○It had an impact on CPCs, as a 3rd party page is always more expensive to drive to than a native page on the website ○In social media, Meta blocked the ads saying they were “housing” driven ○We redirected to the home page and created a CTA to the lodging page part way through the campaign ●Higher CPCs in paid search were driven by the higher cost of more competitive lodging terms ●Recommend creating a dedicated lodging landing page for future lodging specials efforts Late Winter Reporting Investment Impressions Clicks CTR CPC Digital Display and Native $25,000 3,997,042 5,256 0.13%$4.76 Paid Search $4,920 115,792 2,908 2.51%$1.69 Paid Social $3,879 607,271 3,043 0.50%$1.27 Colorado.com $5,000 890,000 1033 0.12%$4.84 TOTAL $38,799 5,610,105 12,240 0.22%$3.17 The campaign generated 5.6M impressions, leading to 12.2K clicks to DiscoverVail.com for an average CTR of .22% ●On the website, the campaign had more than 4.4M engaged visitors (users who clicked-through on ads and spent time on the site) Benchmarks: Social CTR = .9%; Search CTR = 4.3%; Digital CTR = .07% Late Winter Reporting Creative promoted Spring lodging deals and used winter imagery including skiing, snowboarding, apres ski and lodging -In digital, the ski vs. snowboard creative performed basically evenly -The 300x600 and 300x250 units performed best, as usual -The multi-unit carousel was strong in social media TOV UPDATES Thank you! Upcoming Meetings: VLMDAC Monthly Meeting, June 15, 2023, Grand View Room VLMD 1st Supplemental Request, June 6, 2023, Town Council Chambers