Chapter 3

Marketing
Fundamentals of Destination Management and Marketing
(323TXT)

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 Traditional Components of
Marketing
• Consumer research
• Price
• Product development
• Packaging
• Distribution
• Promotion
• Advertising
• Point of sale

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 The Consolidated Approach
Consolidated marketing efforts by a variety of
stakeholder businesses and organizations
result in greater strength, unity, and leveraged
results for everyone.

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 The AIDA Principle
• The process of influencing consumers to
visit a destination through marketing
efforts related to:
• Awareness
• Interest
• Desire
• Action
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 Successful Tourism Marketing
• Target major efforts to major markets.
• Sell your strengths.
• Focus on unique attractions.
• Don’t be an island.
• Be convenient.
• Be honest.
• Use testimonials.

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 Market and Marketing Research
• Market research quantifies and values the
economic impacts of tourism to a community.
• Marketing research identifies consumers based
on demographic and psychographic profiles.

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 Meeting and Convention Research
• MINT (IACVB’s Meetings Information Network)
• Convention services evaluations
• Lost-business reports
• Analyses of customers and competitors
• Return-on-investment analysis

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 Branding, Positioning, and Theme
Development
• The brand is a collection of perceptions in the
mind of a visitor—the psychological, emotional,
and motivational link between the customer and
the product.
• Branding steps include:
 Define the destination’s unique selling points.
 Produce and prioritize motivational messages.
 Craft a positioning statement.
 Create/incorporate a unique logo.
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 Branding through Theme Development
Theme lines can galvanize community tourism
interests and increase customer awareness of
and interest in the destination.
• Develop a clearly defined priority of
messages.
• Test messages via customer focus groups.
• Craft messages for use in ongoing
communications.
• Devise creative strategies and platforms.
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 Meetings Market Theme Considerations
• Wrap the destination’s physical attributes into the
positioning statement and leisure tourism benefits.
• Planners choose destinations based on their unique
appeal once they are satisfied that physical needs
can be met.
• Remember that meeting delegates are leisure
travelers as well.

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 The Marketing Plan
Outlines the best business approach to fulfilling the
CVB’s mission.
• Plan Parameters: strategic direction/detailed plans
for success
o Forecast specific results
o Foster team spirit
o Create purpose
• Goal-setting: staff should be encouraged to
develop measurable objectives
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 Marketing Plan Building Blocks
• Marketplace complications
• Marketplace opportunities
• Departmental reports/productivity goals
• Major strategies
• Target audiences
• Specific tactics
• A comprehensive marketing calendar
• A detailed budget
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 Marketing Plan Elements
• Executive summary
o Distills the plan down to a few pages
• Introduction
o Includes the marketing mission, visioning process, and
value statements
• Destination marketing process
o Explains how new business will be attracted to a community
• Highlights
o Includes major quantifiable goals to be achieved

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 Strategic Planning
• Community-wide initiative for long-range goals
that may use the marketing plan as a foundation
• Multi-year directional marketing approach
• CVB strategic philosophy (mission statement)
• Strategic analysis of strengths, weaknesses,
opportunities, and challenges
• Follow-up sessions to determine progress

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 Marketing Tools
• Market research • Site inspections
• Advertising • Internet initiatives
• Media publicity • Special events
• Direct mail • Familiarization tours
• Collateral materials • Sales calls
• Trade shows
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 Advertising
• Purchase of space or time to get message out
• Create advertising that stands out from other ads
• Clarify advertising objectives at the start of a
project
• Measure return-on-investment
o Use conversion analysis to determine how
many people responded to the campaign.

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 Public Relations and Publicity
• Includes messages in editorials or news stories
• Seen as more credible than advertising
• Numerous approaches are available:
 Publicity releases
 Familiarization tours and site inspections
 Community and government relations
 Crisis management
 Press conferences
 Trade show participation

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 Collateral Development
• Creative approaches to communication should
resemble each other as members of a
communications family.
• The creative brief guides development of all
graphic material.
• Tips for collateral development:
 Use photos rather than line art.
 Convey sensory appeals.
 Put the customer in the product.
 Highlight popular destination appeals up front.
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 Web Site Marketing and the Internet
• Many people now use the Internet for travel
planning rather than motor club magazines,
newspapers, or television shows.
• Destination Web sites must compete with major
online travel agents.
• Consumers are demanding more from destination
Web sites.

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 Direct Marketing
Keeping in touch with current or potential clients
through personal contact or mailings
• Implementation outlines
• Merchandising marketing efforts and results
• Gifts
○ Remembrances should be represent the
destination and the image the CVB wants to
portray.

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 Event Development
Events held for consumers and destination marketing
professionals are effective marketing tools.
• Such events can include gala receptions or
consumer road shows.
• Evaluate event effectiveness.
• Include guests in the planning process.

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 Measuring Success
Three criteria for determining a CVB’s success from a
marketing standpoint:
1. Delivery of economic development benefits in
fulfilling its core marketing mission
2. Provision of marketing excellence through its
research, planning, execution, and evaluations
3. Status as a recognized leader in community
tourism efforts

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