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HomeMy WebLinkAbout06. Malen Yantis PR Report, Q2 2023 July 13, 2023 TO: Vail Local Marketing District Advisory Council FROM: Kristin Yantis & Amanda McNally, MYPR CC: Mia Vlaar & Liz Gladitsch, Town of Vail RE: Q2 Public Relations Report Agency Support The second quarter of the year is the agency’s busiest as we attend the in-market event in Mexico City, finalize blogger and influencer selects for summer campaigns, aggressively pitch stories and media visits, as well as plan all summer trips. This quarter, we also met with representatives of the VLMDAC board and TOV staff to discuss how to best illustrate PR successes moving forward. The group requested that we continue to provide the content we’ve been sharing e.g. comp set comparisions, number of clips, key message tracking, media reach and sentiment. However, we also agreed to integrate two more specific measurements related to our linkage strategy and target media coverage. Following are the two specific measurements that we will track moving forward. • Secure at least a dozen stories that include DiscoverVail.com • Secure at least two dozen stories or visits from media who represent outlets noted in our target list. (Please note we are still filling out and refining this list but wanted to provide the working document for your knowledge. And, these are MYPR specific placements – not other content secured by partners such as Bravo!, Mountain Games, etc.) Please keep in mind that identifying these measurements mid-summer did not provide MYPR with the opportunity to develop strategies and focus to meet these objectives going into the summer. However, we believe this wil provide us with a great baseline to help identify opportunities in 2024. Following are sample Q2 tactics that MYPR executed in support of the Discover Vail summer PR effort. • Worked with Mexico PR representative Sylvia Rivera to set up the April in-market media tour in partnership with Taste of Vail. MYPR coordinated with Taste of Vail attendees to enliven the event with a unique message related to a deeper partnership with a Mexico food and wine festival. MYPR also attended the April event in Mexico City. • Managed the monthly Destination Stewardship Program column with the Vail Daily. This entails identifying a quarterly content calendar of relevant, timely topics and interviewing experts in the community. MYPR then drafts each column for Town approval and submits to the Vail Daily to publish. • Finalized the summer influencer strategy. Developed campaign documents and launched the effort on the new Aspire influencer tool. Confirmed three targeted partners. Set up pre-visit kickoff calls and brand overview conversations. Contracted with all partners and then started to set up their travel arrangements. The agency personally meets with all influencers at least once during their visit. List of influencers noted below. • Finalized the summer blogger strategy and confirmed three targeted partners. Started setting up all travel arrangements for summer visits. MYPR personally meets with each blogger during their visits to make sure they have everything they need and receive a good introduction to the destination. List of bloggers noted below. • Aggressive media outreach for summer stories and visits. MYPR confirmed a press trip in June along with several individual media visits. The agency also handled all travel arrangements, activities and itinerary development for these trips. Kristin and A manda also personally hosted these writers during their visits to Vail. Confirmed list of visits noted below. • Worked with Liz and Whitney to develop a system so the social team can have media, blogger and influencer visits on their radar for possible reposting. • Ongoing updates of content on the DiscoverVail.com media center. • Drafted Vail Michelin Guide release which ran in the Vail Daily. • Drafted and distributed a release on summer/fall events in Vail. • Updated media press kit documents such as the Discover Vail Fact Sheet and Family Travel Tipsheet. • Worked with various PR partners that represent events such as Bravo!, Vail Dance, Vail Craft Beer Classic and Vail Wine Festival to discuss how best to partner together in summer 2023. MYPR worked closely with Bravo! on their media event in July along with Vail Wine Festival to host two writers in August. • Worked with Sylvia Rivera to host the June Mexico Press Trip. MYPR secured lodging, developed the itinerary for the group and hosted the writers while they were in Vail. • Set up PR meeting with VLMDAC board members and TOV staff to discuss how we measure PR efforts moving forward. • Finalized travel arrangements for Vail Dream Trips giveaway winners. • Met with select Front Range media to discuss summer 2023 key messages. • Client management including monthly VLMDAC meetings, partner meetings, PR one-on- ones with Town of Vail staff, etc. Q2 Media Coverage As a reminder, we monitor against our comp set to gauge Vail’s performance versus Aspen and Breckenridge. Links to comprehensive media coverage reports for all three destinations are noted below. Vail Coverage Report Breckenridge Coverage Report Aspen Coverage Report As a reminder, the Vail report goes into greater detail with reach, key message coverage and top markets for coverage – all items we’ve previously tracked. We do not track for this level of detail in the other comp set reports. We saw a big shift in Aspen’s Q2 coverage this year. The majority of Aspen’s coverage was for the 10th anniversary of the Aspen Ideas Festival, which accounts for about 2,600 of the clips. Following are some of the trends in coverage from the three destinations. • Aspen o The majority of the coverage – more than 2,600 clips – was from the Aspen Ideas Festival. As you may know, they had a who’s who list of speakers this year which even attracted NBC to report the nightly news remote from Aspen among other coverage. o Signifiant coverage for Aspen Food & Wine. o Several placements about air pollution and how destination’s are opting out of fireworks for the 4th in favor of drone shows to support clean air initiatives. • Breckenridge o Coverage for a classic car rally event. o Cycling trail coverage. o Breckenridge also conducted a satellite media tour so they received significant television coverage for this effort. • Vail o Most coverage was of summer event announcements including Vail Craft Beer Classic, Bravo!, GoPro Mountain Games and Vail Dance. o General summer travel stories. o Several hotel partners also distributed wire releases that included Vail content. Vail Sample Media Placements • MSN.com – May 17 Headline/Link: These Destinations in the Americas Have an Obviously European Flair Note: Continued pick up of MYPR’s pitching efforts to position Vail as an alternative travel options to European destinations. Story was picked up in multiple outlets including Yahoo! • LA Parent – May 3 Headline/Link: Summer in Vail Note: MYPR provided additional recommendations for things to do and see while in Vail. • SKI – June 12 Headline/Link: 6 Colorado Ski Resorts That Are Almost As Fun In the Summer as They are in the Winter - Almost Note: Inclusion based on long-standing relationship with writer Sam Berman. Media, Blogger & Influencer Visits • June 11-14 Mexico Press Trip o Lucia Alarcon – Editorial Televisa (CARAS, Harper’s Bazaar , Vanidades, Esquire) Internal Affairs & Media Director o Isabel Flores – HOTBOOK Chief Editor o Valerio Negri – LUXURY TRAVEL Chief Editor o Influencer Dominika Paleta @dominikapaleta IG 1.5M and FB 1.1M • June 21-25 Summer Press Trip o Jacqueline Mendelsohn – editor of The Mod Traveller blog whose work also has appeared in Travel + Leisure. o Kristin Conard – most recently she’s contributed to Travel + Leisure, Conde Nast Traveler, Explore.com, The List and others. o Tamara Gane – freelance for Washington Post, SF Gate, Wine Enthusiast and others o Christina Jelski – senior editor Travel Weekly • June 26-29 – LocalAdventurer.com bloggers • June 18-July 1 - Influencer @jj.trailwaker Upcoming Media, Blogger & Influencer Visits • July 23-27 – The Travel Bite blogger • July 23-26 – Freelance writer Kristen Gill who specializes in adventure, cultural exchanges, off-the-beaten-path, transformational, sustainable and eco-friendly travel. She has been featured as a travel expert on MSN, CBS, Peter Greenberg Worldwide and the BBC’s “The World” on NPR. Kristen produces travel content for outlets such as Outside, BBC, NPR, The Seattle Times, MSN Travel, Travel Weekly and more. • July 26-30 – Freelance writer Claire Zlobin who regularly contributes to outlets such as TravelAge West, Twist, Tinybeans and Family Traveller, among others. She also has her own family travel blog DropOfGoldenSun.ca. • August 1-4 – TheWorldPursuit.com bloggers • August 8-11 – Freelance writer Courtney Drake McDonough who contributes to Colorado Parent, InGoodTasteDenver.com and RealFoodTraveler.com. • August 8-11 – Influencer @through.the.llyns • August 11-13 Vail Wine Festival Partnership o Shelby Vittek – freelance writer who writes a monthly drinks column for New Jersey Monthly and contributes to outlets such as Washington Post, Bon Appétit, National Geographic, Departures, Wine Enthusiast, Saveur, Plate Magazine, Modern Farmer, Liquor.com and others. o Rebecca Toy – Toy is an experienced travel and culture freelance journalist who specializes in engaging human interest stories that incorporate history, culture, and a sense of place to invoke curiosity and inspire travel and learning. She contributes to outlets such as National Geographic, Wine Enthusiast, Fodor’s Travel, The (Toronto) Star and more. • August 14-17 – Influencers @theloverspassport • August 14 – Colorado Tourism Office World Music Press Trip o Belkacem Bahlouli, Rolling Stone (France) o Andrea Black, Escape (Australia) o Richard Franks, freelance writer from the UK o Dan Donovan, Ottawa Life Magazine (Canada) o Mexico writer – TBD o German Writer - TBD Q3 Tactics Following are priority tactics for Q3. • Ongoing media pitching to support late summer, fall messaging. • Continue to book, secure travel and host incoming media, bloggers and influencers. • Draft and distribute fall media tipsheet. • Attend Travel Classics in Vancouver on behalf of Discover Vail. Develop sponsor materials and appropriate media pitches for the event. • Support the Michelin Guide announcement in August/September. • Partner planning for 2024. Upon review, please let us know if you have any questions. Thank you!