Assessment Task 1

Part A: Identify New Marketing Opportunities

1. Articulate precinct’s marketing needs (what needs to be promoted)

The Cultural Precinct Strategy will be driven by the strategic partnership between:

 Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art (QAGOMA)

 Queensland Museum

 Queensland Performing Arts Centre

 State Library of Queensland

2. Develop marketing goals and objectives (what needs to be achieved)

Through this Cultural Precinct Strategy the strategic partners will work together to:

1. Develop a coordinated long-term plan to promote, position and activate the Cultural Precinct
as an outstanding cultural tourism destination within a competitive domestic and
international market

2. Create a coordinated program of internationally recognised, high-quality arts and cultural

experiences and events for both domestic and international visitors

3. Maximise the return on the public investment the unique co-location presents

3. Research target markets and choose one specific market for this task

Market research methods

The type of information you want to gather about your customers, market or competitors will
influence the research methods you choose. There are different ways to gather information
(from primary or secondary sources) and different types of information to gather (quantitative
and qualitative).

Primary and secondary research

Primary and secondary research relate to the way you gather information.

1. Primary research

Primary research (or field research) gathers original information directly for your purpose, rather
than being gathered from published sources. Primary research includes:

 surveys

 direct observations

 interviews and focus groups that are developed and conducted by you or your researcher.
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Primary research gives you control over the type of questions you ask and information you
gather. Primary research results can be extremely valuable; however, they can also be much
more time-consuming and costly to gather than secondary research.

You may choose to use primary research methods once you have conducted secondary research
to determine what information already exists.

2. Secondary research

Secondary research (or desk research) gathers existing information through available sources.
Secondary research examples include:

 information on the internet

 existing market research results

 existing data from your own stock lists and customer database

 information from agencies such as industry bodies, government agencies, libraries and local
councils.

Secondary research allows you to make the most of existing information about your market.
However, it can be a challenge to find the information you really need. Learn more about
different research resources for business and industry.

You may use secondary research to get an initial understanding of your market. It is often faster
to analyse than primary data because, in many cases, someone else may have already started
analysing it. However, when using secondary research be careful how you interpret it, as it may
have been collected for a different purpose or from a market segment that isn't relevant to your
business. Also make sure that any secondary information isn't out-of-date, as the market can
change quickly and this will affect your results.

As well as understanding your market, you can also use secondary research to examine factors
inside your business, such as sales figures and financial records.

Quantitative and qualitative research

Quantitative and qualitative research defines the type of information you gather.

1. Quantitative research

Quantitative research gathers numerical data. Quantitative research includes:

 surveys on customer return frequency

 sales figures

 industry product sales numbers

 online or phone questionnaires

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  financial trends.

You can use this approach to identify the size of your market and how much it might be worth to
your business, and to find areas for sales growth. Quantitative research can also help you
understand the demographics of customers, such as their age and gender.

Quantitative research often produces a lot of statistics. These are useful as an overview of your
market, but make sure you don't rely solely on statistics in your research. Consider all of the
information you have. For example, the 'average' price your target market suggested it would pay
for a product could be distorted if a few a participants selected a very high amount (i.e. not
reflecting the high number who would not pay that much).

2. Qualitative research

Qualitative research gathers views and attitudes. Qualitative research includes:

 focus groups with customers and potential customers to understand their feelings and
attitudes towards your products and services

 formal and informal conversations with customers about their satisfaction with your business

 visits and reviews of competitors to understand their products and customer service
practices.

You can use this approach to get a better understanding of your customers' interests, needs and
habits, and identify opportunities for growing sales and improving customer service. Analysing
qualitative data requires a different approach and can take longer to interpret than quantitative
data because of the nature of the information.

The precinct strategy will be delivered through four key action areas:

1. Programming and Partnerships

2. Positioning and Marketing

3. Digital Precinct

4. Infrastructure and master planning

4. Identify and describe target audience (e.g. institutions, people or groups)

Gold Coast Tourism’s focused and strategic approach to marketing the Gold Coast as a holiday
and business events destination ensures we achieve maximum value from our investments of
time, resources and budget.

In our largest market, Australia, we balance independent and cooperative activity depending on
season, sector and circumstance. Our cooperative activity includes regular campaigns with Gold
Coast Tourism member businesses, Surfers Paradise Alliance, Broadbeach Alliance, Connecting
Southern Gold Coast, Gold Coast Airport, Tourism and Events Queensland, travel retailers and
airlines.

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 The primary markets in which we are most active are judged on six key criteria, they are:

 Current visitor volume and expenditure to Gold Coast

 Forecast outbound visitor volume and expenditure

 Current or probable aviation access into Gold Coast or Brisbane airports

 Priority regions identified by Tourism Australia and Tourism and Events Queensland

 Fit with Gold Coast target audience segmentation and prioritisation

The obvious highlight was China. The Gold Coast firmly established itself as a preferred
Australian destination for Chinese travellers with more than 184,000 Chinese Visitor Arrivals, an
increase of 30% or 42,000 visitors on the previous year. China is now the Gold Coast’s number
one source of international visitors having overtaken New Zealand (172,000 visitors) in the June
Quarter 2013. It should be noted however that revised regulations imposed by the Chinese
Government from October 1 2013 are anticipated to negatively impact demand for outbound
Chinese travel. These regulations, which provide transparency for Chinese consumers, target
‘shopping tours’ and itineraries with hidden expenses in the selling price. Hong Kong, Thailand,
and Australia each anticipate lower demand over the short-term as a result, but without
enduring long-term damage.

5. Assess opportunity to access the market

Gold Coast Tourism operates to promote the destination image and attract leisure and business
event visitors to the city. This is executed through five main categories of activity, each with a
specific purpose to increase awareness, engagement or conversion, they are:

 Consumer Marketing Campaigns and Promotions

 Trade Campaigns and Partnerships

 Bidding and Sales Activity

 Public Relations and Media

 Familiarisations (Media and Trade)

Consumer activity primarily consists of targeted marketing utilising owned, earned or paid
channels to positively promote the Gold Coast holiday experience throughout the year.

Trade activity enables us to leverage, update and educate the travel wholesalers, inbound
tourism operators, professional conference organisers and travel agent networks which are
crucial influencers and sales conversion partners for travel to the Gold Coast.

It is also important to visit the markets to conduct sales calls and talk first hand with consumers,
travel agents, wholesalers, airlines and representatives of Tourism Australia and Tourism and
Events Queensland. Tourism marketing is a business built on relationships and it is necessary to
meet face to face several times throughout the year to ensure the destination remains relevant
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 and understood. This is especially important in the Business Events arena where professional
conference organisers recommend the Gold Coast to their clients for conference and incentive
events.

Promotions and public relations work is generally organised to complement the marketing
campaigns through below-the-line channels such as events, social media and publicity.

Bringing targeted media or trade representatives to experience the destination first hand has
proven to be one of the most effective ways to gain exposure or advocacy for the city within a
highly competitive environment.

Throughout the year we will host hundreds of media and trade contacts whose personal
experience goes on to positively influence millions of their audience or clients.

6. Identify and describe three key marketing opportunities in the target market

1. Contributing strategically to precinct master planning to support future cultural

infrastructure investment and renewal of facilities

2. Identifying opportunities for further animation of the precinct and improvements to

common services

3. Undertake a feasibility study for off-site storage facilities and expand public space in the
precinct buildings

7. Explain the applicable legal requirements

The Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (CCA) covers most areas of the market: the
relationships between suppliers, wholesalers, retailers, and consumers. Its purpose is to enhance
the welfare of Australians by promoting fair trading and competition, and through the provision
of consumer protections.

Potential opportunities may include, but are not limited to, event hosting, sponsorship,
investment, strategic partnership, cultural exchange and tourism.

You will need to present this information in a written paper appropriately structured and
formatted as a formal document.

Part B: Analyse and Implement New Marketing Opportunities

1. Describe how the new opportunities help achieve organisational goals

Creating, packaging and promoting attractive, innovative cultural offers by:

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  Working with tourism, major event and marketing bodies to package and promote offers for
cultural consumers

 Maximising opportunities for precinct-wide cross promotion and collaborative marketing and
promotions

 Considering joint approaches to consumer behaviour research (with a particular focus on

cultural tourists), to provide an evidence base for cross-precinct marketing and promotion
activities and offer insights into consumer behaviour and programming preferences

2. Analyse the each of the new opportunity for its impact on the organisation (what changes will
they cause/require)

Developing a strong online presence for the precinct in both national and international markets
that:

 Explore digital platforms and solutions including a precinct mobile app or site with
functionality to aggregate ‘what’s on’ information and allow for integrated ticketing

 Expand regional access opportunities through remote video streaming of live performances

 Capitalise on the rollout of broadband technology to:

o develop digital engagement strategies

o exploit online platforms and social media

o increase access to the precincts’ collections, performances and staff expertise

o develop material relevant to the new national curricula

 Revitalise the precinct common areas through digital signage and presentation of arts and
cultural content to provide enhanced way-finding and ‘what’s on’ information for visitors

3. Describe the required changes and new resources

Since the 1870’s the Gold Coast region has been a favourite destination for holiday makers.
Today, the Gold Coast is widely regarded as Australia’s most popular holiday destination and the
nation’s fourth largest tourism economy.

In 2013 tourism directly contributed $4.7 billion to the Gold Coast economy and sustained more
than 30,000 direct jobs in the city.

Since its establishment by the tourism industry in 1975, Gold Coast Tourism Corporation (GCT)
has operated as a membership based destination marketing organisation representing the sector
and generating increased visitor demand, visitor arrivals, and visitor expenditure for the benefit
of the city.

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 In 2007, the City of Gold Coast (the City) and the tourism industry represented by GCT reached a
landmark partnership agreement to competitively implement a long-term destination marketing
plan.

As the expectations of our future target markets evolve we acknowledge the need for new
products and experiences. Reaching the ambitious national 2020 target of doubling visitor
expenditure requires a clear strategy to target those source markets that will deliver the greatest
contribution to overall visitor expenditure.

4. Devise strategies for implementing changes (with minimal interruption to existing programs)

1. Establish an Industry Funding Plan and sustainable funding model to deliver the actions of
the DTMP

2. Deliver a strategically planned schedule of targeted, measured and demonstrably effective

multi-channel destination marketing campaigns to increase visitor demand and visitor
expenditure from key source markets

3. Deliver transport options for connecting visitors to key events, attractions and precincts with
seamless distribution and ticketing

4. Establish service and satisfaction performance benchmarks to be introduced prior to the

GC2018

5. Deliver a world-class interactive Surf Museum experience at an iconic Gold Coast beach
location

6. Establish Australia’s first purpose-built dive attraction

7. Attract new sports and business events to Cbus Super Stadium and Metricon Stadium and
address current constraint issues, such as car parking and transport

5. Assess external factors, costs, benefits, risks and opportunities to determine the financial
viability of each marketing opportunity

A Financial viability assessment evaluates the risk that, over the life of a proposed contract, a
tenderer:

 may not be able to deliver the goods and services which are specified in the contract; or

 may not be able to fulfil guarantees or warranties provided for in the contract.

As conducting financial viability assessments imposes a cost on tenderers and the entity,
assessments should be commensurate with the scale, scope and relative risk of the proposed
project. The process for viability assessments should be conducted at an appropriate time in the
tender process to minimise costs and time for both the entity and the tenderers. Consequently,
the timing within a procurement process and the extent of financial viability assessments should
be determined on a case by case basis and not mandated on an entity-wide basis.

The following factors should be considered when assessing project financial viability risk:
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 1. The nature of the goods or services: level of complexity

→ Projects involving a complex procurement, such as payroll services and centralised

information technology services, are higher risk than simple supplies procurements. More
complex, high value and relatively important projects will normally be subject to a formal risk
management process. This should include consideration of the need for and scope of
financial viability assessment.

2. Value of the procurement

→ Projects involving a large value procurement are generally more risky than those involving a
small value procurement. However, procurement value should not be used as the sole
indicator of project risk.

→ In assessing financial viability risk, the value of a procurement within a project should be
considered both in the context of relative value to the entity, and in the context of relative
value to the likely tenderers or potential suppliers.

3. Other factors

→ general economic factors;

→ the tightness of the labour market;

→ levels of demand for the required service;

→ understanding of profit margins in the relevant industry;

→ maturity of the relevant industry; and

→ the capacity of businesses to supply.

6. Determine marketing activities and resources needs to capitalise on the new opportunities

Gold Coast Destination Tourism Management Plan

The Destination Tourism Management Plan (DTMP) extends the highly successful partnership
between the City and the tourism industry through Gold Coast Tourism. It is a collaborative
approach to ensure the sustainable success of the Gold Coast tourism industry and aggressively
capitalise on key opportunities for the city as a world-class tourism destination.

The DTMP addresses the changing needs of the broader visitor economy in the Gold Coast
Region. It aims to build on a strong foundation which acknowledges the vital demand-side
destination marketing undertaken by GCT by aligning the strategies, resources, and efforts of
industry and all levels of government towards a set of unified long-term objectives and
outcomes.

The DTMP has been developed by the City and GCT based on an extensive base of tourism
intelligence, industry engagement and experience. The strategic platforms and resulting actions

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 outlined in the DTMP have been defined by the following guiding principles that provide the
context for growth.

 Reinforce the Foundations: ensure the areas which have generated success to date are
supported and developed

 Strength in Collaboration: align and define the strategies, resources and efforts of all
stakeholders towards a unified vision

 Develop the Experience: continually advance the destination offering

 Sustainable Success: progress with understanding and balance

7. Determine approximate investment/funding requirements (finance needed for marketing or

resources)

The Queensland Government offers a range of initiatives to support tourism businesses. They
have different programs to help you grow your business, develop quality products and services,
and increase your market share. Some of these programs are delivered through partners such as
Tourism and Events Queensland and the Queensland Tourism Industry Council.

The tourism industry is supported by a range of assistance programs. These programs focus on
developing the capability and capacity of businesses to grow, become resilient, and achieve the
2020 expenditure growth target.

Small Business Digital Grants program provides matching funding of up to $10,000 (excluding
GST) to eligible businesses to enhance the digital capabilities of their business, help them to be
more competitive and employ more staff.

Small Business Entrepreneur Grants program provides matched funding up to $5,000 to eligible
businesses (less than 20 employees) to engage a consultant, adviser or coach to help establish or
develop your business.

Business Growth Fund program provides funding of up to $50,000 (excluding GST) to eligible
businesses with less than 50 employees to purchase and implement highly specialised
equipment or services. Successful applicants must provide a co-contribution of 25% to 50% of
funding towards the total project cost.

8. Prepare a basic marketing forecast to determine expected return on investment

Some of the key challenges to marketing program measurement are:

 Knowing when to measure

The money you invest today will have an uncertain impact at an uncertain point in the
future. Last month’s tradeshow may deliver results next month or perhaps not for two years,
but marketers need to decide where to invest their budget today.

 Multiple touches

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 Proverbial marketing wisdom says at least seven touches are needed in order to convert a
cold lead into a sale. Whether or not this is the correct number, the principle conveys an
element of truth: every marketer knows it takes multiple touches to create a customer. This
fact makes it difficult to allocate revenue to any specific touch.

 Multiple influencers

The average buying committee at a mid-sized company comprises six people. In the case of
larger companies or more complex purchases, such a committee can involve 21 or more
influencers. Different marketing programs affect each individual differently, so it is a
challenge to know which programs have the most impact.

 Extraneous variables

In many cases, factors outside Marketing’s control can significantly impact program results –
from macro-economic trends, to the weather, to the quality of the sales reps. If revenues
increased because the economy improved, can marketers claim their programs delivered
better ROI?

9. Prioritise the new opportunities based on their financial viability

→ increase the national and international brand awareness of the Gold Coast and Queensland;

→ leverage GC2018 to maximise domestic and international visitation to Queensland;

→ maximise positive exposure of Queensland and its attributes as a tourism destination;

→ ensure the tourism industry capitalises on the opportunities presented by the Gold Coast
2018 Commonwealth Games;

→ showcase Queensland as Australia’s premier tourism destination; and

→ enhance Queensland’s service culture to position tourism, hospitality and retail industries to
drive tourism before, during and after the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games.

The Strategy is a key deliverable of the Whole-of-State Commonwealth Games Legacy Plan
Embracing our Games Legacy, Queensland’s legacy for the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth
Games and reflects the broader objectives of the Queensland Government and TEQ in promoting
internationally recognised and economically significant tourism events. The Plan will be delivered
in two key integrated components: a Tourism Marketing Strategy and an Industry Development
Strategy each with a corresponding Action Plan.

10. Explain how the implementation process will be communicated to the stakeholders

The framework and development of the Gold Coast DTMP has been purposely considerate of the
National Tourism 2020 Plan that integrates the National Long-Term Tourism Strategy with the
growth aspirations of the 2020 Tourism Industry Potential along with the Destination Success -

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the 20 year Plan for Queensland Tourism to ensure alignment, maximum leverage, and full
advantage for the Gold Coast.

Whilst our competitive advantage will always be derived through our ability to create and
achieve our own tourism success, it is imperative that the Gold Coast continues to utilise its
position as a major stakeholder in the Australian tourism hierarchy more effectively than its
competitors. Alignment of the Gold Coast DTMP with State and National plans will make this
possible.

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